Training activities for staff in higher education

Academic, technical and administrative staff from universities or colleges of higher education can take part in courses or job shadowing abroad in order to acquire new skills and to discover innovative approaches.

Next steps

For institutions:

Next application deadline: 5 March 2025

Application form available at the end of 2024

For institutions:

Next application deadline: 5 March 2025

Application form available at the end of 2024

Overview

For whom

  • Staff from universities or colleges of higher education

Duration

  • from 2/5 days (Europe/worldwide) to 60 days

Where

  • Worldwide for staff from Switzerland (outgoing)
  • In Switzerland for staff from abroad (incoming)

What we fund

  • Financial support for travelling and accommodation

What to do

  • Interested participants should contact the International Relations Office (IRO) of the Swiss university or college of higher education (including participants from abroad)
  • The Swiss higher education institution obtains accreditation from Movetia and submits a funding application
     

Deadlines

For participants:

  • Deadlines provided by the Swiss Institution

For Swiss institutions:

  • Application for accreditation: can be submitted annually at the beginning of March
  • Application for funding: can be submitted annually at the beginning of March
  • Start of the funding period: 1 June

Next steps

For institutions:

Next application deadline: 5 March 2025

Application form available at the end of 2024

In detail

By attending a training activity abroad, staff from universities or colleges of higher education can acquire new skills for their professional activities. Be it teaching staff, research staff or staff in administrative or technical services - stays abroad are open to all.
Training activities can include, among other things:

  • Courses, e.g. for librarians, a staff training week on the topic of digitalisation in libraries.
  • Training seminars, e.g. for teaching staff, a seminar to acquire new didactic skills for teaching in higher education.
  • Job shadowing, e.g. for HR specialists, accompanying colleagues from an HR department abroad.

Participants from Switzerland can follow a training activity at a higher education institution or other relevant organisation abroad. Staff of higher education institutions abroad can receive financial support for a training activity, incl. job shadowing, at a Swiss higher education institution. 

Training activities for staff in higher education are funded by the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP) of the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. Within the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP) and in international higher education mobility in general, this type of mobility is known as "Staff Mobility for Training (STT)" .

New perspectives in an international environment

By attending courses or organising a job shadowing abroad, staff from universities and colleges of higher education stay up to the date about the latest developments in their field of activity, deepen their knowledge, and discover best practices from other countries and institutions. They also get the opportunity to develop their international network. 

Planning your stay

The participants are in charge of planning their stay. The Swiss home or host institution’s International Relations Office offers support in organising the stay and provides information relating to visas, accommodation, etc. The Swiss institution also provides information about the application process, including the criteria and deadlines for participation, and pays out the grant to the participants. The grants can be subject to internal criteria (e.g. only funding for mobility to and from European destinations, requirements for environmentally friendly travel, etc.). The participants are responsible of discussing with their home institution whether and under what conditions (substitution, etc.) a stay abroad is possible, especially in the case of longer stays.

Support for special needs

People with disabilities or with physical, mental or chronic illnesses can apply for additional support for their stay. The grant can cover costs incurred during the stay abroad in connection with special needs, e.g. accompanying person for travelling to and from the destination, additional costs for wheelchair-accessible accommodation, etc. The grant is applied for directly via the International Relations Office of the Swiss home or host institution.

Requirements

For participants:

  • You are employed at a higher education institution (university, university of applied sciences, university of teacher education) or a college of higher education. This includes academic staff, teaching staff, professors as well as technical and administrative staff (e.g. librarians, assistants, cooks).
  • The planned training is directly relevant to your job.
  • The duration of your stay is of at least 2 days (Europe) or 5 days (worldwide) and does not exceed 60 days.
  • The training takes place on site (no virtual formats).
  • For participants from abroad: training is only possible at Swiss universities or colleges of higher education.
  • Research activities are not eligible as training. Participation in scientific conferences, research seminars, research visits, etc. are not funded. 
  • Participation in conferences in general cannot be funded as a training activity.

For institutions:

  • The institution is based in Switzerland and officially recognised by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) as a Swiss university, or as a college of higher education with federally recognised courses at higher education level. Only Swiss institutions can apply for funding with Movetia.

Funding amounts

  • Travel costs: effective costs up to a maximum of CHF 500 (Europe) or CHF 1,300 (worldwide) per stay
  • Subsistance: CHF 170 per day. From day 14 onward: CHF 80 per day.
  • For the specific needs of individuals with disabilities or those suffering from physical, mental, or chronic illnesses: Max. 12,000 CHF (actual costs based on the note of requirements)Insurance and any visa fees are at your expense.

In our grant table you will find all the amounts and the calculation of the grants in detail.
 

Procedure

For participants

To take part in a training activity abroad (Staff Mobility for Training) within the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP), please contact the Swiss institution’s International Relations Office. Participants from abroad (incoming) should also contact the Internal Relations Office of the Swiss host institution they plan to attend.

For institutions:

Training activities abroad for staff in higher education are funded by the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP) of the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. In addition to training activities, this programme also promotes Teaching assignments abroad for staff in higher education as well as semesters and internships abroad for students. 

In our How to section, you will find an article about the SEMP providing more information on how to apply for and carry out mobilities. The main steps are shown below.

  1. 1

    1. Apply for accreditation

    If your institution does not hold an accreditation to participate in the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP), the first step is to get accredited In doing so, the institution commits to the quality criteria of the SEMP Charter. It can then apply for funding once a year in order to fund student and staff mobility.

  2. 2

    2. optional Form a consortium

    Accreditation for the SEMP is also possible as a consortium. A consortium enables several institutions to jointly apply for and implement mobilities, for example to reduce the administrative burden. Universities and colleges of higher education as well as public or private organisations, such as cantons or companies, can participate in a consortium. At least one of the participating organisations must be a higher education institution or college of higher education from Switzerland. All participating universities or colleges of higher education in the consortium must be individually accredited for the SEMP. 

  3. 3

    3. Submit funding application

  4. 4

    4. Organise mobilities

    • After the submission deadline, we evaluate the funding applications and establish a funding contract with your institution.
    • The funding period starts on 1 June of the year of application.
    • You receive a budget according to the funding contract and are responsible of informing the participants, implementing the mobilities and paying out the grants.
  5. 5

    5. Submit interim report

    • With the interim report, we determine whether the mobilities have taken place as planned or whether the institution needs additional funds. Funds that were not used must be returned at this point.
  6. 6

    6. Submit final report

    • At the end of the funding period, you submit a final report.
    • This final report serves as the closing statement. 
  7. 7

    7. Spread the word

    • Make the mobility programme and the mobilities that have been carried out visible on your communication channels, e.g. in the form of testimonials. This is also a way of presenting your institution’s international orientation.

Q & A

You are in charge of organising your stay abroad. The International Relations Office of the Swiss institution where you are working / that you are planning to visit will help you with organisational matters (e.g. visa, accommodation, etc.) and with the application forms for the grant.

Yes, training activities abroad can be funded for all staff of higher education institutions. For more information, please contact the the International Relations Office of the Swiss institution where you are working / that you are planning to visit.

Research-related activities are not considered training activities and cannot receive funding. You could however take part in a training activity about the didactic approaches for higher education, in a seminar on how to implement international cooperation at your institution, or do a job-shadowing. You also have the possibility of teaching at a university/college of higher education abroad.

Attending conferences is generally not eligible for funding, even if the conference is not research-oriented.

The International Relations Office of your institution might be able to inform you about alternative funding for research related activities and/or for participation in international conferences. 

Contact

Further options

  • Teaching assignment for staff in higher education

Similar funding opportunities

  • International cooperation for collaboration and innovation

  • International cooperation for excellence