In view of the planned association from Call 2027 onwards, the project duration of the SEMP Call 2026 will be shortened. Call 2026 will run from 1 June 2026 to 31 August 2027. This adjustment is intended to enable a smooth transition from the Swiss to the European funding programme. The aim is to keep the overlap between the two programmes to a minimum and to switch to Erasmus+ from one academic year to the next. 

As a Swiss institution, you should ensure at an early stage with your partner institutions that your interinstitutional agreements meet the Erasmus+ requirements in the event of association, because: student mobility for study purposes (SMS) and staff mobility for teaching purposes (STA) are only eligible for funding under Erasmus+ if they take place within the framework of valid interinstitutional agreements, known as IIAs. If you are currently using SEMP templates, you will need to switch to Erasmus+ templates for Call 2027 and have these signed by your partners. 

Erasmus+ distinguishes between IIAs for intra-European mobility and IIAs for international mobility.

IIAs for intra-European mobility apply to exchanges between higher education institutions within the 27 EU Member States and/or with higher education institutions from associated programme countries (currently six: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). All participating institutions must have a valid ECHE.

• Example: A student from the University of Zurich goes to Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, for one semester. From 2027, this will require an Erasmus+ IIA for intra-European mobility. 

  Exception: If a signed E+ IIA for international mobility already exists between the two institutions, this IIA may be extended (see below, under “Important”).

IIAs for international mobility are used when a higher education institution in an EU Member State or an Erasmus+ associated programme country cooperates with a higher education institution in a non-associated third country.

• Example: A student from the University of Geneva goes to the University of Auckland, New Zealand, for one semester. From 2027, an Erasmus+ IIA for international mobility will be required for this.

The relevant templates are available on this page.

Note: SEMP already accepts both Erasmus+ templates. Even in the case of non-association, the Erasmus+ templates will continue to be accepted. 

Important: 

• Existing IIAs with European partners that use the E+ template for international mobility can be used for intra-European mobility in the E+ Call 2027. To this end, the IIA will be extended via email correspondence and the necessary adaptations will be made in the number of mobilities.
• IIAs concluded under the Erasmus+ programme generation 2021-2027 cover mobility up to and including Call 2027 (duration of Call 2027 until mid-2029).
• For the next programme generation 2028–2034, all IIAs must be renewed to cover mobility from Call 2028 and subsequent calls. 

• This overview presents the different IIA templates and their application (only for internal use at Swiss HEI). 

Discussions are currently underway at European level on ways to simplify this renewal process. This simplification only applies to digital IIAs concluded via Erasmus without Paper (EWP).

The digitalisation and simplification of the administrative processes is a core project of the Erasmus+ programme. As part of the European Student Card Initiative (ESCI), the programme administration at participating universities and higher education institutions is being digitised. The exchange of documents by email is gradually giving way to the exchange of data via the Erasmus Without Paper network (EWP). This digital administrative cooperation is increasingly becoming the standard across Europe.

With the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE), universities and higher education institutions commit themselves to implementing the ESCI. Every institution wishing to participate in Erasmus+ must therefore consider the issue of digitising mobility management and the possibility of adapting its administrative tools and IT infrastructure in order to join the EWP network.

Note: for institutions in Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK), the implementation of the ESCI, including EWP, will not yet be mandatory under the call 2027. If necessary, existing mobility management processes may continue to be used. This flexibility is intended to reduce the pressure of immediate implementation, while highlighting the importance of preparation, as all institutions will be required to fully implement the digitalisation measures by the call 2028 at the latest. As stated by the European Commission: “the more advanced, the better.”

To get started with the European Student Card Initiative and the EWP network, you will find a summary of the most important information and terms in our fact sheet. 

The German National Agency has a detailed section on its website dedicated to the topic of digitalisation in Erasmus +.

At the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026, Movetia, in collaboration with the European University Foundation (EUF), offered a range of advisory and training services specifically on the topic of EWP for Swiss universities and higher education colleges. 

Within the framework of mobility with programme countries (KA131), Erasmus+ promotes, in line with SEMP:

• Student mobility for studies and Student mobility for traineeships abroad, with a duration of 2 to 12 months
• Staff mobility for teaching and staff mobility for training, with a duration of 2 to 60 days
• Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP). BIPs can be aimed at students and/or staff and combine physical mobility lasting between 5 and 30 days with a virtual component.

The following offers are new in KA131 compared to SEMP:

• Individual short-term mobility, hybrid: Short physical mobility of min. 5 and max. 30 days, combined with a phase of virtual learning.
• Short-term mobility for PhD students: short physical mobility of min. 5 and max. 30 days, with or without a virtual component.

Since 2021, 20% of the budget for a KA131 project can be used for international mobility, i.e. mobility to countries in regions 1-14 that are not associated with the programme.

Important: under KA131, each institution applies for and funds only its own students/staff (outgoing mobility only). 

International Mobility (KA171) promotes exchanges between students, teaching staff and university staff from Erasmus+ programme countries and third countries not associated to the programme. The same types of activities are eligible for funding as in KA 131 (see above, but without Blended Intensive Programmes). KA171 enables both outgoing and incoming mobility to be organised with partner institutions worldwide.

The budget for KA171 comes from the EU's External Policy Funds. Mobility projects should therefore contribute to promoting the EU's strategic priorities. To this end, the European Commission provides the national agencies with a weighting of the available budget by world region (12 world regions in total). 

Unlike KA131, an application under KA171 always includes a qualitative part: the project needs to have a strategic goal. Applicant institutions must justify their choice of partner countries and explain how the planned partnership fits into their internationalisation strategy.