Scholarship

Key facts

Programme Operator:
Ministry of Education and Research
Programme ID:
EE10
Status:
Completed
Programme Donors
Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS)
Date of approval:
Total amount:
€1,600,000
EEA Grants fund:
€600,000
Norway Grants fund:
€ 1,000,000

Currently available funding

Programme Summary

Why is the programme needed? The programme complements efforts at the European Union and national level to enhance the internationalisation of the Estonian education sector, making it more open and visible. It also contributes to improving the quality of education at both secondary and higher education level. Only a small percentage of Estonian higher education students participate in international learning mobility, in part due to lack of opportunities. The student grants provided by the programme will in particular fill a gap in funding for Estonian students going to Norway. Staff mobility on all levels is acknowledged as contributing to the improvement of the quality and relevance of the educational offer by staff bringing new skills and insights back to their home institutions and participating in exchange of experience and best practices. The secondary education sector in Estonia is undergoing reforms to ensure high quality of teaching and learning. The reforms need to be supported by increased knowledge and skills of the teaching staff, school owners, school leaders, and other staff. Cooperation with donor state institutions provides schools with the opportunity to improve through learning and exchange of good practice. What will the programme achieve? The programme aims to enhance higher education student and staff mobility, and to increase institutional cooperation between institutions on the upper secondary level of education and within vocational training between Estonia and the donor states, as well as to contribute to the development of the quality of education in Estonia. How will it be achieved? The programme will support projects under three different scholarship measures: - Preparatory visits, helping to establish contacts with prospective partners in view of entering into closer cooperation. - Mobility projects in higher education, which provides support for student and staff mobility between Estonia and Norway. - Inter-institutional cooperation in education/training, which provides support for staff mobility at secondary education/vocational training level and inter-institutional cooperation projects between institutions and organisations engaged in education in Estonia and the EEA EFTA states on the upper secondary level. The EEA scholarship programme will be implemented jointly with the Norwegian‐Estonian scholarship programme as well as the Norwegian‐Estonian research cooperation programme under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. The programmes will establish synergies through a joint cooperation committee and mobility funding of young researchers.How will bilateral relations be strengthened? The programme will foster cooperation between donor state and Estonian institutions both at programme and project level, and it will contribute to strengthening bilateral relations between Estonia and the donor states in the education sector. The Programme Operator will cooperate with a programme partner from each of the three Donor states, the Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS), Liechtenstein’s National Agency for International Education Affairs (AIBA), and the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU). The Estonian Ministry of Education and Research as Programme Operator and the Archimedes Foundation as Fund Operator are responsible for the preparation and implementation of the programme, in close cooperation with the donor programme partners. What are the partnership opportunities? All projects will be carried out in cooperation with a partner from one or more donor states. There shall be at least two calls for proposals for each measure, which will be published in the first quarter of the year 2013 and 2014. The call for preparatory visits will be published in the first quarter of 2013 and stay open as long as the funds are available, but not longer than the first quarter of 2015. The interinstitutional cooperation projects can receive between €5 000 and €80 000 in funding. The funding for preparatory visits and the mobility measure covers travel costs are based on real costs and subsistence according to fixed rates for each country (available from the Fund Operator). Who can apply for funding under this programme? According to set rules for each measure, the following can apply. Individuals apply through their institutions. - Students and trainees in all forms of higher education; - Teachers/researchers, doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, trainers, managers/leaders and other staff within higher education institutions; - Higher education and research institutions; - Placement consortiums; - Upper secondary schools; - Vocational education and training institutions. Entities registered in Estonia and certain intergovernmental organisations are eligible as project applicants, with donor state entities as partners. Donor state entities may apply for preparatory visits.