STUDENTS: STUDY (SMS)

Student mobility is one of the basic tools of internationalization and at the same time it is also one of the basic priorities in the long-term development plan of the Comenius University in Bratislava (CU).

It is carried out on the basis of concluded bilateral contracts between the Faculty of Medicine and a partner university abroad.

The Faculty of Medicine in cooperation with the Department of International Relations of the CU offers its students, through the Erasmus+ program, the opportunity to complete one-semester or one-year study stays and practical internships.

Student mobility is organized exclusively on the basis of inter-institutional agreements (Inter-institutional agreements - IIA). Every year, the Department for Erasmus+ program CU announces a call for applications for a student mobility.

Students apply in the Mobility Online system (use the university login name and password - as in AiS), application is possible only during the period when the call is open, usually from 15 December to 15 February. After applying for Erasmus+ mobility, students are included in the selection process that takes place at the faculty.

After the application has been accepted by the partner university, the student creates a Digital Learning Agreement for studies (DLA or OLA)(short manual). The learning agreement is a tripartite agreement on which subjects the student will complete at the foreign university and which will be recognized by the home faculty. The right to recognize subjects according to LA is guaranteed by the Erasmus+ Charter.

The Digital Learning agreement is not a grant agreement, the student signs the grant agreement directly with the Comenius University Erasmus office. Further procedure and conditions for concluding the Agreement on the provision of financial support can be found in the section Before mobility.

When creating LA, the student should follow the following rules:

• The student is obliged to enroll in OLA subjects worth at least 20 ECTS credits (for 1 semester) and must bring at least 15 ECTS from mobility, so that sanctions are not applied by the CU.

• For students who do not have a philology-oriented study, it is valid that in the specified number of at least 20 ECTS brought from a foreign university, credits for a foreign language and realism can be for a maximum of 5 ECTS.

• It is not possible to study only subjects that will be recognized as optional at a foreign university. If it is not necessary to obtain any ECTS credits within the framework of studies at the home faculty of the UK, it is not possible to support mobility due to a violation of the rules of the Erasmus+ program.

As part of the Erasmus+ program, each university has assigned an identification code, the Comenius University's code is SK BRATISL02.

Erasmus charter for higher education 2021 - 2027

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE MOBILITY - STEP BY STEP PROCESS 

•  Consult with Department of International Relations at the faculty about the dates of the selection procedure, mobility criteria, as well as the possibilities of study abroad based on the signed inter-institutional agreements. Information about agreements is also available on UK mobility portal.

• Apply only via the Mobility Online Application (you use your university login name and password - similar to AiS), application is possible only during the period when the call is open, usually from 15 December to 15 February.

• After being accepted by the foreign university for mobility, the student fills out an electronic Online/Digital Learning Agreement for studies (OLA/DLA) in the Mobility online software - procedure for creating an OLA. OLA/DLA is signed electronically directly in Mobility online, it must be signed by 3 parties - the student, the home faculty, and the foreign university.

• If the foreign university does not accept the Online Learning Agreement, it is possible in exceptional cases to accept the paper form of the Learning Agreement. In the case of a paper Learning agreement, it must be uploaded to the Mobility Online system after it has been signed by all parties.

SELECTION CRITERIA 

Selection criteria for applicants for student mobility (study) within the Erasmus+ program are regulated by Internal regulation no. 42/2024 - Dean's Directive on the conditions and criteria for the selection of applicants for foreign stays within the framework of the mobility of students and employees of the Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava

As part of the selection procedure, students are awarded points for individual activities, which are divided into the following 4 categories:

A. Study results - maximum 30 points

B. Language skills – maximum 30 points

C. Professional activities beyond the scope of study obligations - maximum 20 points

D. School and extracurricular activities, activities in organizational structures of the faculty, awards - maximum 20 points

In case of equality of the points, the higher number of points obtained within individual categories in the order A to D is decisive. In case of equality of the points, priority is given to the student of the higher year.

Selection criteria - description of individual activities

GRANT AMOUNTS

The allocated grant represents net income for the student and is not subject to taxation. The maximum amount of the grant is determined by the European Commission, countries are divided into three groups, and individual rates apply to all universities in Slovakia. 

The calculation of the grant for the mobility period is determined by multiplying the number of days and 1/30 of the monthly grant intended for the respective receiving country.

The grant is paid in two instalments: 90 % before the stay and 10 % after the stay. The conditions for the payment of the grant are stated in the Grant agreement concluded between the UK (represented by the institutional coordinator) and the student.

BASIC GRANTS FOR 2024/2025

The allowance for travel costs is allocated to the participant based on the distance from Bratislava/Martin to the place of activity and back.

Example for the academic year 2024/2025: A student travels to study in Poland (Krakow) for the period from 01.11.2024 - 30.04.2025 (6 months/180 days*).

The grant is calculated as follows, other than green travel: Poland belongs to 3 groups, the monthly grant is €550, €550/30 days * 180 days = €3,300 + distance 295.73km (distance up to 499km ) = €3,300 + €211 = €3,511

The grant is calculated as follows, green travel: Poland belongs to 3 groups, the monthly grant is €550, €550/30 days * 180 days = €3,300 + distance 295.73km (distance up to 499km) = €3,300 + €285 = €3,585

Green travel is defined as travel in which low-emission means of transport, such as buses or trains, are used for the main part of the journey there and back, respectively. ecological method of transport, e.g. shared journey in one car (car-pooling).

Partner countries in regions 1 - 12: 700 €/month, partner countries in regions 13 and 14: 674 €/month.

SOCIAL SCHOLARHIPS

Students receiving a social scholarship are entitled to an increase in the basic grant by 250 € per month. Proof for payment is a copy of the Decision on social scholarship from the current academic year, which must be uploaded to the mobility documents section in the profile of the Mobility Online system.

OTHER

A student with a handicap (disability card or other handicap) is entitled to an increase for students with a lack of opportunities for long-term mobility in the amount of 250 € per month. You can find more information in the section Support for the disabled and students with a lack of opportunities (support not compatible with support for students with social scholarship).

Upon arrival at the foreign university, the student will send to the Erasmus Office:

Learning Agreement (LA) changes – if based on the current study offer, changes in study from the originally agreed plan have been agreed with the receiving institution: within 14 days from the beginning of the semester at the foreign university, but no later than within 1 month, send the changes to the Learning Agreement (the DLA will be edited directly in the Mobility Online system) to the CU faculty for approval.

EXTENSION OF A STAY 

 The study must be continuously linked – the student must apply for an extension of the stay at least 1 month before the original mobility end date. In case of approval by CU, the extension must be immediately subsequent in date.

Short-term extension (1 week to 6 weeks): Applies to both winter and summer semester (WS and SS) students, if for objective reasons (e.g. exam dates, etc.) they are unable to complete all the requirements of the LA within the set timeframe. Student submits:

• Application for extension of stay (form not specified) in writing with a handwritten signature
• Consent of the home faculty with the extension
• Documents confirming reasons for which the student is requesting the extension (if available).

Extension for the whole academic year: Applies only to students who have travelled for mobility in the winter semester. The basic condition for such an extension of a stay is that all the requirements of the previous semester’s Financial Support Agreement and LA have been met. The student submits:

• Application for extension of a stay in writing with a signature
• Approval of the extension from the home faculty
• Approval of the extension of study from the foreign university
• New Learning Agreement for the SS with new commitments.

Requests are to be submitted to the office of  Erasmus Office in writing.

If the student’s application is accepted, he/she will be given for a signature an Amendment to the Grant agreement with the agreed changes.

The student is obliged to submit a Request for amendment in order to make any changes to the Grant agreement (e.g. change of the date of stay at a foreign university).

THE STUDENT SUBMITS to the Erasmus office (within 30 days from the end of the stay):

• Certificates confirming participation in pre-study activities (language course, orientation week...), if he declared an obligation to participate in them before mobility
• Certificate of length of study - exact date of study stay
• Transcript of Records - academic results at the host institution
• Protocol on study recognition by the faculty - recognition of results at the home institution (if required by the faculty).

The credits obtained must be a minimum of 15 ECTS credits per semester, otherwise CU will impose sanctions on the student:

In individual cases of non-compliance with the conditions, the institutional coordinator can decide on the scope of the application of sanctions, based on an assessment of the documented causes. These rules are binding for all faculties of the Comenius University Bratislava.

Report: after returning from mobility, the student fills in a report via the Beneficiary Module (European commission system). Each student will automatically receive an e-mail (to the e-mail address specified in the Agreement on the provision of financial support) - a notice to fill out the report, one day after the date set as the end date of the mobility. Reports are generated by the EC system for each student separately.

Language assessment: the student is obliged to take an online language assessment before mobility, if the main language of instruction is the language available from the OLS tool.

Recommendation: the student has the opportunity to obtain Europass, in which the successful completion of the studies will be recorded. More information can be found on the website Europass.

More information about the student mobility you can find on the web page of the Comenius University Bratislava