For Ghent Uni students

Erasmus+ Traineeships

Are you almost graduating and interested in giving your intercultural and professional competences a boost? An international traineeship can ease your transition into the labour market.

The Erasmus+ programme provides young graduates with financial support for traineeships abroad within the period of one year from your graduation date up to max. twelve months. The application is online and quite easy. Students from underrepresented groups are eligible for a higher grant amount.

The E+ Traineeship grants are open to all graduates (diploma contract (prof.) BA, MA, ManaMa, PhD).
Exchange students should apply in the country of their home institution.

Grant amounts

Graduating students who belong to underrepresented groups (students receiving a scholarship from the Flemish Government, students with disabilities or working students) are entitled to apply for a higher scholarship amount* per month. Please feel free to contact us about this.

The grant amount depends on the living costs of the country where the traineeship takes place and are granted for each full month of the traineeship period, with the remaining days paid pro rata.

  • Group 1 -  €529 / €779*: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Norway, UK (note that visa application in the framework of traineeship is rather problematic), Sweden
  • Group 2 - €479 / €729*: Andorra, Austria, Cyprus, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City
  • Group 3 - €429 / €679*: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, North-Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,  Turkey
  • Group 4 - A limited number of grants can be awarded for traineeships in other countries: €700-€950* for traineeships that start from June '23. According to the chosen country/region and travel distance, a travel allowance may be allocated.

A green travel surcharge of €50 is provided for sustainable travel (bus, boat, train) within Europe. For sustainable travel to some other countries, a green travel surcharge is provided, calculated based on the distance to destination.

The E+ traineeship grant may be combined with (financial) support from the host organization, though it is not allowed to combine it with an employment contract during the traineeship period.

How to apply for an Erasmus+ Traineeship grant?

Degree students studying at a Flemish education institution apply for this EU grant via Flanders Traineeship Platform, coordinated by the VLUHR.

The online application is a step-by-step system, indicating clearly all actions to be undertaken to complete your application.

Note that step 1 and 2 (see below) must be done during your final year of study, before your graduation (i.e. before you are officially informed by Ghent University of your final results via OASIS), regardless if you have a concrete traineeship plan or not. Step 3 can be done later on, even after graduation.
In case you have an Erasmus+ exchange study period ahead before graduation, it is recommended to register after your return. That way, the exact maximum duration of your possible E+ traineeship after graduation can be calculated.

  1. You register via Flanders Traineeship Platform
  2. After filling out the online form you will receive a login and access to your personal application file in the application tool.
  3. You proceed by filling out the other mandatory fields. Subsequently you print out the Erasmus+ registration form. Fill out the upper part of this form, sign it and upload it again in the system. Automatically Ghent University will receive a notification from Flanders Traineeship Platform to fill out the second part of your registration form, concerning the number of months you have already spent as an Erasmus+ student. Only after the upload of the signed form your registration will be considered complete.
  4. As soon as you have made the necessary arrangements with a host company and propose us a concrete and qualitative traineeship plan, a learning agreement will be generated automatically. After signing by the host organization, you send the learning agreement to BuitenlandNaStudies@UGent.be for a quality check and formal approval.
  5. After the signing of Ghent University you complete the further steps in the online application tool. Only the signing of the grant agreement confirms the allocation of the grant.

Deadline

The grants are awarded on a ‘first come first served’ basis, until the mobility budget runs out. The date of the completion of your grant application is taken into account i.e. when you have uploaded the fully signed learning agreement and a graduation certificate.
So don’t postpone your application! In case you decide later on not to apply for an Erasmus+ grant, your pre-registration (step 1 and 2) will be cancelled automatically after 12 months.

Terms and conditions

An Erasmus+ Traineeship grant for a traineeship can be awarded for traineeships of minimum 2 and maximum 12 months, minus the number of months of Erasmus+ exchange (studies or traineeship) during your current study cycle. However, applications via the Flanders Traineeship platform are limited to traineeships of max. 6 months, in order to offer a grant opportunity to as many young graduates as possible.

It is possible to do a E+ traineeship with a so called zero-grant in case of a prolongation or second traineeship. The traineeship with a zero-grant is framed within an E+ learning agreement and includes the Expat&Co insurance from the Flanders Traineeship Platform.

Degree students studying at Ghent University or Flemish Higher Education institutions can apply in Flanders for an E+ Traineeship grant but the traineeship cannot be carried out in the application country.

One of the objectives of the Erasmus+ programme is intercultural immersion, to enhance intercultural understanding. So traineeship proposals to the country of your citizenship and/or country of origin (nationality / possibly dual nationality) are not eligible unless you can provide a solid motivation for this. Or unless you can prove that you have lived in a country other than the country of (dual) nationality for at least five years, or if you can prove that you grew up in a country other than the country of (dual) nationality.

Traineeship proposals should imply a full time working schedule; similar to the number of working hours per week by the regular staff in the workplace. Only properly justified deviations can be taken into account by Ghent University (a min. of 35h/week is required).

The grant period cannot start earlier than the date of signing of the learning agreement by the three parties involved. Start your application ahead; the administrative processing after submitting your learning agreement to BuitenlandNaStudies@UGent.be may take at least three weeks. Only after the signing of the grant agreement, the grant is formally allocated.
Be rather reticent before making before making expenses before your E+ grant has formally been awarded to you; expenses incurred are non-refundable.

For traineeships outside the EU, it is best to start the application procedure well in advance taking into account a visa application (this may take at least 6 weeks). More info on visa applications and entry conditions can be found on the website of the Embassy/Consulate of the country or region where your traineeship will take place.

Language tests

Approved Erasmus+ traineeship grantees have to take a mandatory language test before and at the end of the traineeship in case the working language is Danish, Greek, Portuguese, Czech, Swedish, Polish, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian or Dutch. Insufficient test results have no impact on your departure or grant, but imply that an online language course will have to be taken during the traineeship.

Insurance

The E+ grant includes a free insurance offered by the Flanders Traineeship Platform. This is also included in case of a ‘zero grant’. Check with the host organization whether a work place insurance policy is taken out by the company or not, according to local rules.

The E+ Traineeship grant for graduates does not include any insurance from Ghent University as graduates are not enrolled as a student.

Where can I find a traineeship?

Traineeships in all public and private organisations active in the labour market or in the fields of diplomacy, education, training and youth work are eligible. Traineeships in EU institutions and organisations managing European programmes, e.g. Erasmus+ National Agencies, are not eligible.

Trying to find a host company is quite a challenge, though searching and applying for a traineeship is a perfect exercise for future job hunting. Use your network and send unsolicited applications. Define your career goals and put forward your competences, personal strengths and the added value you can offer to the host company. Consider a traineeship as a stepping stone towards your career goals. Many companies post internship offers on their corporate website or traineeship databases.

Before you choose a destination: travelling is still subject to many restrictions that are either COVID-19 related or related to the overall safety and security. The website of the Belgian FPS Foreign Affairs and the website Re-Open EU will guide you and give detailed information per country. Check this also carefully before you leave! Check also travel advices from other countries and your own country if you are not a Belgian national.

There may still be a negative travel advice for non-essential travel to most third countries for non-vaccinated travellers. A number of countries also still do not admit Belgian (or other) nationals. The entry conditions and applicable measures for the country of destination are described in the travel advice of the FPS Foreign Affairs and through this IATA tool

More information

Ghent University contact:
International Relations Office
Laïla Boulyou

Via Teams (by appointment)