Traineeship mobility (Europe)

Students can apply for Erasmus+ traineeship mobility without having confirmation from particular company for the traineeship period, without knowing when and where exactly the traineeship will be carried out. Company search can be done later. It is the competence of student to find a company/ institution/ university for the traineeship period. Only then the scholarship can be provided.

In September and February all interested persons are invited to participate in informative events about Erasmus+ programme. There are discussed and explained various issues related to the selection process and Erasmus+ scholarships.

Application has to be done online in outgoingexchange.rtu.lv attaching all necessary documents (CV, Transcript of records, Language test certificates if available).  

APPLICATION DEADLINE is March 31 and October 31.

There are two application periods for Erasmus+ mobility – in September/October and February/March. Applications for Erasmus+ study mobility and Erasmus+ trineeship mobility are held separately. In case you would like to apply for both mobilities, you have to choose both mobilities during your online application.

SELECTION PROCESS – Submitting the application in the online platform outgoingexchange.rtu.lv the applicant has to be sure the application is complete and all necessary amendments are uploaded (CV, Transcript of records, Language test certificates if available). All incomplete applications will be rejected after the application deadline.

After the application deadline will be organized an English language test. All applicants will be evaluated based on the average mark and language test results. 

The next application for the Erasmus scholarship will be in March 2023.

Note that if taking part in the selection process, students will be required to have a valid digital Covid-19 certificate, as taking part in on-campus activities is allowed only with a valid Covid-19 certificate according to current regulations in Latvia and RTU.

FINDING PLACEMENT – Finding a placement is students’ responsibility. This process is labor intensive and time consuming. It is recommended to start planning the traineeship in a timely manner. To find a placement, the student can use private contacts, as well as RTU academic staff recommendations. Applying for the Erasmus+ mobility, the student may not have a specific agreement with the enterprise or higher education institution for a period of traineeship yet; however, the student should have a clear vision of the intended traineeship.

Experience of Erasmus+ programme former participants has shown that the studies and traineeships abroad are a valuable asset in the professional and personal growth. It is also a great opportunity to popularize Latvia and its culture, as well as your home country and to improve knowledge of foreign languages.

Student’s activities before the mobility as soon the company/institution is found:

1. The student informs RTU Erasmus+ coordinator about the start and end dates of the traineeship period and the country where traineeship will take place.
2. The student fills in the «Learning Agreement for Traineeships» and collects all necessary signatures.
3. Non-EU students must find out the immigration requirements for the particular country and apply for immigration permit or visa for Erasmus+ students necessary for legal immigration.
4. Before the exchange (for non EU-students – after receiving immigration permit for particular country of mobility), students sign «Mobility Grant Agreement»;
5. The student should find accommodation for the mobility period in a timely manner.

LEARNING AGREEMENT FOR TRAINEESHIPS - Once the student has been nominated for participation in Erasmus+ mobility and found a receiving institution/enterprise abroad where the traineeship will take place, the student in cooperation with the representative of the receiving institution/enterprise draws up the «Learning Agreement for Traineeships» (forms available under Documents for Downloading).

In case of mandatory traineeship, its aims, tasks and duration should be approved not only by the representative of the receiving institution/enterprise, but also by RTU traineeship supervisor; in addition, student must fulfil all requirements of study programme regarding traineeship activities and required documents for acknowledging it. By signing the «Learning Agreement for Traineeships», the programme director and academic advisor at Foreign Students Department confirm that they approve the mobility for traineeship. After Erasmus+ mobility, the responsible persons evaluate traineeship undertaken abroad and recognize it by allocating an appropriate number of credit points.

Voluntary traineeship may take place in a period free from studies, for example, in summer. Its aims, programme and duration should be approved by the programme director and academic advisor at Foreign Students Department. In case of voluntary traineeship, ECTS are not allocated.

If the traineeship takes place after graduation (Traineeships for Recent Graduates), mobility for traineeship is approved by Erasmus+ coordinator at the International Mobility Unit and Erasmus+ institutional coordinator at RTU; it should not be approved by the faculty or FSD representatives. In case of traineeships for recent graduates, ECTS are not allocated; however, it is possible to receive the Confirmation of Traineeship from the receiving institution/enterprise.

IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-EU STUDENTS – Students holding a valid Latvian residence permit can travel within EU countries for 90 days. However, as the traineeship usually lasts longer and the purpose of stay is traineeship not travel, students must be holders of immigration permit (VISA, residence permit, etc.) of the particular country. To find out information on immigration formalities of the receiving country, students must contact the embassy of particular country located in Riga or elsewhere.  

GRANT AGREEMENT - After signing the Learning Agreement for Traineeships, for non-EU students also after settling immigration formalities (holding VISA or residence permit of the particular country) and shortly before going to Erasmus+ mobility, RTU Erasmus+ coordinator and the student conclude the Mobility Grant Agreement, which provides the amount of scholarship, the procedure and time of its allocation. Usually scholarship is paid before the student leaves for mobility.

Online Language Support (OLS) – OLS platform is developed by the European Commission. It is aiming at monitoring the language abilities of students before and after mobility. Students have to do language assessment tests in the main language of mobility before the mobility starts and at the end of mobility. Besides of this everyone is welcome to learn a new language or master a language they have already studied. Click here to get started. 

Student activities during Erasmus+ traineeship

1. If changes in the «Learning Agreement for Traineeships» are necessary, they must be made by completing a section «During the Mobility» and coordinating the changes with the representative of the receiving enterprise and RTU responsible persons.
2. Students must successfully perform traineeship tasks, achieving the set aims. Any problems that occur during the mobility period should be addressed in a timely manner, in cooperation with representative of the receiving enterprise and RTU Erasmus+ coordinator.
3. At the end of Erasmus+ traineeship period, the student has to receive an acknowledgment of the mobility period «Confirmation of Traineeship». For this purpose, the student can also use the section «After the Mobility». The start and end dates of the mobility approved in «Confirmation of Traineeship» must exactly coincide with those written in «Mobility Grant Agreement».

Student activities after Erasmus+ traineeship

1. Within 30 calendar days after the return from mobility, the student must complete and submit an individual report on the online «Beneficiary Module» system. An invitation to complete the report form is sent to the student’s e-mail a few days after the mobility period end date.
2. Students must submit the «Confirmation of Traineeship» and other required documents to RTU Erasmus+ coordinator.
3. In case of a mandatory traineeship after receiving the «Confirmation of Traineeship», the student must immediately contact the study program director and academic advisor at FSD and initiate the process of recognition of the traineeship. Students are responsible for submitting the «Confirmation of Traineeship» to the study programme director and academic advisor at FSD and initiation of recognition of traineeship and received ECTS.

1. Learning Agreement for Traineeship;
2. Learning agreement for traineeship (for recent graduates)
3. Erasmus+ scholarship amounts.

Erasmus+ programme support is available for three types of traineeship mobility:

• Mandatory Traineeship (traineeship that is included in RTU study programme)
  • its aims, tasks and length have to be approved by RTU traineeship supervisor;
  • traineeship mobility is approved by the study programme director and academic advisor at Foreign Students Department.
• Voluntary Traineeship (traineeship that is not a part of RTU study programme)
  • can be carried out during period free from studies, for example, during summer break;
  • traineeship mobility is approved by the study programme director and academic advisor at Foreign Students Department.
• Traineeship as a Recent Graduate 
  • student can receive Erasmus+ scholarship within 1 year after graduating RTU if the student had applied for the scholarship contest while having student status at RTU;
  • traineeship mobility is approved only by the coordinator, it does not have to be approved by faculty representatives or academic advisor at Foreign Students Department.

Link to find suitable placements: https://outgoingexchange.rtu.lv.

Erasmus+ scholarship will be provided to all students nominated for Erasmus+ traineeship mobility in case they find the company/institution/university where to do a traineeship. The nomination will remain valid during studies at RTU and 12 months after graduation. The scholarship amount for the programme countries is determined by the European Commission and State Education Development Agency.

The scholarships are intended to cover the extra costs related to going abroad for traineeship and living in a host country. The scholarships provided by the Erasmus+ programme will only partly cover the total cost of the mobility expenses. The students themselves are responsible for ensuring the necessary additional funding in a timely manner. The traineeship can be paid.

Students with disabilities have the opportunity to apply for additional financial support (additional equipment, special transport, accompanying persons, etc.).

The scholarship amounts are confirmed by the Erasmus+ scholarship commission every year for the current project. For this academic year there are several restrictions confirmed:

• the grant from Latvian state budget co-financing is NOT provided to students, who get paid by their employer more than 500 EUR/month;
• recent graduates can be granted only for a duration of 6 months in one company;
• Latvian state budget co-financing is available to recent graduates whose average weighted grade after graduation is at least 7.5;
• the Erasmus+ scholarship is NOT provided to students, who are on academic leave.

The current scholarship amounts you can see here.

ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is a higher education credit system developed to objectively assess the student’s performance studying at different universities with different evaluation systems or carrying out a traineeship abroad. ECTS facilitates recognition of academic results, and for a mandatory traineeship it means that if a student received ECTS for the traineeship period, the results will be recognized by RTU, included in the RTU transcript of records converting the amount of received ECTS to corresponding amount of credit points. The enterprise issues a confirmation or a certificate for a successful traineeship period, and it is a base for the recognition of a traineeship period. ECTS credits are based on the student’s workload required to achieve the expected learning outcomes. 1 Latvian credit point is equal to 1.5 ECTS.

The credits for voluntary traineeships are not recognised at RTU and are not included in student’s transcript of records. 

RTU International Cooperation Department, International Mobility Unit 12 Azenes Street, room 223; 213, Riga

Evita Miščuka +371 67089314  

Inga Riharda +371 67089067