Work placements in Europe (Erasmus+)

Do you want to improve your teaching skills in English? Or would you like to become familiar with different working processes? The Münster University offers academic and non-academic staff the opportunity to organise stays abroad with Erasmus+. Benefit from a change of perspective and start a conversation with your European colleagues. 

Your International Office makes this possibles and offers advice. Find out more about all the options and details here. This information sheet [DE] provides a first visual overview.

Counselling

Information sessions

• 1) Guidance: Opportunities & Applications

  For researchers

  Dates: biannual in January & September
  Next date: Monday, 7 September 2026 (11 AM -12:30 PM) via zoom
  Registration: required, by email to staff.mobility@uni-muenster.de
  Note: The event will only take place if there is a sufficient number of registrations.
  Language: German

  For employees in technology & administration

  Dates: biannual in January & September
  Next date: Wednesday, 9 September 2026 (11 AM-12:30 PM) via zoom
  Registration: via Intranet
  Cooperation partners: Human resources development, English Support Centre
  Language: German

• 2) Planning: Organisational procedures & documents

  For all travellers

  Information sessions: ‘Procedures & Forms’
  Tuesday, 25 November 2025 
  Wednesday, 14 January 2026 
  Monday, 20 April 2026 
  12 noon–1 pm via Zoom on each occasion
  Registration via Mail

  The selected date should be at least 3 months before departure.

Personalised advice

If you have been unable to find the information you need from our resources, we would be happy to offer you personalised advice.

• Counselling via mail

  Please contact us by email to ask any questions you may have (team mailbox).

• Online Counselling

  You are also welcome to contact us during our office hours.
  
  Schedules:

  • Tuesday 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • Thursday 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

  Registration: Not required
  Format: Video conference (Zoom)
  Meeting ID: 698 9204 3945
  Passcode: 857319

Current News

Current processing status

Travel documents are generally reviewed and prepared in the order of departure date. Our current focus is on mobilities with arrival in

• October & November 2026 (as of 25 September 2026)

If your mobility starts at a later date, please refrain from enquiring about the current processing status. Thank you very much!

Note regarding the current application period

• Application deadline extended to 15 October 2026
• Valid for all trips in 2027 (main application period)
• NEW: Online Application Form

Good reasons to go abroad

Benefits of Erasmus+

Erasmus+ is an education programme run by the European Union. Watch this DAAD video to find out how you can benefit personally from it whilst contributing to European cooperation. General information on the Erasmus+ programme can be found here.

Real-life examples

You can see just how refreshingly different everyday life abroad can be in the photo gallery below, compiled by a former colleague. Feel free to draw inspiration from the testimonials on the DAAD website too. What experiences will you draw on later?

Impressions

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Eligible groups

If you are in employment and have a contractual relationship with the University of Münster, you are eligible for funding under the Erasmus+ programme.

• Technical and administrative staff (MTV)

  … within the various

  •     administrative departments
  •     central admnistrative unit
  •     faculties
  •     other units

  … for example, from the following areas

  •     Library
  •     Finance
  •     Human Resources
  •     Secretariat
  •     Advisory Services
  •     Public Relations
  •     etc.

• University and research managers

  … operate at the interface between academia and administration, for example in the following areas:

  •     Administration
  •     Financial and third-party funding management
  •     Diversity management
  •     Internationalisation

  Depending on the nature of their contractual relationship with the University of Münster, the rules applicable are those

  •     for technical and administrative staff (MTV)
  •     or for academic staff

• Academic researchers and staff

  … such as:

  •     Professors
  •     Postdocs
  •     Lecturers
  •     Other teaching staff (with and without an endowment)

  The following may also be eligible for secondary funding:

  • Research staff (including doctoral candidates)
  • Professors Emeritus
  • Retired faculty members
  • Former faculty lecturers (with or without an endowment)
  • Private lecturers
  • Fellows

  as long as a contractual relationship with the University of Münster exists.

Options and details

Here you will find options tailored to your target group. These contain links to subpages with specific details. For further general information, please scroll down this main page.

• For technical and administrative staff (MTV)

  • Staff Mobility for Training (STT): Would you like to find fresh inspiration for your day-to-day work, improve your language skills or undertake subject-specific training? Find out more here about the ‘Staff mobility for training and further education’ funding scheme.
  • Sharing your expertise: Teaching abroad is also an option for MTV! Would you like to share your expertise with a partner university? Combine at least 4 hours of professional development with 4 hours of teaching, or spend 8 hours exclusively on teaching. If you’re interested, please feel free to send us an email.

• For academic staff 

  • Staff Moblilty for Teaching (STA): Would you like to share your expertise, practise teaching in English and gain experience in working with international students? Find out more here about the ‘Staff mobility for teaching purposes’ funding scheme.
  • Staff Mobility for Training (STT): Would you like to find fresh inspiration for your day-to-day work, improve your language skills or undertake subject-specific training? Find out more here about the ‘Staff mobility for training and further education’ funding scheme.

  Would you like to teach and pursue your own professional development at the same time? Combine at least 4 hours of teaching with 4 hours of professional development (or a proportionally higher number of hours for stays of more than 1 week). All other conditions are the same as those for Staff Mobility for Teaching (STA).

  •  

Application

• Application deadlines

  Applications/enquiries:

  •     may be submitted at any stage of planning
  •     the earlier, the better
  •     must be submitted by the deadline

  Application deadlines:

  •     1 February for travel in the current calendar year (from May)
  •     1 October for travel in the following calendar year (from January)
  •     Exceptions may be granted on request in particularly justified cases

• General selection criteria

  • Formale Voraussetzungen z.B:
    • EU-Voraussetzungen
    • Erasmus+ Förderfähigkeit
    • Fristgerechte Bewerbung
  • Formale Auswahlkriterien z.B:
    • Faire Verteilung
    • Chancengleichheit
  • Qualitative Auswahlkriterien z.B:
    • Strategische inhaltliche Relevanz für die Universität Münster
    • Anbahnung / Vertiefung von Partnerschaften / Kooperationen
    • Wirkung / Reichweite an der Universität Münster

• Additional information: Selection criteria for Technical and Administrative Staff (MTV)

  For staff in technical and administrative roles, the following additional criteria apply in addition to the general selection criteria:

  • Mobility period: usually 7–10 days
  • Necessity/reasonableness/justification as stated in the application
  • Language skills as stated in the application (if insufficient: a language course is recommended, followed by a new application by the next deadline)

Equal Opportunities

• Employees with a child or children

  To balance your family responsibilities with your business trip abroad, you have the following options:

  • Bear in mind that two-day stays are also possible (depending on the destination, this may even include travel to and from the location)
  • You can take your child(ren) abroad with you.
    • This also applies to school-age children, provided the school gives its approval. Tip: Explain your situation and ask for advice.  

    • To enable cover additional costs incurred whilst abroad, such as accommodation and childcare for your child(ren), you can apply to the DAAD for special funding from EU sources. You can find further information on this under ‘Special Grants’.

• In the case of a chronic illness or disability

  If you wish to spend time abroad despite having a chronic illness or disability, the following services may be of use to you:

  If you

  • have a chronic physical or mental illness
  • have a disability with a GdB of 20 or more
  • or have a recognised disability that results in additional financial needs

  you can apply to the DAAD for special funding from EU sources, for example, to

  •     cover additional costs incurred whilst abroad
  •     take an accompanying person with you abroad
  •     undertake a preparatory trip (including with an accompanying person). 

   

  Further information on this can be found under ‘Special Funding’.

  You can find useful information on accessibility abroad here:

  • Wheelmap.org
  • InclusiveMobility.eu

  Further advice is available from our partner organisations:

  • Office for Equality

Special grants

• Green Travel

  One of the cross-cutting objectives of the Erasmus programme for the 2021–2027 programme cycle is to promote sustainability and ‘Green Erasmus’. ‘Green Travel’ is therefore supported by additional financial grants under the Erasmus+ programme.

  According to the Erasmus programme’s definition, a journey is considered green if at least 50 per cent of the total distance (outward and return journeys combined) to the destination of the mobility period is covered using low-emission transport. Travel by bicycle, train, bus, carpool or any other sustainable mode of transport is considered ‘green’. Travel by ship cannot be regarded as sustainable. Air travel is not considered a sustainable mode of transport, even if CO₂ emissions are offset.

  Under the Erasmus+ Staff Mobility for Teaching and Training (ST) funding scheme, if the requirements for green travel are met, a total of up to four additional days may be funded as travel days (for the outward and return journeys combined; these days do not affect either the minimum or maximum duration of the mobility period).

  In addition, all grant recipients who travel sustainably and receive a travel allowance will be paid a slightly higher travel allowance for sustainable travel.

  The difference in funding for green travel compared to a standard trip is added to the calculated funding amount for a standard trip. In some cases, the total funding amount may therefore, exceptionally, exceed the €1,500 limit applicable to standard trips.

  Further information can be found in the Funding & Business Travel Application [DE] under the ‘Green Travel’ tab.

• Exceptionally expensive travel

  If you can demonstrate that your travel allowance covers less than 70 per cent of your actual travel costs, you have the option of applying, via the International Office, for an actual-cost grant from the DAAD to cover exceptional costs for ‘expensive travel’. This grant will then replace the travel allowance. If you are interested, please email us at least 3 months before your departure.

• Special grants for equal opportunities

  If you

  • are travelling abroad with a child or children
  • or have a chronic illness
  • or a disability,

  you can apply for the following special grants funded by the EU:

  • For your stay abroad:

  To cover various additional costs incurred during your stay abroad, you have the option of applying for supplementary financial support of up to 15,000 EUR per mobility period.

  This requires a claim for actual expenses, including various supporting documents, which you can prepare with the support of the International Office and submit to the DAAD up to two months before your departure.

  It is possible to submit a follow-up application. This requires a separate application.

  If you are interested, please send us an email.

  • For a preparatory visit:

  Preparatory visits are generally intended for potential grant recipients with a disability and their accompanying persons who need to assess the conditions on the ground in order to determine whether a longer stay is feasible.

  An application for reimbursement of actual costs must also be submitted to the DAAD for this purpose. A total of 15,000 EUR per mobility project may be approved.

  If you are interested, please send us an email

   

Important information

Entry, Safety, Health

Please familiarise yourself with the important information and obligations for Erasmus+ grant holders by consulting our information sheets on business travel safety [DE] and insurance cover [DE].

Please also check the intranet for the latest guidance on business trips abroad from the ‘Travel Expenses, Teaching Assignments and Accident Matters’ department (Dep. 3.2) regarding the following topics:

• Safety
• Certificate of secondment
• Insurance cover

For example, in some countries you now need proof of social security cover in Germany (posting certificate / Form A1).

In the event that a serious emergency arises during your stay that threatens your safety or health (e.g., a natural disaster), the NA DAAD now offers a 24/7 email contact option known as the “safety email”: erasmus_emergency@daad.de

You are also welcome to make use of the resources provided by the Federal Foreign Office [DE]. There you will find useful general advice as well as country-specific information on entry requirements, safety and health.

Preparation and follow-up

• Language courses & language tests

  You can make use of the following free resources to prepare for and follow up on your language learning:

  • Services offered by the University of Münster
    • English courses and language tandems run by the English Support Centre [DE] (see also University of Münster Continuing Education)
    • Further language courses, language tandems and language certificates offered by the Language Centre
  • Online Language Support (OLS) via the EU Academy platform
    • An EU service for Erasmus+ grant holders to use before, during and after their stay abroad,
      featuring self-assessment tests and online language courses for 24 languages at various levels (from A1 upwards)
    • Access is available on request via staff.mobility@uni-muenster.de and is valid for 3 years; a quick guide from the DAAD is available for download here

• Intercultural workshops

  To enable with intercultural preparation and follow-up, you can make use of the International Office’s free programme, ‘The Larger Picture’, which consists of:

  • Intercultural workshops for teaching staff and administrative staff (see also University of Münster professional development)
  • News and events

• Recognition of your stay

  All Erasmus+ placements are officially recognised as business trips, and placements for further training are additionally recognised as in-service training.

  New: All grant recipients in the current funding period will receive a certificate of participation from the International Office. If you travelled before October 2023 and require a certificate, please feel free to email us.

• Become an Erasmus+ ambassador!

  If you are an experienced Erasmus+ participant and are interested in inspiring your colleagues or supporting them in the planning process, please feel free to get in touch by email.

  There are various ways in which you can get involved as an Erasmus+ ambassador, whether at central, departmental or country level. We greatly appreciate your commitment and support.

Further information

• Useful links from partner organisations

  Continuing professional development:

  Staff development (Dep. 3.5)

  The Larger Picture

  Language Centre > English Support Service

  Online Language Support (OLS)

  
  Safety

  Business travel abroad (Dept. 3.21)

  Federal Foreign Office > Safe Travel

  
  Inclusion

  Family Service Office

  Equality Office

  Representative for People with Severe Disabilities

  
  Erasmus+

  European Commission > Erasmus+

  DAAD > Erasmus+

• Useful links for sustainable travel

  • Comparison of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for different modes of transport: ecopassenger
  • Information on CO₂ offsetting: Federal Environment Agency [DE]
  • Find the best route based on journey time, price and emissions: routerank
  • The Federal Environment Agency’s CO₂ calculator: CO₂ calculator
  • Information on climate-efficient airlines: atmosfair 

• General programme information

  This project was funded with the support of the European Commission. The author is solely responsible for the content of this publication; the Commission accepts no liability for any further use of the information contained therein. This applies to this entire page, including all linked pages.

  General information on the EU’s Erasmus+ education programme can be found at University of Münster > International > Profile > Erasmus+, including the current ECHE Charter for Higher Education (agreement between the European Commission and the University of Münster).

  Further information and advice on Erasmus+ mobility schemes are available from the

   

  German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
  Contact
  Instagram DAAD
  Youtube DAAD