BEFORE MOBILITY:

The interested students will prepare their Learning Agreement (Before mobility parts ONLY) together with their exchange coordinator. The exchange coordinator needs to sign the LA as well as the Institutional Coordinator at IUS (if the LA indicates it). The document should then be brought/sent to IRO for approval and stamping. Once the Before Mobility form is ready, it is sent to IRO along with the application form, transcript and copy of passport, and evaluated by the Selection Committee and ranked according to the set criteria. 

All applicants will be informed about the selection results within one week of the call expiry under regular conditions.

The Selection results will be forwarded to the host university who will send instructions on further application steps. This will be forwarded directly to the student or the mobility coordinator who will then inform the students.

In normal circumstances, students are expected to prepare 3 identical copies of the Learning Agreement whereby one copy will remain with IRO.

Each University will define their set of required documents and the students are expected to obtain them within the set period of time.

The usual documents requested by the host university include (but are not limited to):

• copy of a valid passport (valid for at least the period of stay at the host country)
• application form of the host university
• transcript of records
• student certificate
• photo
• English language proficiency certificate
• health insurance
• residence permit (for non-Bosnian citizens)
• accommodation verification

The above-listed documents need to be provided before the host university can send an Acceptance Letter. This letter is mandatory for your Visa.

VISA

All students staying in a foreign country longer than 90 days require a Visa D or a residence permit from the host country. This is usually provided by the relevant Embassy. Once the student receives an Acceptance letter from the host university, he/she needs to contact the relevant embassy and inquire about the needed documents and procedure for obtaining their visa.

 

HEALTH INSURANCE

Most countries and universities require that incoming students have insured health coverage during their mobility. This is usually one of the main requirements of the relevant embassy in order to issue the visa. Health insurance requirements vary from country to country and the most relevant information is provided either by the host university or the embassy!

ACCOMMODATION

The host university usually provides different accommodation options for incoming students. These usually include dormitories or apartments that they suggest. in some cases booking the accommodation offered by the university is mandatory but usually, the student is free to make its own reservations. Please note that most accommodation facilities require you to pay a deposit prior to or upon your arrival so please calculate this into your initial expenses!

SCHOLARSHIP

If you have been selected for mobility through a funded exchange program, you will be paid a scholarship by the host university. For Erasmus+ program, this usually ranges between 800-850 Euros per month + covered travel expenses usually amounting to 275 Euros (depending on the distance of the host university). You will be paid for the full period of your stay (according to the period of stay indicated on your Acceptance letter). The payment modality is set by each host university according to their own policies whereby some will pay in installments, some in two, three turns, some before your arrival, some in the first week of your arrival…The whole payment issue is regulated in the Grant Agreement which you will sign with the host university.

DURING MOBILITY

Upon arrival to the host university, there might be a need to make changes to the courses that you initially selected in your Learning Agreement. The host university will provide you with an updated list of courses offered and ask you to indicate the changes in your Learning Agreement.

Please contact your Exchange coordinator before you make any changes. The coordinator has to approve the changes and match the new courses with the IUS courses. Send the During mobility part of the Learning Agreement to your exchange coordinator and to IRO indicating the changes that you made. The exchange coordinator will sign the During mobility part and return it to IRO for stamping. IRO will send you back the signed and stamped copy of your During mobility part of the LA. The hard copy will be with IRO and given to you upon your return.

In exceptional cases, the exchange coordinator can give his/her approval to the changes only through email. In this case, the student needs to save this email and present it upon return to IRO.

For any other inquires during your mobility, please feel free to contact IRO.

AFTER MOBILITY

Before your official return to your home university, you will be given instructions both by your home and your host university on the required documents and activities that you need to undertake in order to complete your mobility period.

The host university will either provide you with the hard copies of the required documents or it will send them electronically or by postal mail to IUS.

The documents required by IUS in order to carry out your course transfer and recognition:

• Original Transcript of Records (ToR) from the host university
• Translation into English of the ToR by a court-certified translator if the ToR is not issued in English (upon your return)
• Signed and stamped Before Mobility part of the LA by both universities
• Signed and stamped During Mobility part of the LA by both universities
• After mobility part of the LA – to be completed upon return indicating the IUS courses that correspond to the courses SUCCESSFULLY completed at the host university (indicate IUS course code, IUS course name and IUS number of ECTS – DO NOT WRITE THE GRADES EARNED AT THE HOST INSTITUTION) – The After mobility needs to be approved and signed by the exchange coordinator.
• Evaluation Form for Outgoing Students

Once you have collected all the documents, please bring them to IRO within the set deadline (the last day before the course registration for the new semester starts). 

IRO will check all your documents and take them to SAO for course transfer and recognition.

PROS AND CONS OF EXCHANGE

PROS OF EXCHANGE

These days, having a multicultural experience is hugely important. Research into the benefits of Erasmus+ by the European Union shows that employment chances for a new graduate increases between 28 to 44 % as well as an increased performance after their return in their regular studies before graduating.

Experiencing life immersed over a semester provides a chance for developing culturally and socially, as you face and overcome obstacles on your own, without your parents helping you, in a country whose language you probably do not speak and in a new university whose traditions and ways are different than your home institution.

CONS OF EXCHANGE

Everything good comes with a touch of risk, and this holds true for Erasmus+. There are two main problems:

1. Course matching and course recognition. It may not be possible to find a specific course that you need in order to graduate, even if it was listed before you actually arrive in your host institution. So each exchange comes with the risk that you may have to extend your studies by a semester or a year. If this is a dealbreaker for you, you should not go. If you do, it must be with the understanding that you may have to extend your studies because either the course you needed was or became unavailable or the mark you attained was not enough for a pass or for recognition here.

2. You may face discrimination or racism or simply feel you cannot adapt to the place you went to. It may be hard to deal with the local culture or institution.

Please make your decision to go after thinking about all these potential issues.