Arcada degree students can apply for an Erasmus+ grant for practical training in Europe (see the country list below)

Erasmus funded practical training abroad is supervised and administered in the same way as practical training done in Finland, i.e. by the Degree programmes. The International Affairs can help you with your Erasmus grant application when you already have found an internship. Please read the information on this page carefully!

Eligibility and grant amounts

Am I eligible?

  • Arcada degree students can apply for an Erasmus+ practical training grant for practical training in an EU-country (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden), Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Turkey, North Macedonia, Serbia or United Kingdom ( UK also after 31.5.2023).
  • A student can participate in Erasmus+ student exchange and/or work placement up to a maximum of 12 months in each study level (bachelor/master).
  • The minimum duration for Erasmus funded long-term practical placement is 2 full months (60 days, e.g. 10 March - 9 May). A virtual period may also be combined with it, the minimum length for the physical mobility is however still 2 months.
  • Erasmus+ funding for short-term mobility for traineeship may be implemented as blended mobility, which includes a physical period lasting 5–30 days and a compulsory virtual component completed as remote work.
    • Erasmus grant for short-term mobility is paid for the physical mobility period only
    • The grant amount for placements during 1 June 2023 - 31 July 2025 is 79€/day for days 1-14 and 56€/day for days 15-30.
    • For students with fewer opportunities, an additional grant is paid. Different amounts compared to the ones for students going on long-term mobility.
  • Minimum number of working hours/week: 30 (according to Erasmus rules)
  • You have to be registered as present at Arcada and the practical placement needs to be fully recognized by your degree programme.
  • Host organisations for practical training may be enterprises, research centres and other organisations. EU organisations are however not accepted.

Grant amount for practical training 2-12 months
- valid until 31.7.2025

Starting from January 1, 2025, several countries in Central Europe will be classified as regions with higher living costs for internships, offering €690/month instead of €640. Additionally, an extra travel allowance will be provided based on the distance between Helsinki and your internship location. More information will be published soon!

Erasmus+ grants for practical training are based on the duration of the practical training in days and on the host country.

  • Countries with higher living costs:
    Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden,
    • 690€/month (23€/day)
  • Countries with lower living costs:
    Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, North Macedonia
    • 640€/month (21,33€/day)
  • United Kingdom
    • 690€/month (23€/day) for practical training starting 1.6.2023 at the earliest as long as we have available funding (more limited than for other countries as UK is not an Erasmus+ program country anymore).
    • 620€/month for practical training that ended 31.5.2023 or earlier.

Erasmus+ additional top-up grant for students with fewer opportunities

The Erasmus+ programme supports also students with fewer opportunities to participate in a mobility period. Participants with fewer opportunities are entitled to a fixed-fee additional grant of 250€/month on top of the ordinary Erasmus+ mobility grant. Contact E-mail:international@arcada.fi in case you are entitled to a top-up grant.
As of the academic year 2022-2023 in Finland the fewer opportunities category includes:

  • Social obstacles
    • students with families (student has an underaged child or children)
    • students who are family carers (student has an agreement of informal care with the municipality)
  • Disabilities
    • students with EU’s disability card or who have a right for the card
    • disabled students (at least moderate functional deficiency)
  • Health obstacles
    • students having severe and/or chronic health problems (at least moderate functional deficiency)
  • Migrant background
    • students who have received international protection (refugees, asylum seekers, students who have been granted international, subsidiary or temporary protection, or the student has a refugee’s passport)

Green mobility travel grant in Erasmus+

Starting from 2022, it is possible to get extra travel grant if a student chooses an environmental/low-emission mode of travel (for example bicycle, train, bus, carpooling, not however ferry) and the majority of traveled distance of the round trip or at least one direction of the trip is 100% green travel. As green mobility grant, the student receives 50 € top-up to their grant. In addition, max 4 travels days can be added to the duration of the mobility.

Read about a greener mobility (before, during, after) on the Green Erasmus portal External link .

Special Needs and Inclusion support - Erasmus+

You can apply for exchange even if you have special needs. You should contact the international coordinator at Arcada (international@arcada.fi) in good time before the application deadline so that we can start the arrangements as early as possible. To ensure that students with special needs can take full advantage of the Erasmus or Nordplus exchange, both programs offers extra funding for students with special needs. You may be entitled to extra funding if you have a disability, illness or other exceptional special needs that will cause extra costs during your exchange and which are not covered by other sources. You can find more information about the support for students with special needs on The Finnish National Board of Education's website .

Rolling application process- step by step

There is a rolling application process with no specific deadlines. Please submit required documents at the latest, two weeks before the start of your practical training, to ensure that we get everything ready before deadline (the start of your internship). If possible, an application submitted later than that is also processed, but it cannot be guaranteed as we need to have everything ready before the start.

The selection is based on a first come first served basis. Most likely there will be funding available for all interested in going on Erasmus funded practical training abroad.

Forms and registration

When you have a practical placement confirmed:

  • Step 1 When you have been offered an internship abroad, you should contact your practical training supervisor/teacher in charge of workplacement at your degree programme so that you can arrange an internship agreement. Many programs have guidelines for internship agreements and a template available in Itslearning.
  • Step 2 Email international@arcada.fi and inform us about your plans to apply for an Erasmus grant for practical training abroad. First, please check that the internship meets the requirements for the Erasmus grant (see above). Please, let us know:
    • the planned start- and end date of your practical training (first and last day at work)
    • country and city
    • employer (the name of the company/organization) and contact person (name and email address)
    • confirm that your practical training abroad will meet the criteria listed under "Am I eligible" on this page
  • Step 3: Register your practical training in our mobility database MoveON
  • Step 4: Fill in the Erasmus+ Learning Agreement form for traineeships:
  • Instructions
    • Save the Learning Agreement on your computer. When you have filled in all parts that you can fill in, it is time to collect the information that you still need in order to complete the agreement. Contact the employer and the teacher responsible for practical training with your questions. Ask the employer for information regarding the receiving organisation, proposed mobility programme and insurances. It is important that the teacher responsible for the practical training will approve the amount of ECTS you will get when fulfilling the practical training. Make sure that all parts of the agreement (see the model agreement) are filled in before sending the agreement for signature to the employer and the teacher responsible for practical training. Please ask international affairs (international(a)arcada.fi) to check your agreement before sending it further. Contact us via email also if you have any questions about the form.
    • After everyone (you, the employer, and the internship supervisor) has signed the agreement, you should upload it in step 5.
  • Step 5: Erasmus+ Grant Agreement
    • After you have registered your planned internship abroad, the grant agreement will be prepared, and at that stage, you will receive a link to a new MoveON form where you, among other things, upload the signed Learning Agreement (LA). Your grant amount is calculated and the information is entered into the agreement before you receive it for completion and signature.

Other useful information

  • Read the document Erasmus Student Charter!
  • Before going abroad, discuss the requirements for a practical training report for your study programme with the teacher responsible for your practical training.
  • The grant will be paid in two separate parts. 80 % of the grant will be paid within 45 days after the agreement has been signed. The remaining 20 % will be paid when you have handed in your Traineeship Certificate, filled in EU Survey and when your credits have been registered and you have informed International Coordinator about it.

  • Students participating in Erasmus+ practical training must carry out an Erasmus+ Online Language Support NOT MANDATORY SINCE 1.1.2023

    (OLS) online language assessment in the main language of work before the practical training period (with the exception of native speakers). The online language assessment takes approximately 40 minutes and it assesses participants' language skills in listening, reading and writing, You will receive an email with username and password to the language test after you have handed in your signed Learning Agreement to international affairs. Based on your language proficiency you may have the opportunity to follow an online language course in the OLS platform either in the working language and/or in the local language (if included among the languages ​​that offer courses) before and during your mobility period. You can find more information about OLS language assessment and language courses below. In addition, after the exchange, you can do a second language test to see if your language skills have improved. The second test is voluntary starting from the academic year 2020-21.

During your practical training

Ask your employer to fill in and sign your Traineeship Certificate.

Within a month after the practical training period

  • Send a copy of the Traineeship Certificate to international[a]arcada.fi
  • Send a copy of the same "Traineeship Certificate" and the practical training report (that the teacher responsible for the training requires) straight to the teacher who then will register your credits.
  • Fill in the mandatory EU Survey - participant report form that will be sent to your email (link to the survey).
  • Remember to notify the international coordinator when your credits have been registered in ASTA!

All of the above needs to be done ~ 1 month after a finished practical training period.

Contact

If you have questions regarding Erasmus+ funding for traineeships, please contact international@arcada.fi or call 0294 282 673. We can also book an appointment and meet either on campus or on zoom.