EU Funding - LATEST on Erasmus +

EU funding for continuing professional development and other training in the education sector is available under the EU programme Erasmus+.

NILE has over twenty years' experience in advising applicants on applying for European funding. Please get in touch with our Registrar, Alison Lake with any queries.

What is Erasmus+ funding?

• Erasmus+ funding helps to cover course fees, travel costs, accommodation and other living costs and preparation costs for individuals and groups of teachers and trainers who wish to travel abroad for professional development courses. All of NILE's courses in Norwich and Galway, Ireland, are eligible for Erasmus+ funding. 
• Erasmus+ funding covers teachers and trainers from the European Union and from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. See below for an update on the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in 2019 (Brexit).

How do I apply for Erasmus+ funding?

1. Preparation

• Identify the person in your school who is responsible for staff development and talk to them about Erasmus+ funding and courses at NILE.
• Find out which of our Face-to-Face Courses would be right for you and your school, or contact us to discuss a tailor-made course for your group.
• Research. Take a good look at the information available: our FAQs down the right hand side of this page and the official EU Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
• If your school does not already have one, draw up a European Development Plan, identifying your school’ strategic development objectives in the long and medium term, and taking a European dimension into consideration. Your Erasmus+ funded project will form part of this plan and can include courses at NILE.
• If you or your school are not already registered with the EU Participant Portal, then do this now. Guidance for registration and how to sign up for a EU login (formerly ECAS) can be found here and on your National Agency website.This process will give you a PIC number, which your school will need for the application.

2. Application

• The 2020 deadline is expected to be early February. Please double check with your National Agency.
• The applications are submitted electronically.The 2020 application form will be availble sooon from your National Agency. 
• A visual sample application form is downloadable from the Erasmus+ website to assist in the preparation of your application.

3. Support

• Most National Agencies offer support and advice through many different channels. We strongly advise youto contact them early to see what they offer, as they will evaluate your application. Evaluation criteria for applications can be found here.  
• The 2019 Erasmus+ application form asked very detailed questions about your European Development Plan, project, activities, outcomes and follow-up. Our best advice is to be as specific as possible, use examples and to bear in mind that the assessors can only base their scoring on the information in your application.
• NILE has produced a sample Erasmus+ application form with advice and links on how to complete your application so as to ensure that you have the best possible chance of securing funding for NILE courses for your organisation:

NILE Erasmus+ Sample Application Form 2019

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS LAST YEAR'S APPLICATION FORM

This document is based on the .pdf you can download when filling in the 2019 application form through your EU login

NILE has over 20 years' experience in advising teachers on European funding. Please get in touch with our Registrar, Alison Lake if you have any further questions.

For more information, visit the EU's Erasmus+ overview page and the Education, Audiovisual and Cultural Executive Agency website. You can also follow Erasmus+ on Facebook and Twitter, or contact your National Agency for details of the process and priorities in your country.

Brexit update September 2019: Unfortunately, the direct impact of Brexit is unclear given the current uncertain political climate. As far as we know, there are currently no plans for the UK to pull out of the Erasmus+ programme in the current funding period (2014-2020). On this basis, until the UK and EU reach a withdrawal agreement accepted by the UK Parliament and further information can be expected, we continue to pre-register applicants for our 2020 courses, as in previous years. As with all advice on Erasmus +, please check with your National Agency, as some have issued separate policies with regard to Brexit. More infomation from our industry association Engilsh UK can be found here, summarised below: 

Entering and leaving the UK after Brexit Day

From Brexit Day to late 2020

No Deal

The Government has announced a transitional period, during which anyone coming to the UK from the EU or EEA for under three months can enter as they do now. Students, workers or holidaymakers who want to come for more than three months will have to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain, which is valid for three years. Anyone driving to the UK will need to have a green card or proof of insurance.

Deal

The Withdrawal Agreement includes an implementation period until December 2020, during which time all travel arrangements remain as they are now.

We will update this page as soon as we get further advice from the industry association, English UK, and the government.