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Activities in the Programme

Nordplus Higher Education supports the following activities:

Mobility

  • Student mobility
  • Teacher mobility

Project activities

  • Intensive courses
  • Joint study programmes
  • Development projects for Higher Education, including joint curriculum development and joint modules. For cross-sector projects, networks are recommended to apply from Nordplus Horizontal.

Network meetings

  • To establish and develop new networks
  • For academic staff within established networks for the quality assur­ance of mobility, courses and/or admission of new partners

What is not eligible for funding?

As the programme supports cooperation in Higher Education within the first and second degree cycles, i.e. bachelor’s and master’s, third cycle and research activities are not eligible. Thus, researchers and PhD students are not eligible for Nordplus grants unless they participate as teachers, e.g. on an intensive course.

The programme does not support surveys.

Mobility

Mobility is defined as individual student or teacher exchanges between the partner institutions in a network. Mobility takes place also in projects, such as in intensive courses, but this form of mobility should be applied for under project activities and as a part of the total costs for that project.

Long-term student mobility from 3 to 12 months

Mobility grants are awarded for full-time studies or work placements lasting 3-12 months in another Nordplus country. The grant is available to degree students of any nationality studying for a first or second cycle de­gree at a HEI in the participating countries. In case of work placements, the exchange doesn’t need to be connected to a network partner but can be directly arranged between the student’s home institution and the host organization/company where the training will take place. PhD students are not eligible for a Nordplus grant. The grant should be seen as a contribution towards the additional costs of studying abroad.

This type of long-term mobility within the Nordplus Network is recommended to be financed from other sources (e.g. Erasmus+). Nordplus networks are encouraged to examine the possibilities of any such funding at part­ner institutions and how this could be used for student mobility in the Nordplus network. This helps to save more of Nordplus’ limited resources for short-term mobility or projects.

Short-term student mobility from 1 to 2 months

Mobility grants may also be awarded for short, full-time studies of 1-2 months’ duration and for work placements in another Nordplus country on the same basis as for long-term student mobility (see above).

Express mobility under 1 month

Students may also be awarded grants for shorter exchanges – express mobility grants. The minimum duration of express mobility is one week (5 working days). This form of student mobility is intended to broaden the possibilities for students to study abroad for shorter periods in cases where longer periods are not possible. Express mobility is also intended to encourage institutions to invite students from partner institutions to participate in their own courses and thus promote internationalisation at home.

Express mobility grants are awarded according to the same guidelines, criteria and rules as regular student mobility grants, but with some excep­tions (see below).

Work placements grants (long-term, short-term and express) are award­ed according to the same main guidelines, criteria and rules that apply to regular student mobility grants except that they may also be awarded for a mobility period taking place after graduation and then the following applies:

  • The grant must be awarded before graduation
  • The work placement must be finalised within one year of graduation

The following rules apply to all student mobility types:

  • The studies/work experience placements abroad shall be fully recog­nised as a part of the degree at the student’s home institution (excep­tion: work placement after graduation).
  • ECTS shall be used. Not mandatory for express mobility. In any case, the mobility period must be included in a larger study entity which is a part of the student’s degree.
  • The Nordplus exchange is possible from the first year of study at the student’s home institution.
  • Generally speaking, the Nordplus student does not pay any fees to the host institution (exception: any fees to student organisations, applica­tion fees, tuition fees for third-country students, any course fees).
  • The student shall live at his/her place of study; commuting between place of study and ordinary place of residence is not permitted.
  • Confirmation of grant award shall be signed before payment is made (please find the document on nordplusonline.org).
  • A learning/training agreement shall be signed before the exchange (Learning/Training agreement). Not mandatory for express mobility. Erasmus+ model contracts are recom­mended.
  • A final report on the exchange shall be submitted by the student after the exchange has been completed (not mandatory for express mobility).

Teacher mobility

Academic staff of any nationality employed at HEIs in the participating countries may be awarded a Nordplus grant for exchanges in another Nor­dic or Baltic country. The exchange can include teaching, tutoring, develop­ment of teaching materials etc. It is also possible to use these grants for activities connected to work placements and collaboration with the labour market.

This type of mobility within the Nordplus network is recommended to be financed from other sources (e.g. Erasmus+ which also offers funding oppor­tunities for non-academic staff). Nordplus networks are encouraged to examine the possibilities of any such funding at partner institu­tions and how this could be used for staff mobility in the Nordplus network. This helps to save more of Nordplus’ limited resources for projects and network meetings.

The minimum duration of the teacher exchange is eight teaching/working hours.

The following rules apply to Nordplus teacher mobility grants:

  • If the grant is paid as an individual scholarship, confirmation of receipt of the scholarship should be signed before payment (please find the document on nordplusonline.org).
  • A final report on the exchange must be submitted by the grant holder after the exchange has been completed.

Project

Intensive courses

Nordplus Higher Education awards grants for intensive courses lasting between one week (five working days) and one month. Courses may take place during term time or in the summer by way of short courses, sym­posiums, master classes or workshops. Intensive courses must include students and academic staff from at least three different countries. The courses must yield ECTS points and must be recognised as part of the students’ degree. The number of ECTS points should be stated in the application.

PhD students may act as teachers on intensive courses. They are not eligi­ble for a grant if they are students in the programme.

The same intensive course can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted. It is recom­mended that the hosting institution is rotated.

Joint study programmes

Nordplus Higher Education awards grants for development of joint study programmes.

Nordplus joint study programmes are defined as follows:

  • Programmes are full-degree study programmes established according to national legislation.
  • Programmes lead to a degree recognised by national authorities.
  • Degree certificates with a Diploma Supplement are issued according to national legislation.
  • Mobility is integrated into the programme setup.
  • Programmes are developed jointly, and all courses and study units should be approved by all participating parties.
  • The collaborative venture is governed by a signed agreement defining its aims as well as the roles of the participating parties.

These definitions set the target aimed for but Nordplus can award grants for all stages of the development process, from the very first idea up to finalisation.

The same joint study programme can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted.

Development projects

Nordplus Higher Education offers grants for innovative development pro­jects within the field of Higher Education.

For cross-sector projects, networks are recommended to apply the Nord­plus Horizontal programme. Apart from joint curriculum planning and joint modules, projects may focus on issues such as:

  • Collaboration with the labour market
  • Quality assurance
  • The dissemination and use of results achieved by networks and projects
  • The development of collaborations with other institutions in the public or private sectors as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within Higher Education
  • The development of new teaching methods.

The same project can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted.

Network meetings

Nordplus Higher Education distributes network support for two types of meetings:

  • Administrative meetings to establish and develop NEW networks. The network is defined as new for three consecutive years but annual appli­cations must be submitted.
  • Meetings of academic staff within ESTABLISHED networks for the quality assurance of mobility, courses and/or admission of new part­ners.

Meetings within ESTABLISHED Nordplus network can be financed from other sources (e.g. Erasmus+ which also offers funding oppor­tunities for non-academic staff via “Organisational Support” and in “Staff Training” if the agenda of the meetings meets the criteria of staff training). Nordplus networks are encouraged to examine the possibilities of any such funding at partner institutions and how this could be used for staff mobility for network meetings.