ERASMUS MUNDUS PARTNERSHIP - ACTION 2

Lot 8 Latin America

Group A: Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua
Group B: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay, Venezuela
" Mobility As keY factor for quAlity eNhancement of EU and LA univErsiTies
MAYA-NET
Application reference number 552061-EM-1-2014-1-IT-ERA MUNDUS-EMA21

https://erasmusmundus.univaq.it/mayanet/
GUIDELINES FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP HOLDERS STAY ABROAD
Once the final list of selected candidates has been approved by the Selection Committee, the
coordinator will contact each of the candidates individually, as well as partner institutions.

Home universities
Visa Support
Support the scholarship holders in the process of obtaining their visas, contacting the embassy at the
home country, elaborating further on the programme, informing them about the results of the
selection and finding out on any specific requirements to obtain the visa.
Learning Agreement and Research/Work plan
Offering orientation to fulfil the learning agreement or research/work plan:
Home institutions will facilitate the signature of the learning agreement or research/work plan by the
person responsible of the mobility (International Relations Office), the Coordinator at
Faculty/Department Level and the student. We recommend signing at least 3 copies.
Contact the hosting institution in order to start the approval procedures of the learning agreement or
research/work plan and to know which documents the hosting university will require from them.

Host universities
Invitation letters
Host universities will receive the Statement of Scholarship Acceptance and the Declaration of
Honour, signed by the scholarship holder.
One week after receiving these documents (at the latest) invitation letters (Draft ANNEX) will be sent
via email to the scholarship holders. A copy will also be sent to the person responsible at the home
institution. The original will be sent by post to the home institution (when the scholarship holders belong to
partner institutions) or the scholarship holder (when their home institutions do not belong to the
consortium). Along with the invitation letters you shall also send information about the
course/programme/project and pre-arrival information.
Pre-Arrival Information
Below you will find suggestions of what can be included in pre-arrival information:
o How to apply for a Visa/Residence permit: specific information and steps to follow
o Specific admission procedures to selected programme
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Information about the scholarship

The university and the country
Travel information
Arrival Day and orientation programme
Information meetings
Accommodation
Financials (bank account)
Student life
Information for visiting staff
Language course
Contact information

Learning Agreement and Research/Work plan

Cooperation with scholarship holder and home university for the approval and signature of the
learning agreement or research/work plan. A scanned copy of this document, duly signed and stamped by
sending and receiving institutions, is compulsory for the purchasing of the travel tickets. Therefore, the
negotiation of the Learning Agreement / Research/Work plan between both institutions will start right after
the candidate notifies the acceptance of the scholarship.
The scholarship holder shall be put in contact with the person in charge of the mobility/ his / her
coordinator.
The Learning agreement or research/work plan must be duly completed and signed by the respective
supervisors at the home and host universities. We recommend signing at least three copies of the learning
agreement or research/work plan.
When a change is made to the initially signed document (for example, a change of a subject in the
host institution), a new Learning Agreement must be filled in, signed, and sent to all involved institutions,
respecting the abovementioned procedure. The new document will replace the old one. Please take into
consideration the fact that one month after the beginning of the mobility no more changes should be
undertaken so as to ensure the fulfilment of all mobility requirements within the established deadlines
Contact the Embassies
Two weeks after the selection notice (at the latest), host institutions will send information to the
embassies about the incoming scholarship holders, with copy to the coordinating institution. The host
institution will offer total support to the scholarship holders during visa procedures, establishing
permanent contact with the embassies at their home countries and contacting national entities responsible
of issuing the visas (for example, Ministries of foreign affairs).
Dates of the mobility
The Host Universities will also establish the dates of the mobility with the home university (if
applicable) and the scholarship holders and the department that will host the mobility.
The host institutions need to inform the coordinating team about the exact start and end date for the
whole mobility period. The plane tickets will be bought according to these dates, so if there is a mistake on
the dates it will be the host institutions responsibility.
For the first cohort, it is strongly recommended that the mobility will not start before the middle of
August 2015 and no later than 31st December 2015, this last condition (31st December 2015) is not
applicable to staff mobility.
Support with Accommodation
The host institutions will provide the grantees with a list of short term accommodation before their
arrival (or, when possible, the host institution will book the accommodation for them) and will assist the
grantees in finding an accommodation in the private market after the grantees arrival to the hosting
country.
Scholarship holders arrival at host university
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Upon arrival, the hosting institutions will organize a welcoming meeting for the scholarship holders.
The scholarship holders will receive a package with relevant information on the institution, admission
procedures, bank account creation and other practical details.
The host institution will collect boarding cards and travel receipts and send the originals to the
Coordinator by post.
As soon as they arrive, the scholarship holder and the contact person at the host university must
sign the Scholarship Contract. This should be done 5 days after the arrival to the host institution, at
the latest. The two original copies should be sent to the Coordinator by post. Moreover, the
Confirmation of Arrival/Departure (ANNEX) needs to be signed up upon arrival of the scholarship
holder as well. Once filled in and signed by the contact person at the host institution, it will be
sent to the Coordinator.

Payment of the Scholarship

The first scholarship1, corresponding to the first two months of mobility, can be paid by the host
institution after the scholarship holders arrival to the host institution and once the signed Scholarship
Contract, Confirmation of Arrival/Departure and bank account details are available.
The host institution will pay the scholarships on a monthly basis, according to the information in
the Scholarship Contract.
The total number of scholarships awarded is directly related to the exact period of the mobility in the
host institution.
The scholarship holders will only be granted a scholarship for their exact period of stay at the host
institution and not the initially foreseen period of stay.
In cases when the duration of the mobility period does not include a full number of months, the
16-day rule applies in order to fulfil one month of mobility (e.g.: in case a student undertakes a mobility
period of 9 months and 15 days, 9 months will be accounted; if a student undertakes a mobility period
of 9 months and 16 days, 10 months will be accounted).
Reception and Follow-up of the students
The reception of MAYANET scholarship holders may be coordinated with the ordinary welcome
reception for exchange students. However, we also recommend you to organize meetings especially for
this group where you inform them about your academic system, the scholarship, etc.
During the term, each partner university is obliged to follow up the progress of each scholarship
holder once or twice per term. You are therefore advised to have a meeting with the scholarship
holder, together with his/her supervisor/ teacher if possible.
Recognition Tools
Mobility students must receive b y t h e h o s t u n i v e r s i t y a transcript of records in English
certifying the list of courses undertaken, the number of ECTS credits achieved and the grades
obtained. Degree-seeking students will receive their certificate, as well as a diploma supplement when
possible.
Staff and post-doc scholarship holders will receive a confirmation of work/training undertaken
prepared and signed by the person in charge of their mobility, and it will include the assessment of the
work accomplished.
Travel procedures
The scholarship holder should arrive and leave the host university on dates as close as possible to
those stated in the invitation letter provided by the host university, usually within a margin of up to
seven days. If the dates of the scholarship holders stay abroad are, e.g., from 15 September to 15
February, the scholarship holder should not arrive at the host university before 9 September and have

Staff mobilities only receive a one-month payment, corresponding to the duration of the mobility.

left by 22 February. Should there be activities such as introduction/orientation weeks prior to when the
academic semester starts, it is then acceptable to arrive in time for that.
The host institution will send all original travel and visa documents, received from the scholarship
holder together with the respective reimbursement request, to the University of LAquila. This must be
done initially by e-mail (mayanet@univaq.it) and then by international post. Without original travel
documents, these costs cannot be reimbursed.

FINANCIAL REPORTS
The Coordinator will receive from each European partner a detailed financial report regarding the
payment of the scholarships twice per year upon request.
MOBILITY CHECK LIST
CHECK LIST FOR HOME UNIVERSITIES
Pre-departure
1. Supporting the scholarship holder through the visa process, contacting embassies/consulates
of host country at home country and informing them about Erasmus Mundus and the results of
the selection.
2. Offering guidance for the elaboration of mobility documents (Learning Agreement or
Research/work plan)
3. Facilitating the signature of learning agreement or research/work plan (3 copies recommended)
4. Contacting the host university to obtain approval on the learning agreement or research/work
plan
CHECK LIST FOR HOST UNIVERSITIES
Pre-arrival
1. Invitation letter and information pack for Scholarship holders (special emphasis on admission
procedures)
2. Finding coordinators and assist with preparation of Learning agreements
3. Contacting Embassies for specific visa requirements, if necessary
4. Sending invitation letters to Embassies
5. Establishing dates of the mobility and officially communicating them to the Coordinator
6. Sending list of short term accommodation or supporting scholarship holders in finding an
accommodation
Upon arrival
1. Organizing a welcome meeting with the incoming scholarship holders and introducing the dates
on the partner section.
2. Signing the Scholarship Contract and Confirmation of arrival and sending them to
mayanet@univaq.it max. 5 days after the arrival
3. Collecting boarding passes and other tickets,
4. Sending the originals to the Coordinator: Scholarship Contract, Confirmation of arrival, Boarding
passes and tickets, signed Request for reimbursement of travel and visa costs
5. Final version of learning agreement or research/work plan , signed by both parties, 4 weeks after
the start of the mobility
During the term
1. Organising follow-up meetings
2. Drawing up institutional reports
Upon departure
1. Issuing transcript of records / Report of Activities for exchange scholarship holders, certificate and
diplomas supplement for full degree ones.
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