The mobility of students, teachers and non-teaching staff is an important dimension of higher education internationalisation. Like other countries participating in the Bologna process, Croatia also aims to achieve the goal that 20% of those graduating in 2020 have spent a period of study or training abroad. Targets for outgoing (10%) and incoming (5%) students were also set to be achieved by 2025 through semester mobility. Furthermore, the mobility of non-teaching and teaching staff undoubtedly leads to student mobility and to higher education internationalisation.
Student mobility
Erasmus+
The Erasmus+, the leading European programme in education and training aims at supporting projects of mobility in higher education. Most of outgoing and incoming mobilities in Croatia are funded through the Erasmus+ Programme. Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes conducts the Programme in Croatia.
Croatia joined the largest and undoubtedly the most successful mobility programme of the European Union in 2009 when higher education institutions in Croatia could have applied only for outgoing mobility. After a two-year preparatory period during which student mobility was an absolute strategic goal and priority, the Ministry of Science and Education secured additional budget funds to finance the so-called Erasmus zero grant mobility for all students who fulfilled minimum requirements. Since 2011 Croatia has been a fully-fledged participant in the Lifelong Learning Programme, including Erasmus and all the activities foreseen by that programme.
Students can participate in the Erasmus+ in the form of following activities:
- a study period abroad at a partner higher education institution (3 to 12 months)
- a traineeship (work placement) abroad in an enterprise or any other relevant workplace (2 to 12 months).
Student mobility can be in any subject area or academic discipline. The mobility activity has to be compatible with the student’s degree-related learning and personal development needs. The study period abroad must be part of the student’s study programme to complete a degree. Study periods can include traineeship periods. Wherever possible, the traineeships should be an integrated part of the student’s study programme.
Moreover, when studying abroad, Erasmus students remain eligible to all support granted to them in Croatia (e.g. scholarships to which the student became entitled in a Croatian institution of tertiary education, county scholarships).
In addition to outgoing mobility, incoming mobility is also stimulated. For example, student rights to subsidised meals are ensured under equal conditions for all Erasmus students studying at higher education institutions in Croatia.
In order to attract foreign students and prepare their arrival in the best possible manner, website Study in Croatia has been launched.
Erasmus Mundus
The Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees has been a component part of the Erasmus+ programme since 2014. In the Erasmus Mundus programme, students from any country in the world may apply for the Erasmus Mundus grant to study in one of the international shared study programmes developed and implemented by the consortium of European or even non-European universities. An EMJMD is a high-level integrated international study programme of 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits, delivered by an international consortium of higher education institutions from different countries. The successful completion of the EMJMD Master programme leads to the award of either a joint degree or multiple degrees. The action also supports the award of scholarships to excellent students worldwide for their participation in EMJMD programmes.
Erasmus+ Master Loans
Under the Erasmus+ Programme students who wand to complete a full study programme at Master level in another programme country can apply for a loan to contribute to their costs. Erasmus+ loans are a quite new scheme under the Erasmus+ Programme. Students who can apply must be a resident of one of the Erasmus+ programme countries, have successfully completed first cycle higher education studies and have been accepted for a second cycle programme.
CEEPUS
The Central European Exchange Program for University Studies (CEEPUS) is an academic exchange programme for students and university teachers from Central Europe based on multilateral cooperation agreements in the fields of education and research.
The main CEEPUS activity is based on university networks operating joint programmes, ideally leading to joint degrees. In addition to the mobility inside the networks, CEEPUS also supports mobility outside CEEPUS networks, the so-called freemover mobility and short group mobilitries. Each CEEPUS country finances a certain number of scholarship months for the incoming mobility. CEEPUS covers mobility grants for students and teachers in this framework.
Under the CEEPUS programme, all mobility falls into one of four categories, given the category of grantee and the purpose of mobility:
- student: students who wish to realize semester mobility apply for this type of mobility (minimum 3 months)
- short-term student: for this type of mobility apply students who wish to complete mobility for the purpose of research for the final thesis/dissertation (minimum 1 month)
- teacher: for this type of mobility apply teaching staff for the purpose of teaching/mentoring at the host institution and for the purpose of developing inter-university cooperation (minimum 5 days or 3 days in case of short group mobility, other conditions: 6 hours of teaching/mentoring per week)
- short-term excursion: short-term mobility participants (for example, summer schools) apply for this type of mobility (teachers apply under teacher mobility).
The main objectives are focus on joint PhD programs and promoting cooperation in the framework of the EUSDR.
The CEEPUS Programme aims to enable higher education institutions of member countries to receive visiting professors, to exchange students, to organise language and professional courses, summer universities thus strengthening professional and personal relationships among Central European scholars empowering and developing Central Europe. The programme is based on the cooperation of higher education institutions in the member countries. The costs of the CEEPUS programme are paid by the governments of the host countries by covering the costs of living and the grants of CEEPUS grant holders. Within the framework of the programme, all members define quotas (scholarship months) in every academic year; that is, they declare the number of months for which they host foreign students and teachers.
Current member countries are Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. Kosovo is also participating.
National CEEPUS office is situated in the Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes.
Bilateral Programmes of Mobility in Higher Education
Bilateral programmes of mobility in higher education are scholarship programmes for citizens of the Republic of Croatia and citizens from other countries based on international bilateral agreements and cooperation programmes with other countries.
Bilateral programmes include two types of scholarships:
- outgoing scholarships (scholarships granted by partner countries to Croatian citizens)
- incoming scholarships (scholarships granted by the Republic of Croatia to citizens from other countries).
Bilateral scholarships are awarded on the basis of public calls for credit or degree mobility, for a period of study or full-time study, post-doctoral or research stay, summer language courses or semester of Croatian language learning for foreign students. As part of the Bilateral programmes, Croatian citizens can apply for scholarships which are periodically announced by following countries: Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Canada, China, Hungary, Macedonia, Germany, Portugal, Russian Federation, Romania, USA (Fulbright Program), Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (British Scholarship Trust).
Academic Staff Mobility
Erasmus+
The Erasmus+, the leading European programme in education and training aims at supporting projects of mobility in higher education. Most of outgoing and incoming mobilities in Croatia are funded through the Erasmus+ Programme. Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes conducts the Programme in Croatia.
Academic staff can participate in the Erasmus+ in the form of following activities:
- teaching periods which allow academic staff to teach at a partner higher education institution abroad (from 2 days – 5 for partner countries – to 2 months, minimum 8 hours of teaching per week)
- training periods which supports the professional development of HEI teaching and non-teaching staff as well as the development of involved institutions (from 2 days – 5 for partner countries – to 2 months).
Staff mobility for teaching can be in any subject area or academic discipline. Training periods can take the form of training events abroad and job shadowing/observation periods/training at a partner HEI or at another relevant organisation abroad. The mobility period abroad can combine teaching and training activities.
CEEPUS
The Central European Exchange Program for University Studies (CEEPUS) is an academic exchange programme for students and university teachers from Central Europe based on multilateral cooperation agreements in the fields of education and research.
The main CEEPUS activity is based on university networks operating joint programmes, ideally leading to joint degrees. In addition to the mobility inside the networks, CEEPUS also supports mobility outside CEEPUS networks, the so-called freemover mobility and short group mobilities. Each CEEPUS country finances a certain number of scholarship months for the incoming mobility. CEEPUS covers mobility grants for students and teachers in this framework.
See more information under Student mobility.
Bilateral Programmes of Mobility in Higher Education
Bilateral programmes of mobility in higher education are scholarship programmes for citizens of the Republic of Croatia and citizens from other countries based on international bilateral agreements and cooperation programmes with other countries.
Bilateral programmes include outgoing scholarships (scholarships granted by partner countries to Croatian citizens) and incoming scholarships (scholarships granted by the Republic of Croatia to citizens from other countries).
Bilateral scholarships are awarded on the basis of public calls for credit or degree mobility, for a period of study or full-time study, post-doctoral or research stay, summer language courses or semester of Croatian language learning for foreign students