The Higher Vocational College of the Technical School Centre of Maribor has been awarded the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) for the Erasmus+ programme for the period from 2014 to 2020. With Erasmus+ programme we strive to enrich teaching and enhance the student experience. We actively promote to students and staff the personal and professional development benefits of international mobility and highlight to prospective employers the transferable skills and competences typically associated with this experience encompassing not only cross-cultural communication and language skills, but technical skills and competencies as well. On school open days we present the public with posters and placards featuring information on the Erasmus mobility projects and the participants. We also set up an Information Corner providing information on the possibilities of participation in Erasmus+ mobility projects.

Erasmus Policy Statement

Our institution’s Erasmus coordinator performs the following tasks:

  • Liaising with current and potential future partner institutions to discuss the suitability of student/staff exchanges
  • Ensuring that the necessary documentation is completed for proposals for new or renewed agreements
  • Providing advice and guidance to students regarding their options within the department
  • Selecting students for outward exchange mobility to partner institution and providing details of nominated candidates to both the partner institution and the College
  • Liaising with the partner institution to ensure that full information is provided to the student regarding the partner institution’s application process, deadlines, accommodation details, and registration etc.
  • Ensuring that outgoing students complete the required Erasmus+ student documentation by the appropriate deadlines
  • Study Placements: agreeing unit choices and ECTS credits with both outgoing and incoming students, and ensuring these are documented on the Learning Agreement for Studies
  • Work Placements: agreeing the details of the training requirements and ECTS credits with outgoing students, and ensuring that these are documented on the Learning Agreement for Traineeships
  • Maintaining contact with students abroad regarding academic matters and ensuring marks from the host institution (with translations if appropriate) are available to our College’s lecturers by the appropriate deadline
  • Acting as a contact point for incoming exchange students with regard to departmental or academic matters
  • Providing information to departmental staff members about Erasmus+ staff mobility placement opportunities at partner institutions
  • Acting as the primary departmental contact to provide accurate, timely information on all Erasmus+ staff and student mobility for annual reporting purposes.

 

Erasmus+ mobility projects

Erasmus+ supports individual mobility of students involved in higher education, graduates, teaching staff and other employees, as well as the organisation of projects based on high-intensity programmes (summer schools/winter schools), multilateral projects and networks. Thus a mobility project can comprise one or more of the following activities:

 

Student mobility

  • a study period abroad at a partner higher education institution (HEI);
  • a traineeship (work placement) abroad in an enterprise or any other relevant workplace

A study period abroad may include a traineeship period as well. To ensure high-quality mobility activities with maximum impact on the students, the mobility activity has to respond to student degree-related learning and personal development needs. The study period abroad must be part of the student’s study programme to complete a degree at a short cycle, first cycle (Bachelor or equivalent), second cycle (Master or equivalent) and third or doctoral cycle. Traineeships abroad at a workplace are also supported during short cycle, first, second, third cycle studies and within a maximum of one year after the student’s graduation. This also includes the »assistantships« for student teachers. Wherever possible, the traineeships should be an integrated part of the student’s study programme. Student mobility can be in any subject area/academic discipline.

Erasmus+ provides the following benefits to students:

  • they can complete a part of his or her study-related duties at a partner institution in one of the participating countries (eligible countries),
  • they are exempt from paying tuition fees while studying at a partner institution (the EU Commission provides students with an Erasmus Grant to help them with their expenses during their time abroad, which makes one of the biggest benefits of Erasmus),
  • they can have the study-related duties done at a partner institution abroad or credits respectively recognized by their home institution (sending institution),
  • they can do a business internship (traineeship) abroad in an enterprise or any other relevant workplace (in one of the participating countries).

Besides, taking part in the programme helps the students to develop personally and professionally; they gain valuable international experience, broaden their horizons, experience new cultures and discover new ways of working. Erasmus+ is of particular benefit to young people who can learn new skills to improve their employability, acquire life skills, and develop their confidence.

Staff mobility

  • teaching periods: this activity allows HEI teaching staff or staff from enterprises to teach at a partner HEI abroad. Staff mobility for teaching can be in any subject area/academic discipline.
  • training periods: this activity supports the professional development of HEI teaching and non-teaching staff in the form of training events abroad (excluding conferences) and job shadowing/observation periods/training at a partner HEI, or at another relevant organisation abroad.

Erasmus+ provides the following benefits to the teaching staff:

  • they can give lectures at foreign partner institutions,
  • they can get trained at educational institutions or in companies abroad,
  • they can acquire new knowledge and experiences,
  • they can pick up new ideas and practices from a different education system and compare their own knowledge and practices with those being valid in such different educational systems,
  • to introduce their international experience into his or her own educational work.

Participating countries

The following countries, including the Overseas Countries and Territories of EU Member State countries, can fully take part in all Erasmus+ actions: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, Malta, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Non-EU Programme Countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Macedonia, Turkey.

Duration of Erasmus+ mobilities:

For students

  • Mobilities for students to study in a receiving institution: 3-12 months
  • A traineeship abroad: 2 to 12 months.

For the staff

For staff mobility, the minimum duration (excluding travel) is 2 days (or minimally 8 teaching hours) to 12 months when the goal of the mobility is teaching, and from 5 working days to 2 months when the goal of the mobility is training.

Who can participate?

Student mobility:

  • Students enrolled in a formal programme of study at a higher education level leading to a degree or a diploma (including doctoral level) in one of the participating countries;
  • Students that have completed at least the first year of your university studies and are currently studying in the second year;
  • Erasmus+ enables students to study or train abroad more than once as Erasmus students as long as the minimum duration for each activity and a total maximum of 12 months per study cycle is respected.
  • At least one of the participating countries must be an EU Member State.

Staff mobility:

  • The teaching staff must be either a national of a country participating in the Lifelong Learning Programme or a national of other countries employed or living in a participating country, under the conditions fixed by each of the participating countries, taking into account the nature of the programme).
  • Teaching staff employed by a higher education institution must be from an institution from a higher education institution holding an ERASMUS University Charter.
  • The teaching assignment must be carried out in a higher education institution holding an ERASMUS University Charter.
  • At least the sending or the receiving country must be an EU Member State.

Contact

For subject specific questions please contact Mr. Samo Čretnik, the Headmaster of the College or Mrs. Sabina Herle or Mrs. Ivanka Lesjak, who are in charge of academic support of exchange students and who are supported in their work by Mrs. Alicia Leonori Sauli Miklavčič, the President of the Slovene Association HVC and a member of the EURASHE working group on Employability & Lifelong Learning.

Phone: +386 (0)2 460 5167
E-mail: ravnatelj.vss@tscmb.si, sabina.herle@tscmb.si, ivanka.lesjak@tscmb.si.