The EEA and Norway Grants have allocated €32.7 million to scholarship programmes in 11 countries. Removing obstacles to educational mobility is a Europe-wide goal. Boosting transnational mobility helps students acquire new skills and strengthens future employability. Education is one of the main drivers for economic growth and plays a vital role in all countries to meet the demand on the labour market now and in the future.
Supporting exchange of Polish students and staff
A call for proposals is open for mobility projects in higher education under the Polish Scholarship programme. Students and staff members within higher education from Poland and the donor countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are eligible applicants. Following activities are supported under the call:
Student exchange:
- Exchange of Polish students going to one of the donor countries and students from one of the donor countries going to Poland, and;
- Mobility of Polish students going to one of the donor countries and students from one of the donor countries going to Poland for practical placements in cooperating institutions.
Staff exchange:
- Exchange of Polish academic teachers going to higher education institutions in one of the donor countries and teachers from one of the donor countries going to Poland, and;
- Mobility of Polish academic teachers and administrative staff going to higher education institutions in one of the donor countries and from one of the donor countries going to Poland for work shadowing, participation on seminars, trainings, workshops and conferences.
Partnerships with institutions from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are strongly encouraged. For partner search in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, please visit www.siu.no, www.rannis.is and http://www.aiba.llv.li/.
The application deadline is 2 April 2014.
Read the full call text for more detailed information
Exchange and best practice in Estonia
Two calls for proposals are now open under the Estonian scholarship programme. The first call focuses on mobility of students, academic and administrative staff between Estonian and Norwegian higher education institutions.
The application deadline is 10 March, 2014.
Read the complete call text for more detailed information
The second call for proposals supports the exchange good practice in secondary education. The cooperation projects are based on the participation of at least two upper secondary schools; one from Estonia and one from one of the donor countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The application deadline is 10 March, 2014.
Read the complete call text for more detailed information
Estonian in the Paris of the North
Liina Junolaine is 25 years old and studies political science at Tallinn University of Technology. Right now she lives in Tromsø - also known as the Paris of the North - where she participates in a mobility project between her home university and the University of Tromsø. The goal of the project is to increase the exchange of students and staff between Estonia and Norway.
“The atmosphere here is wonderful and the students and professors are academically and professionally inspiring,” tells Liina Junolaine.
For Junolaine, the Grants were crucial:
“I applied for the Grants since it is not always easy to get financing for education, especially education abroad. Knowing that you have some financial support, makes it easier to plan your studies,” she explains.
Getting inspired
Junolaine also stresses that mobility is much more than just financial support:
“Spending a semester abroad gives you new ideas, perspectives and you meet new people,” she adds.
She also underlines the importance of giving something back to society when the studies are finalised. Junolaine has her plans ready:
“I want to focus on development, civil society values and democracy building, either through humanitarian work or by working in a NGO,” she says.
Focusing on students and academic staff in Bulgaria
Funding is also available under the Bulgarian scholarship programme. The call focuses on two components: Mobility projects for students and staff in higher education and research institutions.
The student mobility component applies to Bulgarian higher education students, post-graduate students and doctoral candidates wanting to spend a period in one of the donor countries – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Correspondingly, students and candidates from the donor countries may also apply to spend a period in Bulgarian higher education and research institutions.
The call also supports the mobility for academic, research and administrative staff to the donor countries (for Bulgarian applicants) and to Bulgaria (for applicants from the donor countries).
The application deadline is 1 March, 2014 to the home institution. The application deadline for the candidates selected from the home institution is 20 March, 2014.
Read the complete call text for more detailed information
Sustainability and well-being key priorities in Spain
Two calls for proposals are also open in the Spanish scholarship programme. The first call aims to improve and deepen research cooperation between Spain and the donor countries. Joint research activities must be related to earth sustainability and human well-being. Priority is given to projects related to climate change, migration flows, natural resources, health, social dynamics and mathematical methods.
The deadline for this call is 28 February, 2014.
Read the complete call text for more detailed information
The second call for proposal provides support for preparatory visits related to individual and coordinated mobility of researchers. The application deadline is 30 June 2014, or until the budget has been exhausted.
Read the complete call text for more detailed information
Stimulating mobility in Slovenia
The scholarship fund in Slovenia supports international exchange of students and staff as well as common educational projects with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The programme will stimulate mobility of students and staff and cooperation between educational institutions at all levels.
A call for proposals is now open for:
- Preparatory visits
- Mobility projects in higher education
- Mobility of educational staff in general and vocational education and training
- Inter-institutional cooperation projects in higher education
- Inter-institutional cooperation projects in education and training (school partnerships)
Both educational institutions from Slovenia and the donor states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) can apply for funding for preparatory visits to establish and further develop cooperation and exchanges between these countries.
The application deadline is 17 February 2014.
Read the complete call text for more detailed information
Calls already open in Hungary and Poland
Educational institutions in Poland, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway that wish to take part in the scholarship programme in Poland or Hungary, may also apply for funding for preparatory visits. Calls are now open under these programmes too.
Scholarly matchmaking
A matchmaking event for the scholarship programmes is held by the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) in Oslo, 3 and 4 of February. This event will facilitate networking and exchange of knowledge among institutions of higher education. Representatives from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Spain will participate at the conference.
The deadline to sign up for the event is 20 January, 2014.
Read more about the event on SIU’s website
SIU is a donor programme partner in all 11 scholarship programmes. The Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS) and the National Agency for International Education Affairs (AIBA) from Liechtenstein do also participate as donor programme partners in nine programmes.
Read more about the Scholarship programmes at the EEA and Norway Grants website
Read more about new calls for proposals in our calls calendar