Erasmus+ for Traineeship Mobility

Student selection criteria

Students enrolled in the 1st and 2nd cycles will be evaluated based on:

• Academic Record
  1) Academic Standing: Credits earned in relation to the year of enrollment (up to a maximum of 35 points) *Note: For students enrolled in the 1st year of a Master's degree program, academic standing will be calculated based on the credits earned in the Master's program (prior to the application deadline), while the GPA will be calculated based on the undergraduate degree grade.
  2) Academic Performance: Weighted average (up to a maximum of 35 points)

Please note: for those enrolled in the first year of a master's degree course, academic standing will be calculated on the basis of the credits acquired in the master's degree course (before the announcement deadline), while weighted average will be calculated on the basis of the grade from the three-year degree course.

• Language Proficiency
  For each declared language, the certificate attesting to the highest level of proficiency will be considered (up to a maximum of 15 points).

The following points will be awarded for each language (in case of multiple certificates for the same language, the highest level will be considered):

To demonstrate language proficiency, candidates must provide evidence of having passed one of the following:

1. A university language exam, as recorded in the academic plan of study.
2. A passed test administered by the University Language Center (CLA).
3. Any of the tests listed in the "Accepted Language Certificates" document (Annex 1)

Candidates who do not possess a valid language certificate are required to enroll at the University Language Center (cla.unifi.it) to schedule a test before the application deadline. When booking the test, candidates should inform the staff that the test is required for the Erasmus mobility application to facilitate the booking process.

Students who meet the criteria outlined in the “Exemptions from Language Certification" document (Annex 2) are exempt from the language certification requirement .

The university will verify the language certificates declared by applicants during the application process. While self-certification is sufficient during the application phase, original certificates may be requested at a later stage.

Applicants may take language tests (to increase the level of a previously certified language or to certify additional languages) in order to increase the score (however, the total score for language proficiency is 15 points).

Host Institution selection

Candidates may participate in one of the following selection processes:

1. Selection through a general host institution (Generic Letter of Intent)
2. Selection through a specific Self-Sourced institution (with nominative Letter of Intent)

Participation through a General Host Institution

Each year, the School of Engineering enters into agreements with public and/or private institutions that offer placements for students and/or graduates of its degree programs. Each agreement specifies:
- Host institution
- Total number of accepted students
- Student level (undergraduate, graduate, doctoral)
- Agreement duration: indicates the maximum number of months covered by the agreement (i.e., the binding period of the grant)
- Information on the projects offered by the host institution

For more information, please contact the International Relations Office, which will put you in touch with the relevant contact person for the agreement. Candidates may select up to three host institutions.

Participation through a specific Self-Sourced Institution

The candidate may independently propose a company at which to carry out the internship in line with his or her professional expectations and the course of study undertaken, or contact the professors of his or her course of study to check the possibility of being put in contact with foreign institutions with which the professor already has links.

If student wishes to conduct his own search, he/she may find it useful to contact foreign entities/institutions (located in the country where they intend to carry out their internship) that can serve as intermediaries in the search for a host company, such as Chambers of Commerce, Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad, Italian embassies, and professional associations.

Once an internship plan has been finalized, students must obtain a nominative Letter of Intent , signed and stamped by a legal representative of the host organization, within the application deadline.

The duration of the mobility period is determined by the information provided in the nominative Letter of Intent. The number of months indicated on the letter is binding and corresponds to the duration of the grant.

Note: For more details on the types of eligible organizations, please refer to Section 3.2 of the call for applications.

Selection Notes

Students participating with a general letter of intent will compete with other students as each agreement has a maximum number of admitted students. On the other hand, students participating with a nominative letter of intent will not compete with any other student and their place is therefore guaranteed (although they need to participate in a ranking for the scholarship).

Summary of required materials for the Turul Application

• Certified language proficiency (students must have already taken the CLA exam or other qualifying tests)
• Chosen duration and period of mobility
• General Host Institution: : Selection of up to three host institutions according to the agreements
• Specific Self-Sourced Institution: Availability of information from the letter of intent (not necessarily signed)

Once all the necessary materials have been gathered, students may submit their application for mobility through the Turul application, following the registration guidelines.

Upon login, students will need to provide all the required information, including:

Type of competition:

• per For General Host Institution (Generic Letter of Intent):
  • Language proficiency
  • Academic record
  • Internship type: curricular, extracurricular, post-graduate
  • Indication of the top 3 preferred host institutions
• per For Specific Host Institution (Nominative Letter of Intent):
  
  • Language proficiency
  • Academic record
  • Details of the Letter of Intent (including a description of the activities the student will undertake and the duration)
  • Internship type: curricular, extracurricular, post-graduate

Please note: The signed and stamped Letter of Intent from the host institution must be sent to the International Relations Office by the deadline specified in the registration guidelines .

Publication of Rankings and Acceptance of General Host Institution

The complete rankings, including scores, host institutions, and proposed duration, will be published through the Turul application.

All selection procedures, including rankings and any subsequent adjustments, will be available to students on the "I tuoi concorsi" page. Students will not receive personal notifications and are responsible for checking results, timelines, and deadlines.

To view the assigned host institution, students must log in to the Turul application within the timeframe specified on the "I tuoi concorsi" page and follow the instructions provided:

• In the event that a student is assigned to their first-choice host institution, they are obligated to accept the placement. Please note that students who decline their first-choice placement will be automatically disqualified from the Erasmus Traineeship mobility program.
• In the event that a student is assigned to a host institution that differs from their first choice, they are required to choose one of the following options:
  1. Accept the offered institution.
  2. If they do not wish to accept the offered institution, they may select the option "I wish to remain on the waiting list" in anticipation of a potential future assignment. It is important to note that placements declined by a student will not be reallocated in subsequent rounds of assignments.

Please note: Candidates are advised that they have a 3-working day window, commencing on the date of publication of the ranking or any subsequent adjustments, within which to accept or decline their assigned placement. This timeframe includes both the publication date and the deadline for submitting a response. To ensure that you are aware of any updates, it is recommended that you check the "I tuoi concorsi" page on Turul regularly

Please note: When accepting a placement, students are required to specify the duration of their mobility in months (which must correspond to the number of months outlined in the agreement). The number of months of mobility indicated by the student upon accepting the placement on Turul is binding for the calculation of the scholarship.

Please note: The estimated departure date, which must also be indicated on Turul when accepting the placement, is provisional and may be subject to change at a later date (upon signing the financial agreement).

Acceptance of the specific Self-Sourced institution

Successful candidates must formalize their acceptance of the assigned placement by completing and signing the “Traineeship Placement Acceptance” Form and submitting it to the International Relations Office.

• All students must complete the Learning Agreement for Traineeship at least two months prior to the start of their mobility. The completed agreement is subject to approval by both the home institution and the host institution. Detailed instructions for completing the Learning Agreement can be found in the accompanying document .
  • Students who will be undertaking an experimental internship as part of their thesis requirements are required to submit the "Declaration of degree-related research mobility" to the International Relations Office.
  
  
• Formalization of the financial agreement: Students will be provided with specific instructions on how to complete and sign the financial contract. The completed contract must be submitted to outgoing.erasmus@unifi.it prior to the start of the mobility period. Additional details regarding the mobility funding can be found in Part 5 of the official Call.

Details on the scholarship payment process

As soon as the student certifies his/her arrival at the foreign location (with a certificate signed by the foreign institution) an initial sum will be paid, corresponding to the number of months of stay (except the last) and then a subsequent sum at the end of the mobility, in settlement of the actual days of stay

Important deadlines:

• Within 7 days of the start of the mobility, students must submit an "attendance certificate" signed and stamped by the host institution to outgoing.erasmus@unifi.it
• Any requests to extend the mobility must be submitted to the International Relations Office of the host institution and the School of Engineering at Unifi before the end of the mobility. Please note that funding is not guaranteed for extensions
• Upon completion of the mobility, students must obtain a completed and signed attendance certificate from the host institution, indicating the final date of their stay.

Following the completion of their mobility period, students are required to comply with the following:

• An "Attendance Certificate" must be submitted to outgoing.erasmus@unifi.it no later than 15 days after the end of the Erasmus period. This certificate must be duly completed, signed, and stamped by the host institution. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the cancellation of the Erasmus status and the full recovery of the grant.
• Students who have undertaken a curricular internship must submit a "Transcript of Work" issued by the host institution to the International Relations Office within 30 days of the conclusion of the mobility period. This document will be used to facilitate the recognition of credits earned abroad.
• Upon successful validation of credits, students are required to complete the EU Survey. An automated invitation to complete the survey will be sent directly to students via the EU platform .

Refund Policy

• In the event that the mobility period is shorter than the mandatory 60 days, the full amount of the financial contribution will be refunded. Exceptions may be granted for short mobility programs or early returns due to force majeure circumstances, subject to assessment by the Italian National Agency for Erasmus (INDIRE).
• Failure to complete the internship abroad and to obtain at least 3 credits will result in the refund of the financial contribution.
• For students enrolled in third-cycle programs or those undertaking post-graduate internships, failure to provide documented evidence of the internship activities carried out abroad will lead to the refund of the financial contribution.