Update from April 2026

Applications for a staff exchange for the 2026/27 academic year can now be submitted via our application portal.

Applications for teaching placements are accepted on a rolling basis until the available funding has been exhausted. We will announce here when no further funding is available.

You will find all the key information regarding Teaching Exchanges on this page. If you have any further questions, please contact Sandra Bayer at staff.mobility_ @udk-berlin.de

**************************

You can find the Erasmus+ handbook for teaching staff in our Download Center.

**************************

Update from August 2025

Funding through Erasmus+ is only available to employees of the Berlin University of the Arts. "Lehrbeauftragte" have a different status than employees, so unfortunately funding will no longer be available to them in future.

We regret this restriction, which is due to the different status of employees and "Lehrbeauftragte".

Erasmus+ sponsors guest lecturers at European partner universities which hold a valid Erasmus Charta for Universities (ECHE). The aim of guest lectureships is to consolidate the European dimension of the guest university by their presence, supplementing the teaching on offer and conveying their specialist knowledge to students who do not wish to or are unable to study abroad. Where possible, there should be some development of joint study programmes at the partner universities, as well as an exchange of teaching content and methods. Staff from foreign companies and organizations can also be invited to German universities on teaching contracts. Staff mobility must take place in a programme country that is neither the country of the dispatching university nor the main country of residence of the staff member in question. 

Staff from a German university with an ECHE can be sponsored for teaching at a receiving university with an ECHE (outgoing mobility), as well as staff from a different institution, based in a different country in the programme (incoming mobility) that operates on the labour market or in the field of general and professional training or youth work coming to a German university with an ECHE in order to teach.

Periods of teaching within Europe last from two days to two months (excluding travel times in each case). The teaching load should be at least eight hours per stay or per week or part week.

Members of the following groups can be sponsored:

• Professors and lecturers with a permanent university contract
• Lecturers without endowment  
• Scientific assistants  
• Company staff 

If you are interested in a mobility abroad or have already received an invitation from a European partner university, you can register here in our mobility database and apply for a scholarship:

Application portal: STAFF and TEACHING Exchange

When registering for the first time, you must first create an account and then fill out and submit the online form. Your UdK account access does not work here.

We will get back to you within 2-3 weeks. Please allow for a total preparation time of approximately 6 weeks before departure.

Information on the selection criteria can be found in the Download Centre.

If you have any questions, please contact Sandra Bayer from the UdK Berlin International Office at staff.mobility_ @udk-berlin.de.

The funding amount for an ERASMUS+ scholarship for university members consists of fixed daily allowances for the stay, a travel allowance and, if applicable, special grants. The scholarship amount varies depending on the host country and length of stay.

Funding from Call 2025:

Maximum funding period: 3 days plus (green) travel allowance (if applicable) and special funding (if applicable).
In justified exceptions, financial support period of up to 5 days (only Partner Days, Staff Weeks & BIPs)
2 travel days

Current scholarship rates

Further information and relevant forms can be found in our Download Center.

You can apply for a supplement to the travel allowance if at least 50% of the journey is made using sustainable and low-emission means of transport (train, bus, bicycle).

According to the ERASMUS+ programme guidelines, boat trips and journeys by electric car are not considered sustainable.

The application for a top-up is made via the Green Travel declaration of honour.

You will receive an increased travel allowance and, if applicable, up to 4 additional subsidised travel days depending on your individual needs and the duration of your trip.

The scholarships are awarded according to the following criteria:

• Added value for the internationalisation process at UdK Berlin
• Added value for the implementation of the ERASMUS+ programme at UdK Berlin
• Priority consideration for colleagues who are going abroad for the first time
• Priority consideration for institutes that have not yet received funding
• Prioritisation of visits to partner universities that have not yet been visited
• Broad distribution of scholarships across all colleges and institutes
• Participation in a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP)
• Planning of a reciprocal exchange (or planned return visit)
• Existing contact with the partner university

ERASMUS+ funding is generally excluded in the following cases:

• Repeated mobility of the same person to the same partner university
• Mobility already realised in the previous year
• Staff who are still in their probationary period
• Staff whose contract expires in the next 6 months

For business trips to an EU country or to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, the so-called A1 certificate is required. This serves as proof abroad that you are covered by insurance in Germany on the basis of your employment.  Once your application for a business trip has been received, the HR department will apply for this A1 certificate from your health insurance fund if you have statutory insurance, or from the German Federal Pension Insurance Fund if you have private insurance. The business trip may only be approved and undertaken once the certificate has been issued. If the certificate is not issued, the business trip cannot be approved. You will receive a printout of the certificate, which you must carry with you during the trip and present during checks. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements will result in substantial fines, which would have to be paid by the business traveller if the A1 certificate was not applied for. 

Due to the requirement for an A1 certificate, business trips to an EU country or to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland must be applied for at the HR department four weeks before departure.