Erasmus+ for work

Erasmus+ funding covers the following countries:

To apply for Erasmus+ both you and your host company will need to complete some documents before you start work. You cannot join Erasmus+ retrospectively, so if you have already started with them then you’re not eligible for the fund. 

Please allow at least four weeks before the start of your placement for the documents to be processed, as information and approval are required from you, your employer and BU’s Global Engagement Mobility Officer. You can receive funding until 31 May 2023 when the project ends.

In order for you to be eligible for Erasmus+ funding the following criteria must be met: 

• Be enrolled as a BU student, or a recent graduate
• Recent graduates must have completed the mobility within 12 months following their BU course end date
• If your overseas traineeship is part of your official BU placement year, then it must have been approved by your Placement Coordinator before you apply 
• If your overseas traineeship is voluntary (i.e not part of your BU placement) then you will need to tell us how the work relates to your BU degree 
• You have not yet started your placement 
• You meet the eligibility criteria in terms of duration (minimum of 60 days) and destination country (must be an EEA country) before 31 May 2023. 

To apply for Erasmus+ funding for work abroad, please complete our Funding Eligibility Survey.  

It is your responsibility to organise your traineeship. If it is a placement you can use the resources and support provided by your faculty Placement Co-ordinator. For voluntary traineeships get in touch with the BU Careers and Employability Service who can give advice on how to find work overseas using the resources on MyCareerHub, the GoinGlobal tool is a particularly helpful resource for students looking to work abroad.

GoinGlobal Toolkit

GoinGlobal is a comprehensive career and employment resources toolkit filled with everything you need to find work abroad. It’s free to use for BU students/ graduates and gives access to:

• A range of country career guides providing professional advice on searching for work in specific countries
• More than 16 million worldwide job and internship opportunities which are updated daily
• A searchable Key Employer Directory containing more than 450,000 overseas employer profiles representing both 'local' and 'multinational' employers which can be searched by location, industry and/or company name.

You can find further information about grant amounts and how the grant is structured in the Erasmus Applicant’s Guide.

You may also be eligible for additional financial support towards your travel expenses – visit gov.uk for further information.

Many students find work overseas where English is the required language. Should you wish to learn or improve your knowledge of European languages such as French, Spanish, German, or Italian, you can benefit from the free self-learning programmes and conversation clubs offered by [email protected].

Erasmus+ also offers free online courses covering a range of European languages. These are currently optional for native speakers of English working in English during their semester abroad, as well as for speakers of English as a foreign language who have met BU's language entry requirements and academic performance standards.

Please read thoroughly the key advice offered by Erasmus+ on travel, insurance, and other practical matters that you need to be aware of when preparing for working overseas.

Our drop-in sessions are every Monday (virtual) and Wednesday (in person) afternoons during term time. During the summer holidays our drop-in sessions are every Monday (virtual) and no sessions on Wednesdays. The sessions are open to all students wanting to find out about opportunities to study and work overseas during your degree and the funding available to support you. 

Want to drop in?

• Mondays 1pm - 5pm: Join us online via Microsoft Teams, search “BU Study and Work Overseas Drop in” access the session here
• Wednesdays 1pm - 5pm: Visit us in person in the Global Mobility Hub, Poole House, Talbot Campus - next to the student shop.

To find out more about the eligibility and funding available for work overseas email [email protected].