Central European Exchange Program for University Studies - CEEPUS

The CEEPUS Program aims to promote teacher and student mobility. Students can spend a study period abroad or teachers can undertake a teaching period at a partner university. These opportunities are designed to strengthen professional and personal relationships among Central European scholars empowering and developing Central Europe both in political and economical levels that way. The exchange programme started in March 1995 and since then it has been frequently lasting.

The whole text of the legal basis the updated CEEPUS agreement you can read here.

Member countries
Albania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic,Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and University of Prishtina in Kosovo
are the 15 countries participating in the CEEPUS Program.

If you click to the name of each country, you can read a short presentation about the country focusing mainly to the local educational system.
In addition it can be found on each page the same line of the links with some practical and helpful information

• Visa and health insurance
• Bologna Process
• CEEPUS Program
• The National Ministry of Education
• The list of institutions of National Higher Education
• The National CEEPUS Office
• The National Embassy in Budapest
• The Hungarian Embassy in the capital of the country

Official informations, necessary documents and procedures for each countries you can find here.  

More informal fragments about Europe from youngsters on the chat-face:

EUROPE NOW
www.europe-now.eu is a platform for European international students and apprentices focused on European topics, a new platform for European exchange, young, mobile, open-minded keen on adventures students. For all of them a common Europe has long since become reality, a matter of fact: they are “Europe-now”.
This platform is an initiative of the Central CEEPUS Office which is focused on European themes: visions of a future Europe, ideas, experiences and recommendations can be communicated and discussed via different communication channels- discussion boards, blogs and photoblogs, testimonials and a competition on the subject “How Exchange Changed My Life” are waiting to be used. Various community functions such as “Let’s meet” or chats complement the options of “Europe-now“.
The main partners of this living online system are
Youngsters of the CEEPUS countries with their ideas
Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research
The OEAD (Austrian Exchange Service)
ARGE Europäisches Forum Alpbach und Zentrum für Soziale Innovation
You should have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to click to www.europe-now.eu

More special and useful details about Hungary there are on the hompage of the Tempus Public Foundation.

Each county has an operative National CEEPUS Office managing the programme, grants and applications. The Hungarian CEEPUS Office is officially operating within the body of the Tempus Public Foundation. 

Address:
Lónyay 31, H-1093 Budapest
Postal address:
H-1438 Budapest 70., Pf. / POB: 508.
Phone: (+36 1) 237 1300, Fax: (+36 1) 239 1329
E-mail: ceepus[at]tpf.hu
Internet: http://www.tpf.hu

More info about the National Officies and the scholarship rates: www.ceepus.info  

Funding
The CEEPUS partner countries provide the funding for the programme. Students receive their CEEPUS grant from the host country therefore the amount is tailored according to local standards (See. www.ceepus.info).
In general, the financial support includes the grant amount and in some CEEPUS countries accommodation and social security provisions. In addition, CEEPUS students are exempt from tuition fees. Travel costs, however, are not covered.

The Hungarian scholarship-rates for academic year 2008/2009:

scholarship category	amount (Ft/scholarshipmonth)
students (S)	65 000
postgraduate students, PhD candidates (S2)	80 000
teachers for minimum stay of 5-9 workingdays (minimum 6 lessons to give is obligatory) (T)	80 000
teachers for minimum stay of 10 or more workingdays (minimum 12 lessons to give is obligatory) (T2)	110 000

The Hungarian scholarship-rates for academic year 2009/2010: 

scholarship category	amount (Ft/scholarshipmonth)
students, PhD candidates (S)	73 000
teachers (for minimum stay of 5-9 workingdays AND minimum 6 lessons to give is obligatory) (T)	110 000

Networks
Student mobility takes place in the framework of networks. At least three partner universities/faculties/institutes, at least two of which are from different CEEPUS countries are eligible to establish a network. The network, as a project consortium, applies for the funding, which is designed to cover the studies and teaching activities of students, graduates and university teachers.

Aims of mobility for students

• attending the host university’s courses
• laboratory work
• traineeship
• professional excursion
• summer course/ intensive language course
• thesis writing
• PhD work

Network mobility requirements for students

• full-time student status at a higher education institution in the home country;
• two completed semesters; 
• maximum 35 years of age; (From 2009/2010 academic year there is no age limit!)
• citizenship of a CEEPUS country; (If you are not a CEEPUS country citizen, you have to have an „Equal Status document” from the country you stay in and apply)
• support of the network coordinator at the home institution.

Overall rules in CEEPUS scholarship: study of student-applicants in any host country must be accepted through credits by the home institution!

Aims of mobility for teachers
mainly: giving lectures (during 5 working days min. 6 lessons to give is obligatory – in case working on Joint Program during 5 working days min. 4 lessons). Research work should be suplementary only.

Network mobility requirements for teachers

• full-time professor status at a higher education institution in the home country;
• citizenship of a CEEPUS country; (Except of the guest-lecturers but they have to have an „Equal Status document” from the country they stay in and apply)
• support of the network coordinator at the home institution.

You can download the list of the contact data of local CEEPUS coordinators in Hungary in the academic year 2008/2009
You can download the list of the contact data of local CEEPUS coordinators in Hungary in the academic year 2009/2010

Applying for a grant

• find an appropriate CEEPUS network at the home university
  (You can download the list of networks in Hungary in the academic year 2008/2009 
   You can download the list of networks in Hungary in the academic year 2009/2010)  
• check out the application procedures and requirements

Note: The home institution has the right to select the students that wish to study at a partner institution.

Freemover mobility
If you study at a university that does not participate in a CEEPUS network, you may join the programme as a freemover.

Freemover mobility requirements for students
In addition to the application form the following documents are required of freemovers

• Freemover letter of acceptance from the host institution
• Freemover letter of recommendation from the home institution 

Applying for a grant

• Check out whether your home institution and/or national office supports freemovers.
• Find the institution at which you wish to study
  (You can download the list of the officially accredited institutions in higher education in Hungary)
• Get the required documents signed by the home and host units at the respective universities you are attending

Special features of CEEPUS grants

• applicants may not receive a grant to study in their home country;
• the duration of the study period is between 3 and 10 months for undergraduates;
• Ph.D. students or students working on their theses may apply for a 1 or 2 month-long period;
• the study period may be extended once, but may not be longer than 10 months per training period;
• all CEEPUS applications are to be submitted on-line via www.ceepus.info

Acception procedure
You can follow your application ont he Central CEEPUS hompage www.ceepus.info; after the host country (the decision maker) has accepted your application, you have one task left is to accept your application online.
(Freemover applicants cannot do it online, they have to send their undersigned Letter of Acceptance by e-mail, fax or mail to the host NCO!)

Letter of Acceptance 2009/2010- freemover

Riporting procedure
After finishing the scholarship-time the applicants have to send a Mobility Riport. It is also an oline procedure on www.ceepus.info

For any cases, please be in living contact with the CEEPUS coordinatar of your home institution and the host istitution during the whole time of your application and scholarship, as they are always able and ready to help you.

Application deadlines: 
For the autumn semester: 15 June
For the spring semester - intra-network mobility: 31 October
For the spring semester - freemover mobility: 30 November

For further information contact:
Mr. Gabor Dobos, Ms. Erzsebet Racz or Ms. Monika Madai ceepus[at]tpf.hu or consult the central website of the CEEPUS Program: www.ceepus.info.