APPLICATION PROCEDURE STEP BY STEP

Hélène Pinaud

French National Structure helene.pinaud@2e2f.fr

Annika Sundbäck-Lindroos Finnish National Structure

annika.sundback-lindroos@cimo.fi

ERASMUS MUNDUS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION Vol.2

Training seminar / 1-4 fébruary 2012 / Ljubljana/ Slovenia

Application form: General Remarks

• Read carefully all relevant documents:

- Programme Guide

- Instructions manual, incl e-form instructions

- Application Form

- FAQ

- Expert Assessment Manual

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/funding/2012/call_eacea_42_11_en.php

Application form: General remarks

• Respect the eligibility criteria related to:

- consortia partnership: status of institution, min number of partners...

- degree delivered

- mandatory documents: e-form, endorsement letter and «other relevant annexes»

- deadline: 30 April 2012

Application form: general remarks

• All the partners must be involved from the begining of the project and must be « active » ( no sleeping partners)

Include administrative staff right from the beginning (in all partner institutions)

• Be clear, concise and coherent when you write the proposal

And Remember

Your goal is not to make a good application, but To make an excellent one! It takes time and energy and a lot of compromise !!!

In addition

• The Erasmus Mundus web page gives links to all existing projects, their web sites etc..+ example of good practices

• other resources well worth checking out: JOIMAN : www.joiman.eu

• EMQA, www.emqa.eu

The evaluation procedure

The independent experts are:

- Academics

- Previously or currently involved in European projects

- More or less specialised in the field

- At least one from the same discipline

- The other one from the same domain (hard sciences, life sciences, social sciences & humanities)

- Who are paid ½ day of work per proposal

The evaluation procedure

The evaluation is organised in several phases:

- Registration and eligibility check

- Briefing

- Individual and remote phase (2 weeks)

- Consensus discussion and consolidation and remote phase (2 weeks)

- Final consolidation panel, ranking and debriefing (3 days)

- Selection board decision

Some formalities

• Application deadline: 30. April 2012 1200 CET

• Online submission: no paper copy

(max 8MB)

+ Copy by e-mail to all relevant National Structures • (No summary sheet this time, no need to send e-mail version to Agency)

• Electronic form only. (test it as soon as possible)

-> Estimated availability of the E-form: March 2012

The application form

• Two main parts:

- Technical details (name of project, partner information etc: Parts A-E) = e-form

- Narrative part – ”Award criteria”: EMMC: A1-A5

• NB! A maximum limit (approx 15-20 A4 pages)

The application

Mandatory documents:

• DOCUMENT 1. The Application form

• DOCUMENT 2. The "Declaration on Honour by the Legal Representative of the Applicant Organisation" (to be attached to the application form)

• DOCUMENT 3. The "Consortium answers to the Award criteria" (to be attached to the application form

• DOCUMENT 4: Proof of recognition

• DOCUMENT(S) 5: Letters of endorsements

The e-form

Five elements:

• Part A: Identification of the applicant and other organisations participating in the project

• Part B: Organisation and activities

• Part C: Summary description of the project

• Part D: Technical Capacity

• Part E: Degree(s) awarded

E-form: first page

• Project title: Comprehensive and understandable

• Acronym: communicative

-> Think of the above as important marketing elements!

• Language: the working language of the consortium AND the in communication with the Agency and Commission (EN, FR or DE)

Part A: identification of the partners

Must be fill by all partners separately ( including

associate partners)

Legal representative: Normally rector/director

Contact person: The ”real” project coordinator. Should

in most cases belong to the administrative staff

Part B - Organisation

• To be completed for each participating institution, incl Associate Partners

• Status: Public/private ( cf: drop down menu)

• Aims and activities of the organisation: -> Relevant info, experience in European projects, key activities..

• Role of organisation in the project: should be related to a specific tasks in the project and particularly well described: who is doing what ?

• Other community grants: Only for the coordinator

i.e : Erasmus IP, Tempus...

Part C – description of the project

• C.1 Statitistical data

General information on the project:

- ECTS delivered (60 or 120)

- EMMC title

- Duration and mobility ( min 2 EU countries)

- course language

- Participation costs per semester: ( incl fees, insurance, other costs)

- number of students ( with and without grants)

C.2 thematic field main+ second area ( drop down menu)

C.3 summary of the project

Summary = 1st impression of your project ( positive or negative one!)

Will be published on internet: good way to attract students and to communicate = marketing tool

Should include: description of the partnership, objectives, contents, mobility tracks, selection requirements, language...etc

Be concise and clear : only 3000 characters ( no copy/paste of selected sentences of the proposal)

Part D – Technical capacity You should demonstrate your capacity to manage an EMMC. Title partly misleading – includes also academic skills

D.1 consortium experience

expertise in the field, in joint programmes management, in different scientific networks...

D.2 Skills and expertise

Max 3Cvs per partner. main aspects relevant to the project / same presentation: recent/relevant publications, international activity, contacts to society (editorial boards of academic journals, networks etc), link to top research

NB! should include a CV of administrative staff

Part E – Degrees awarded

• What kind of degree(s) are you going to award? -> Name, Double/Joint etc.? In a consortium, there may be several options based on the mobility tracks of the students and legal framework of the partners.

• ”Proof of recognition”: Does your institution have the right to issue this kind of diploma?

Document 2: Declaration of Honour Document 3: Award Criteria

Narrative part: Award criteria

Academic quality – course content 30%

Course integration 25%

Management,visibility, sustainability 20%

Student’s services, facilities 15%

Quality assurance and evaluation 10%

Expert assessment manual very relevant, includes concrete tips, must be read

Academic quality 30% • Socio-economic needs analysis (European and worldwide),

objectives – relevant EU strategies: ie Europe 2020, Bologna (but avoid «buzz»)

– based on objective facts; logical, scientific approach

– multi-disciplinarity, newly emerging fields

– objective requiring a joint approach (national not sufficient)

• Added value of this programme compared to existing programmes, European and international – Position of Europe compared to other parts of the world

– Focus on European expertise and innovation potential within the field

– Intra-European perspective: awareness of other similar programmes is vital

Academic quality 30% • Structure and contents

– learning objectives linked to the needs defined

main teaching topics/content, partner roles

– relevance of the mobility tracks (in academic terms), bringing added value, internship/placement/field work/study

• Learning outcomes – Justify the relevance of LO in terms of employability and academic

opportunities, assessed in comparison with the proposed content

• Consortium composition, academic staff – Cross-check with B.2, B.3, D.2, complementary expertise

– Academic added value of 3. country partners, info on scholars

• Interaction with professional sector – Assessed according to objectives and needs, cross-check with B.2

– Endorsement documents will be checked to see concrete commitment

Course integration 25% ”jointness

one of the most important elements”

• Integrated organisation • balanced academic contribution, coherence

• Recognition • no non-degree-awarding partners

• Joint application/selection/admission • Common criteria and weight, common procedure

• Equity, special needs: concrete info

• Joint student examination methods (transparent) • ECTS grading scale used (ref to 3.countries involved), conversion table

• Joint Diploma Supplement, thesis co-supervision, joint external examinator?

• Justify participation costs • Show calculations, same costs regardless of mobility track

Management, visibility, sustainability 20% • Cooperation mechanisms

– consortium agreement essential, commitment (endors letters)

– concrete student and non-academic partner involvement

– For each governing body; composition, responsibility and tasks, timing of meetings

• Financial contributions and financial management – Relates to A.2.5, presents the co-financing part of the budget

– Institutional commitment, additional funding for students

• Development and sustainability plan – Ensuring content relevance, building an attractive programme

– Enrolment projections, prospects for securing additional scholarships

• Course promotion measures – Variety of measures, website crucial (incl info on selection and

admission), past performance, common PR strategy +

Student services and facilities - 15% • Information provided prior to enrolment

– Partners, course, selection criteria, online application, personal contact, assistance with visa

• Student agreement – Rights and obligations: academic, administrative and financial aspects

• Services – Focus on: academic counselling, guaranteed accommodation, families

and special needs, particularly 3. country students (religious networks, health/psychology etc)

• Language policy (courses should be free and ECTS recognised)

• Networking – Common meetings intra-EM, local EM alumni/tutoring, contacts prior

to arrival

Quality assurance - 10%

• Internal evaluation (involving beneficiaries) – ensure presentation of the whole cycle

– student involvement in QA board

– common discussion on Quality: how is it percieved?

– teacher meetings, prof.development

• External quality assurance (professional bodies) – role of QA agencies, methodology used

– accreditation of joint programmes JOQAR:

• http://www.ecaconsortium.net/main/projects/joqar

– concrete evidence shown on external evaluation

– Involvement of non-academic partners, alumni, internship tutors

Consortia should aim at coherence, common mechanisms

What makes the difference ? • A convincing needs analysis, clear European added value

• Distinctive academic quality; involved academics dynamic, internationally active with links to society and research. Clear area of expertise and complementing role of each partner.

• Active dialogue with the employers/surrounding society, and concrete information of their involvement.

• Constructive approach to past performance (renewals!)

• A well written proposal (links between the different parts of the proposal) and a well explained project (activities and content are clear)

• Evidence of a common will to build an integrated programme

• The opportunity for students to live a unique experience

Expert’s expectations

• To read something new, interesting and challenging

• To find the right information at the right place

• Not to have to search on the internet what is missing

• To understand what will happen during the project

• To feel intelligent while reading the proposal

• Language check important

Annexes

• 3 mandatory:

– The award criteria

– Letters of endorsement – Not just standard, identical letters, but ”true” signs of institutional involvement

– Proofs of recognition – From the National Structures, if applicable.

– Anything else may not be read! • =>Everything essential must be in the application form or in the

Award criteria annex.

What to do if your project is not selected – is there a plan B? • Start/continue the program without the support

• Apply for an Erasmus curriculum reform project, or an Intensive Course

• Use the work as basis for a new application – NB! The 2012 Call is the last in this edition of EM! There will be a

continuation within the proposed Erasmus for All Programme.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION http://emap-project.webnode.cz

ERASMUS MUNDUS ACTIVE PARTICIPATION Vol.2

Training seminar / 1-4 february 2012 / Ljubljana/ Slovenia