EUPHRATES

Funded by the European Union

EUPHRATES
Call for applications guidelines
1st Cohort
Deadline for applying: From 17th December 2013 until 30th January 2014

1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 2
2. GENERAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS ............................................................ 2
3. TARGET GROUPS...................................................................................................... 2
4. TYPES OF MOBILITY ............................................................................................... 3
5. MOBILITY FLOWS .................................................................................................... 4
6. GRANT AMOUNTS .................................................................................................... 4
7. MOBILITY DURATIONS .......................................................................................... 4
8. APPLICATION PROCEDURE ................................................................................... 5
9. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS ........................................................................................ 5
10. SELECTION PROCESS ............................................................................................ 8
11. PRE-SELECTION AND SELECTION CRITERIA .................................................. 8
12. CRITERIA FOR EXCLUSION ................................................................................. 9
13. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS SCHEDULE ............................................................ 10

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

1. INTRODUCTION
EUPHRATES is a project selected in the framework of the Erasmus Mundus
programme, aiming at fostering cooperation in the field of Higher Education between
European and Indian Institutions through a mobility scheme addressing student and staff
exchanges. The project covers a unilateral mobility from India to Europe (Spain,
Portugal, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Slovenia)
Applicants are kindly requested to carefully read all the information contained in this
document before proceeding to fulfil and submit their online application form.
Once you have checked that you are eligible for a EUPHRATES grant, please proceed to
fill and upload all needed documents in the online application tool available for that
purpose. The application will have to be submitted online and no paper versions
will be accepted.

2. GENERAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

In order to apply for a grant within the framework of EUPHRATES project, candidates
must comply with the following general requirements:
-

They must have Indian nationality.

EUPHRATES does not involve all fields of study. Please, make sure you
indicate your field of study and that this is included into this exchange mobility
system.
They must have sufficient knowledge of the language of instruction of the host
universities they apply to. Only official certificates will be accepted as proof of
knowledge.
Grants cannot be awarded to those candidates who have lived and carried out
their main activities (studies, work etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over
the last five years in a European country. This rule is not applicable to Target
Group 3 and to Staff candidates.

3. TARGET GROUPS
EUPHRATES allows participation of candidates belonging to 3 different target groups
accurately defined:
Target Group 1 (TG1): Indian Students and Academic/Administrative Staff registered
in one of the partner universities belonging to the consortium (*** see the section of
EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

Our consortium in the webpage in order to know which universities are members of
the consortium).
Target Group 2 (TG2): students need either to be registered in a HEI (not included in
the partnership) of the third-country concerned by the lot or to have obtained a
university degree or equivalent from a HEI of these third-countries
Target Group 3 (TG3): Nationals of India who are in a particularly vulnerable
situation due to social and political reasons. Proof of this vulnerable situation is
requested from all candidates alleging this status. The following circumstances will be
considered:
-

Having a refugee status or asylum beneficiaries (international or according to the

national legislation of one of the European recipient countries) or
It can be proved that they have been the object of unjustified expulsion from
university on racial, ethnic, religious, political, gender or sexual inclination or
They belong to an indigenous population targeted by a specific national policy
or IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons)

To take into account:

Mobility for EUPHRATES is only unilateral (from India to Europe)
EUPHRATES includes the following fields of study: Agricultural Sciences,
Engineering and Technology, Medical Sciences, Natural Sciences Please,
make sure you belong to these fields of study, otherwise, your application will
be rejected. (This is not applicable to Staff mobilities, which are multidisciplar)
Academic/Administrative staff can not apply to TG3

4. TYPES OF MOBILITY
EUPHRATES includes 5 types of mobility according to the academic level of the
candidates:
Undergraduate
Master
Doctorate (PhD)
Post-doctorate
Academic/Administrative staff
Taking into account the above mentioned levels, candidates must meet the following
specific requirements:
Undergraduate candidates: they must have successfully completed at least one
year of studies.
Master candidates: they must have obtained a Bachelor diploma.
PhD candidates: they must have obtained a Master diploma.

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

PhD and Post-doctorate candidates: should contact their respective potential

supervisors at the hosting institution before applying in order to get a
preadmission letter. In several host institutions pre-admission/acceptance from a
supervisor will be the main/priority condition for eligibility of the doctoral and
post-doctoral candidates.
Academic/Administrative Staff: both academic and administrative staff
should contact their respective counterpart at the host university in order to
accordingly draw up their teaching/work plan.

5. MOBILITY FLOWS
Find at the end of the document a table with the number of available grants with the
duration of each one. It must underlined that once the quota for long stays (10 months
for undergraduate and 33 months for doctorate) have been allocated, the Selection
Committee may award grants of lesser duration to candidates that in any case fulfil the
scholarship criteria. Duration of grants of 18 months for Master may also be reduced
according to requirements of the host institutions study programmes.

6. GRANT AMOUNTS
EUPHRATES will cover travel and insurance costs of the beneficiaries and monthly
allowances whose amount will vary depending on their academic level:
1,000 for Undergraduate and Master
1,500 for Doctorate
1,800 for Post-doctorate
2,500 for Academic/Administrative Staff

7. MOBILITY DURATIONS
Candidates must take into account that mobility duration will vary depending on their
academic level and their origin country:
Undergraduate: 6 and 10 months
Master: 6, 10, 18 months
Doctorate: 6, 22, 33 months
Post-doctorate: 6, 10 months
Academic/Adm.Staff: 1 month

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

8. APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Candidates have to apply online through the EUPHRATES online application form
(available in the webpage http://www.usc.es/euphrates ), uploading the required
supporting documents. Originals of the attached supporting documents may be
requested to preselected TG1 candidates for examination by their home universities.
Originals of the attached documentation of TG2 and TG3 candidates may be requested
for examination once they arrive to the host university.
All candidates may apply for a maximum of three host universities.

8.1 Online Application Form

The online application form is only available in English. All documents must be
submitted in English or translated to English.

8.2. Deadline
The online application form will be available from 17th December 2013 to 30th January
2014, both days included. We cannot accept late applications after this deadline.

9. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Candidates must attach to their application the following supporting documents
according to their academic level:
Candidates applying for BACHELOR:
Passport copy1
Curriculum Vitae (European CV Europass - )2
Language certificate(s)
1 Recommendation letter duly signed
Motivation Letter (maximum 2 pages)
Bachelor Transcript of Records
Exact name of the study programme you plan to do in the host university
(***Please, check the academic offer of the host university you apply in order to
1

In addition to the Passport copy, any other official document (such as ID Card) giving proof of the
candidates identity will be accepted.
2
The
template
of
the
Europass
CV
can
be
downloaded
here:
http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/EuropassCV/CVTemplate.csp

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

include this information in the online application tool. Any candidature without
this information will be automatically excluded)
Proof of Target Group 3 status (only if applicable)

Candidates applying for MASTER:

Passport copy1
Curriculum Vitae (European CV Europass - ) 2
Language certificate(s)
1 Recommendation letter duly signed
Motivation Letter (maximum 2 pages)
Bachelor Certificate
Bachelor Transcript of Records
Master Transcript of Records (only if applicable)
Exact name of the study programme you plan to do in the host university
(***Please, check the academic offer of the host university you apply in order to
include this information in the online application tool. Any candidature without
this information will be automatically excluded)
Proof of Target Group 3 status (only if applicable)
Candidates applying for DOCTORATE:
Passport copy1
Curriculum Vitae (European CV Europass - ) 2
Language certificate(s)
1 Recommendation letter duly signed
Motivation Letter (maximum 2 pages)
Bachelor Certificate
Bachelor Transcript of Records
Master Certificate
Master Transcript of Records
Research proposal: title and short description (maximum 2 pages)
A pre-admission letter is recommended (priority criterion)
Proof of Target Group 3 status (only if applicable)
Candidates applying for POSTDOCTORATE:
Passport copy1
Curriculum Vitae (European CV Europass - ) 2
Language certificate(s)
1 Recommendation letter duly signed
Motivation Letter (maximum 2 pages)
PhD Certificate
Thesis Summary (maximum 2 pages)
Research proposal: title and short description (maximum 2 pages)
A pre-admission letter is recommended (priority criterion)
Proof of Target Group 3 status (only if applicable)
EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

Candidates applying for ACADEMIC/ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF:

Passport copy1
Curriculum Vitae (European CV Europass - ) 2
Language certificate(s)
1 Recommendation letter duly signed
Motivation Letter (maximum 2 pages)
Teaching/Working plan
A pre-admission letter is recommended (priority criterion)
Proof of staff employment

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

10. SELECTION PROCESS

Phase 1: Pre-selection by home and host universities
Each partner university will set up a pre-selection committee in charge of examining
and grading all home and host candidates. As a result, a list of pre-selected candidates
will be drawn up according to the pre-selection criteria shown in section below of this
document.
Phase 2: Final selection
A Selection Committee made up of one representative of the coordinating institution
(USC), one representative of each partner university and an External Evaluator will
examine and grade the ranking of pre-selected candidates according to the selection
criteria shown in section below, in order to draw up the final list of beneficiaries as
well as the reserve list. The final list of beneficiaries must be validated by all host
universities.
Phase 3: Notification of selection
All selected candidates will be informed of the award decision and they will have one
week to accept or reject the grant. Candidates rejected and those in the reserve list
will also be duly informed through an e-mail notification.
Phase 4: Invitation and visa procedures
Beneficiaries will receive an invitation letter from the host institutions in order to start
their visa arrangements. It is the responsibility of the selected candidates to provide all
necessary documents requested by the Embassies/Consulates of the host universities.
Local coordinators from host institutions may provide them with assistance and
information about the visa procedure.

11. PRE-SELECTION AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Pre-selection criteria (to be applied by home universities during the pre-selection
phase):
CONCEPT
Academic records
Academic suitability and relevance of the application
Motivation
TOTAL
EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

MARK
55
25
20
100
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EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

Pre-selection criteria (to be applied by host universities during the pre-selection phase):
CONCEPT
Academic records
Language skills
Academic suitability and relevance of the application
Motivation
TOTAL

MARK
55
30
10
05
100

The Selection Committee will agree the final list of selected candidates on the basis of
the ranking of pre-selected candidates. In case of candidates with the same mark as well
as in order to meet the project principles, the following additional criteria can be applied
by the Selection Committee:
Gender balance
Priority of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups
Geographical balance
Language skills
Impact of the project proposal (applicable to Doctorate, Post-doc and Staff)

12. CRITERIA FOR EXCLUSION

Candidates that do not meet the general requirements of the call for applications will be
automatically excluded. This applies to candidates not submitting the compulsory
documents required for applying to each specific academic level and not complying
with the specific Target Group requirements.
Each host university reserves the right to determine the ineligibility of candidates on the
basis of the following reasons:
Specific academic programme not available
Quality/Inadequacy of academic curriculum
Lack of correspondence between home and host studies
Insufficient Language skills
Additionally, candidates will be excluded if:
They apply for an academic level that they have already completed
If they apply to different academic levels
If they do not indicate the name of the study programme they plan to do at the
host university.

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

13. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS SCHEDULE

17th December 2013

Publication of the call for applications

Deadline for
documentation

submission

of

applications

and

30th January 2014

Pre-selection of candidates

February-March 2014

Selection Committee Meeting

April-May 2014

Publication of results

May 2014

Sending of invitation letters to beneficiaries

May-June 2014

Visa applications

May August 2014

September 2014
In any case, mobilities for the
1st Cohort cannot start later
than 31st December 2014

Start of mobilities

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

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EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

ANNEX (Fields of study, to select from the HOST INSTITUTION)

** Applicants from other fields of study will be automatically rejected.

List of thematic fields of study. APPLICABLE TO UNDERGRADUATE, MASTER,
DOCTORAL AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES
01 Agriculture Sciences
01,1 Agriculture
01,2 Agricultural Economics
01,3 Food Science and Technology
01,4 Horticulture
01,5 Fisheries
01,6 Forestry
01,7 Animal Husbandry
01,8 Tropical/Subtropical Agriculture
01,9 Others Agricultural Sciences
06 Engineering, Technology
06,1 Mechanical Engineering
06,2 Electrical Engineering
06,3 Chemical Engineering
06,4 Civil Engineering
06,5 Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications
06,6 Manufacturing Sciences (including CAD, CAM, CAE)
06,7 Materials Science
06,8 Aeronautical Engineering
06,9 Others Engineering, Technology
12 Medical Sciences
12,1 Medicine
12,2 Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology
12,3 Dentistry
12,4 Veterinary Medicine
12,5 Pharmacy
12,6 Nursing, Midwifery, Physiotherapy
12,7 Public Health
12,8 Medical Technology
12,9 Others Medical Sciences
13 Natural Sciences
13,1 Biology
13,2 Physics
13,3 Chemistry
13,4 Microbiology, Biotechnology
13,5 Nuclear and High Energy Physics
13,6 Biochemistry
13,7 Astronomy, Astrophysics
13,8 Oceanography
13,9 Others Natural Sciences

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

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EUPHRATES
Funded by the European Union

Undergraduate
TG
Duration
6m
TG 1
10 m

Number
16

TG
TG 1

Total number of grants for the whole duration of the EUPHRATES Programme: 140
Master
PHD
Postdoc
Duration
Number TG
Duration
Number
TG
Duration Number
6m
16
22 m
20
6m
6
TG 1
TG 1
10 m

TG
TG 1

Staff
Duration
1 month

Number
18

TG 2

NO

TG 2

18 m

10

TG 2

12 m

10

TG 2

6m
10 m

TG 2

1 month

10

TG 3

10 m

10

TG 3

10 m

12

TG 3

33 m

TG 3

NO

TG 3

NO

The expected number of scholarships for the 1st Cohort is the following:
Undergraduates: 16
Master: 18
Doctoral Studies: 18
Postdoctoral Studies: 6
Staff: 10

EUPHRATES Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1 Lot 13 Call for applications guidelines 1st Cohort

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