Incoming staff mobility

Guidance on hosting incoming staff visitors.

Most (though not all) staff mobility requests we receive come under the umbrella of the Erasmus+ Staff Mobility programme.  

While the UK's departure from the Erasmus+ programme means we have no central funding available to support outward staff mobility activities for University of Edinburgh staff, colleagues from European institutions may still apply for Erasmus+ funds from their home institution to undertake short teaching or training visits to the UK. 

Erasmus+ staff mobility

This programme provides funding and a framework for academic and non-academic staff to undertake teaching and training visits to partner universities within Europe and beyond.  

Staff can apply for funding through their home university towards the cost of travel, accommodation and subsistence.  Visits usually last around 5 days and may involve teaching activities, job shadowing, workshops or training events. These kinds of activities can be mutually beneficial for professional development, sharing knowledge and best practice, and in building relationships and partnerships.  

In the interests of maintaining and developing valuable partnerships and collaborations which have been built over many years, we continue to welcome staff to teach and undertake other professional development at Edinburgh.

Capacity to host

We receive a large number of unsolicited Erasmus+ staff mobility requests, and it is not possible to accommodate all applicants.  All staff mobility visits should be mutually beneficial and there is no obligation for us to receive applicants. If you do not feel that it would be convenient or beneficial to your team to host a visit, please feel free to respond accordingly.

It is easiest to accommodate visits where the applicant provides us with information about:

  • their proposed visit dates
  • their teaching/training interests
  • the aims and objectives of their planned visit

Administrative requirements of hosting

If you receive a request to host a staff mobility visit and would be interested in doing so, arrangements can be made directly with the prospective visitor(s).

Staff with Erasmus+ funding from their home institution will usually have some documents requiring signature - these should be signed by a member of staff on behalf of the hosting School/Subject Area/Professional Service and will generally consist of:

  • teaching/training mobility agreement outlining dates and planned programme of activity
  • certificate of attendance or similar, confirming that the teaching/training programme was completed

In addition, incoming staff may require signature of an Erasmus+ inter-institutional agreement.  These must be signed centrally by the Study and Work Away Service. Please email us to request signature of any inter-institutional agreements:

lesley.balharry@ed.ac.uk

What support is available to incoming staff visitors?

You may wish to direct prospective inbound staff to the following information in advance of their visit:

Staff visa service

Visitors are normally registered by the hosting School on the Visitor Registration System: 

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