Preparing a successful Erasmus Mundus application

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Preparing a successful Erasmus Mundus application

• Aleh Cherp, IIIEE at Lund University Central
  European University, Budapest
• Coordinator of MESPOM
• Erasmus Mundus Masters Course inEnvironmental
  Sciences, Policy Management

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Background to MESPOM

• Proposal prepared in the fall 2004, course
  started in 2005
• A 2 years Masters course
• Partners
• Lund University, Sweden
• Central European University, Hungary
• University of Manchester, UK
• University of the Aegean, Greece
• Builds on 3 established Masters courses
• a wonderful experience

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Benefits of Erasmus Mundus

• Combining disciplinary excellence with general
  coordination framework
• Complementarity of competences
• An arena to explore global/local interplay
• An arena to debate different perspectives and
  find balance between controversies
• Mutual validation

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Ingredients of a successful proposal

• Ensuring the right pre-conditions
• Committed partners
• Good concept
• Resources for proposal writing
• Writing a winning proposal
• Clearly convey key issues
• Get the paperwork right
• Invest in outstanding presentation

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Pre-condition 1 partners

• Min three from 3 EU/EEA countries rarely more
  than 5
• Strongly motivated to participate
• Money? Prestige? Quality of students?
• Willing to work together on both academic and
  administrative matters
• Experienced in delivering Masters courses to
  international students

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Pre-condition 2 good concept

• Overall organization of the course duration,
  mobility scheme and academic content
• Integration with existing programs at each
  partner institution
• Type of degree awarded
• Double degree is a minimum requirement, the
  pressure is for joint degrees
• General financial arrangements

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Sharpening EM focus

• EMMCs selection is "open to Masters Courses
  operating in all fields of study", however
  specific disciplines have been earmarked as
  priority
• Architecture, urban and regional planning
• Art and design
• Business studies, management sciences
• Languages and philological sciences
• Law
• Mathematics and info-society
• Medical sciences
• Requirement as long as they can meet a the
  very high quality level requested from selected
  EMMCs

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MESPOM mobility scheme
1st 2nd terms
3rd term
4th term (thesis)
Lund
Lund
CEU
CEU
Aegean
Manchester
Manchester
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Possible mobility scheme
First period
Second period
Third period
Inst 1
Institution 2
Inst 1
Inst 2
Institution 3
Inst 3
Institution 4
Inst 2
Inst 4
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Pre-condition 3 resources for proposal
preparation

• A dedicated lead writer (future coordinator)?
• For MESPOM 150 hours over 6 weeks, incl. 110
  hours in 2 weeks before the deadline
• Support team
• For MESPOM 4-5 actively involved colleagues
• Effective collaboration
• About 200 e-mail letters, incl. 150 in 10 days
  before the deadline
• Internal Website dedicated for proposal
  preparation

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• Partners concept project preparation
  resources Memorandum of Understanding

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Proposal writing key issues

• Check expert evaluation manual and award
  criteria!
• Stress
• Originality, high quality
• European excellence
• High level of course integration, common identity
• Experience with and facilities for international
  students
• Academic arrangements in line with ECTS/Bologna
• Joint management arrangements

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MESPOM proposal messages

• The environment European excellence
• Perspectives from Britain, Scandinavia, Central
  Europe and Mediterranean
• Complementary competences and experience in
  international courses
• Globally relevant learning outcomes
• Interdisciplinarity

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Getting the paperwork right

• Securing formal university approvals may be very
  cumbersome and time-consuming
• But they can often be enticed with Erasmus Mundus
  benefits
• Positive views of the National Structures (e.g.
  Högskolverket) are very important especially
  concerning the final degree awards

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Presentation

• The main text should be very succinct and very
  well written (it pays off to re-write many times)
• Be prepared to include links to a relatively
  large Annex (ca 30 attachments on 160 pages in
  case of MESPOM)
• Colour printing, proper binding, and good graphic
  materials always enhance the proposal

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? aleh.cherp_at_iiiee.lu.se ? ?? www.mespom.org ??