The Erasmus+ staff mobility programme is an EU-funded grant that helps finance UM staff mobility with other Erasmus+ partner institutions. The activities that are covered by UM’s Staff Mobility Policy are:

• Job-shadowing (you shadow a colleague at another institution to gain a better understanding of his/her work and to exchange knowledge and experience) and partner staff weeks (for an overview of available staff weeks read more by visiting IMOTION). The staff week must include or be able to include a job shadowing component to be eligible for the Erasmus+ grant.
• Research activities (e.g. developing a joint paper, collecting data, presenting research outcomes etc.) for early career researchers (4^th year PhD students and first and second year post docs) 

If you would like to participate in this programme, you will have to arrange the mobility (job shadowing / staff week / training) yourself. The duration of your mobility can range from two to five working days. Erasmus+ provides a partial contribution to the cost of the stay abroad. However, as the Erasmus+ grant only provides partial compensation for the costs (see below), it will be supplemented with UM funds up to a maximum grant of €1,500 per mobility (Erasmus+ and UM funds combined). As UM is a Dutch public university, these top-ups are subject to the nationally agreed-upon maximum remuneration amounts for foreign business trips. 

 UM staff visiting a partner institution abroad for a training mobility (Jobshadowing/staff week/research activities) may be eligible for funding for a minimum duration of two days to a maximum of five days if: 

• they have a P-number
• receive salary from UM
• they are employed by Student Service Centre (SSC), Finance, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), Faculty of Law, MUO, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences and Faculty of Science and Engineering.  (for 2026, new faculties and service centres will be selected)

• their proposed staff mobility includes one or more of the following elements:

   

  • Job shadowing (you shadow a colleague from another institution to better understand their work and exchange knowledge and experience)
  • staff training weeks (for an overview of available staff training weeks, visit IMOTION). The staff week must include or be able to add a job-shadowing component to qualify for the Erasmus+ grant.

  • research activities (e.g. developing a joint paper, collecting data, presenting research results, etc.) for early career researchers (4th year PhD students and first and second year post docs)

     

 Please note: Erasmus+ funding is not possible for conferences

Before you apply

Step 1: An Erasmus+ staff mobility is possible only in one of the participating countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Liechtenstein, Norway, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Turkey). 

Contact the institution yourself to get approval for your mobility there.

Step 2: Request permission from your manager or head of department at UM. 

Application

Step 3: Complete the application form within the deadline and send it to the Staff Mobility Coordinator. Within two weeks after the deadline, you will receive an email with the outcome of the selection. 

If you are selected for an Erasmus+ staff mobility you have to: 

Step 4: Complete the form Staff Mobility Agreement for Training, make sure the form is signed by your manager, a representative of the receiving institution and yourself. 
 
Step 5: Send the Staff Mobility Agreement for Training via email to the Staff Mobility Coordinator.

Step 6: The Staff Mobility Coordinator will check your form and if correct, send it to the Central Erasmus+ Office.

Step 7: The Central Erasmus+ Office will send you a Grant Agreement, which needs to be filled out at least 2 weeks before the start of your mobility. 

Step 8: Finally, you will receive a Certificate of Attendance Staff Mobility. This form must be completed by the receiving institution and must be sent via email to the Central Erasmus+ Office within two weeks after the end of your mobility.

Step 9: The day after your mobility ends, you will receive an automated email invitation to fill out the online Participant Report detailing your Erasmus+ mobility. Completing this last step is mandatory.

Insurance

 As a staff member of Maastricht University, your Erasmus+ training period abroad will be covered by AIG Travel Guard Business Travel Insurance. Please note; if you extend your stay make sure to take out a travel insurance for the private part of your stay. You can find more information on UMployee. 

Declare your costs

You can apply for a deposit before the start of your mobility to cover your costs. Within 2 weeks after your mobility, you have to provide evidence of those costs (tickets, invoices etc.). You can declare a maximum of €1,500.- per mobility. 

Expenses for accommodation and other cost

You can only declare a maximum as indicated by the Dutch Government based on the country/city your mobility takes place in. You can find the rates here.

For example: 

You go on mobility to Florence for 4 days (3 nights). 

You can declare a maximum of €231/night (3 x €231 = € 693) for your hotel and a maximum of €125/day (4 x €125 = € 500) for other costs like dinner, public transport, etc. 

A maximum of €307 is left for travel expenses. 

Expenses for travel

Participating staff members can use the following transportation options in line with the applicable provisions.

Train
If the travel time by train for your business trip is a maximum of eight hours, we will encourage you to make your business trip by train. The travel time is the time involved in travelling, calculated from the employee's work location to the destination. This includes pre- and post-transport to the station or airport and includes waiting time (check-in time). 

Plane
If the travel time by train is more than 8 hours, you can travel by plane. You are entitled to a direct flight if available.  You can still choose to make the business trip by train.

This is additional information about the construction of the scholarship, this has nothing to do with the costs that can be declared.

For UM employees, as explained above, a maximum allowance of €1,500 per mobility is reimbursed, but this UM Erasmus+ staff mobility grant consists of three funding components:

1. a daily allowance set by Erasmus+ (for accommodation & meals)
2. a travel cost allowance set by Erasmus+ (to and from the mobility destination)
3. a UM top-up to cover costs above the Erasmus+ grant amounts, up to a maximum total grant per mobility of €1,500.

Daily allowance amounts

Travel cost amounts

Based on the travel distance per participant. Travel distances must be calculated using the distance calculator from the European Commission. The applicant must indicate the distance of a one-way trip to calculate the amount of the EU grant that will be used for the round trip.

*Applicable when an employee travels by train or bus to the mobility site

We all know that physical activity is good for our health, but do we move enough? Fit and vital people take more pleasure in their work and have more energy. UM strives to provide a healthy workplace and sustainable employability for all staff. UM offers a variety of activities for all employees. 

• Sports for Staff 
• Health & Fitness and Health & Relax sessions

Working on your personal development is an important part of living and working vitally. The Staff Career Centre supports you in this. The Staff Career Centre cooperates with GoodHabitz, a provider of online training modules. In addition, the Staff Career Centre itself offers various extensive training courses in the field of personal development.

Vitality Works is a comprehensive strategy to make UM a healthier place to work. In order to make Vitality Works a success, UM would like employees to make their own contribution towards improving their and their colleagues' vitality. It is therefore possible to submit proposals, together with colleagues, for promoting vitality at work.

Questions or want to know more?
Please contact us at vitalityworks@maastrichtuniversity.nl.

UM and the Maastricht UMC+ have agreed to invest in developing joint initiatives to enhance the vitality of their employees.

UM and the MUMC+ have long collaborated on research, education and patient care. The two institutions share the same principles in their social and health policies. Additionally, many staff are employed at both organisations. The Executive Boards of UM and the MUMC+ announced their intention to cooperate further in the area of ​​vitality.

The Staff Career Centre supports all Maastricht University employees in the areas of learning, development, mobility and participation. Sustainable employability is the starting point. You can contact the Staff Career Centre (SCC) for training, coaching and mentoring. But the SCC also helps with practical requests, such as advice on preparing a resume and cover letter or practicing a job interview. In addition, they provide information, hold regular meetings for various groups of employees and organize career events or workshops.

You can also come to them with questions about, for example, the deployment of an employee under the Participation Act, or questions about the end of your contract and applying for unemployment benefits.

  Read more

The Maastricht Young Academy (MYA) is a group of early-career scientists from Maastricht University. Their aim is to operate as an independent - and, when necessary critical - platform within the university. It focuses on; science policy, science communication, interdisciplinary research, internationalisation.  The MYA provides solicited and unsolicited advice concerning these topics to bodies across the university, including the Executive Board and the Board of Deans. In addition, it organises activities on these topics within and outside the university, for academics and for broader audiences. First and foremost, they represent the interests of young academics at the university.

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The Young UM Professionals (YUMP) community is an independent and informal body that brings together dedicated young support staff members from across UM’s faculties and service-centers. YUMP facilitates dialogue and collaboration around the personal and professional development needs of young professionals.

Maastricht University (UM), together with its European partners in the Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE), is pioneering a university concept that transcends geographical, political, social, linguistic, and disciplinary boundaries. YUFE envisions an open and inclusive European university spanning 10 countries, designed to create better opportunities for everyone. This innovative initiative offers better opportunities for all: an entirely new study experience with personalised curricula, career development and mobility for staff and a learning ecosystem that benefits citizens in all partner regions. Students and staff enjoy the freedom to move seamlessly between campuses, engaging in meaningful learning, development, and volunteering opportunities—all while fostering strong connections with local communities.

 Read more 

The Erasmus+ staff mobility grant is an EU-funded grant that helps finance EU staff teaching and training mobility with other Erasmus+ partner institutions. The programme provides subsidies to promote European-level cooperation, exchange, follow-up training and traineeships for university staff members. 

 Read more

Maastricht University's Language Centre offers a broad range of language services to students, staff, companies, organisations and private individuals. We help them communicate effectively in an international environment. From language courses in modern languages such as English, French, German and Spanish to Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese and Russian– the Language Centre has something to offer for everyone.

  Read more

Work

All our employees are also welcome back at their usual work location starting in the new academic year. Working from home as required by the corona measures will come to an end. If you still have corona-related reasons not to come to campus after the summer, you can contact your supervisor or the occupational health physician to come to a solution together.

In the coming months, plans for hybrid forms of work (partly at home, partly on campus) will also be presented. As soon as there's more clarity, we'll let you know.
 

INKOM and faculty introductions

The INKOM and the faculty introductions are activities with many participants. Of course, we want to organise these as safely as possible. For the faculty introductions, this may mean that certain parts, in which large numbers of participants are involved, will still take place online. For the INKOM, all activities will be arranged in such a way that they can take place safely and responsibly within the rules and on location. We'll keep you posted.

PhD defences and other events

PhD defences are currently allowed on campus with a maximum of 15 spectators. Also in the new academic year, PhD defences will be allowed on campus in adherence to the government measures that apply then. For other events, such as inaugural and farewell addresses and research symposiums, the guidelines of the RIVM will always be considered when determining what is possible. We'll keep you informed via the communication mails.

Finally...

... we would like to stress that we are doing everything we can to welcome you safely back on campus in the new academic year. We will keep a close eye on all developments in the coming months and adjust our plans as necessary.

  Remember: the measures we are all used to by now still apply. So, keep a metre-and-a-half distance from one another, wash your hands frequently, wear a face mask, do the self-tests and stay at home if you have any symptoms or if you have had contact with someone who has corona. Even if you have been vaccinated!