AREAS is an institution-based mobility and scholarship project organized by a Consortium of some of the most prestigious universities in Europe and Asia. It is developed within the frame of the Erasmus Mundus Action 2 (EMA2) program, which is a cooperation and mobility scheme in the area of higher education funded by the European Commission. The EMA2 objective is to promote the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills at the higher education level.

AREAS is one of the 2 EMA2 projects selected by the European Commission for Lot 13 (Asia Regional) in 2011.

The project is aimed at students and scholars from the Asian Countries targeted (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam) who are willing to spend a mobility period abroad in Europe, for the purpose of studying, teaching or carrying out training and research. Students and scholars can choose from a wide variety of academic fields at different levels of study (Undergraduate, Master, Doctorate, Post-doctorate and Staff) offered by one of the European partner Universities. Scholarships will be awarded to applicants selected by the Consortium.

The project finances the expenses engendered by the mobility, including travel costs, subsistence allowances, participation and insurance costs.

All mobilities in this project must begin before 31st December 2012 with the exception of:

• 34 months Doctorate mobilities that must begin before 1st September 2012.
• Staff mobilities that can start in any time within the project duration and must end within the project eligibility period.

Partner Universities
Higher education institutions registered in Asia and in Europe which manage the AREAS project:

ASIAN UNIVERSITIES

• HCMUT - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam
• HUST - Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vietnam
• NUM - National University of Mongolia, Mongolia
• NUOL - National University of Laos, Laos
• PUC - The Pannasastra University of Cambodia, Cambodia
• PDN - University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
• TU - Thammasat University, Thailand
• UGM - Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
• UNIKL - Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• VSU - Visayas State University, The Philippines

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES

• POLITO - Politecnico di Torino, Italy
• CUL - City University London, England
• INP - Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble, France
• KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
• KUL - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
• MU - Masarik University, Czech Republic
• UGOE - Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
• UMINHO - Universidade do Minho, Portugal
• UNITN - University of Trento, Italy
• UPC - Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain

Associated Members
Associated members may include enterprises, chambers of industry and commerce, local, regional or national public entities as well as research centres, regional institutions of higher education. AREAS Associates contribute to the transfer of knowledge and results as well as the innovation process and assist in the promotion, implementation, evaluation and sustainable development of the project:

ASEAN University Network, Thailand
Jesuit Refeugee Service - Asia Pacific, Thailand
Ithaca- Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action, Italy
STI - National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office, Thailand

Types of mobility
The different types of individual mobility are the following:

• Undergraduates
• Masters
• Doctorates
• Post-doctorate fellowships
• Staff

Student mobilities
For what concerns students, the project allows for the participation as exchange students or as degree students as here defined.

Exchange Students
Undergraduate, master and doctorate students belonging to Target Group 1 can apply for scholarships as exchange students.

Exchange students are registered at a university (home university) and temporarily study at a partner university (host university). The exchange period can be one or more semesters. All academic results will be sent to the students’ Home University and will be recognized by using the ECTS tools: the learning agreement and the trasncript of records. Exchange students will not normally obtain a diploma from the Host University, but this may be possible in specific cases where the Home and Host University have established a Double Degree Agreement. Exchange students need the approval to participate in the mobility programme by both their home and host university.

Degree students
Undergraduate, master and doctorate students from Asia belonging to Target Groups 2 and 3 can apply for full degree programs. Degree students register at a European University and are not registered at any other University in the home country. Degree students completing the program will obtain a diploma from the host university in the EU.

SCHOLARSHIPS
Successful applicants will be awarded a scholarship which will cover a monthly subsistence allowance, travel costs and insurance. Participants will not be required to pay any tuition fees at the host university.

Once candidates have been selected for the program, before they start receiving the scholarship, they will be asked to subscribe a specific agreement concerning their duties and responsibilities.

The monthly subsistence allowance will be paid on the beneficiaries bank accounts in Europe. Beneficiaries will be required to provide a reference bank account in Europe for payments.

The project does not provide support for mobility from Europe to Asia, nor among the Asian universities.

Applicants cannot benefit from more than one scholarship within the AREAS project.

Travel costs and insurance
Each beneficiary’s travel costs will be covered by the project within the total limit of 2,000 – 2,500 euro. This rate is established by the European Commission on the basis of the linear distance between the location of origin of the beneficiary and the hosting university premises. Travel costs may include the visa costs borne by participants.

Each beneficiary will receive a full insurance coverage (health, travel, accident) for the duration of the scholarship period. The costs for such insurance are covered by the project.

Participation costs
Participants at any level will not be required to pay any fees or compensation (such as tuition and registration fees, additional library, students unions, laboratory consumable costs and language courses costs) to the host universities. Exchange students will continue paying their registration fees at their university of origin.

The tuition fees for students applying for a full degree program will be covered by the project.

The EU financing provides funds for participation costs that will be used by the Consortium to partly compensate the host universities for fees and other costs.

FIELDS OF STUDY
The project offers mobility opportunities in the following study areas as defined by the European Commission:

• Agriculture science
• Architecture, urban and regional planning
• Business Studies, Management Sciences
• Education, Teacher Training
• Engineering, Technology
• Geography, Geology
• Law
• Medical Sciences
• Natural Sciences
• Social Sciences
• Other Areas of Study

The full list of specific courses or programs available at all levels at each partner University is provided on the project website (http://www.areas.polito.it/application/fields_of_study).

Detailed information provided there for each course or program includes course description, specific language and academic requirements for admission, program duration. Links to each university are also provided for further probing.

Only courses or programs listed on the project website are available for applications.

Eligibility

1. Applicants must have the nationality of the Asian Countries targeted (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam).
2. Applicants must not have resided nor have carried out their main activity (studies, work, etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of the European countries at the moment of the submission of the application.
3. Applicants must not have already benefited from a scholarship for the same type of mobility under another project under the EMA2-STRAND1.
4. Applicants need to comply with the Target group requirements,
5. Applicants must have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses/activities at the host university.

Minimum academic qualifications

Undergraduate
Applicants are eligible to apply if they hold a Secondary School Diploma. For Target Group 1 students it is also necessary to have completed at least 1 year of undergraduate university studies. Please note that specific courses or programs may have additional requirements.

Master
Applicants are eligible to apply if they have finished your Undergraduate studies or have completed three years of university education.

Doctorate
Applicants are eligible to apply if they have completed a master program or have started PhD studies already. Please, check the partner universities website concerning the Doctorate programmes special requirements.

Post-Doctorate
Applicants are eligible if they hold a Doctorate degree. The post-doctorate activity abroad may consist in research, training and/or attending highly specialized courses.

Staff
Staff mobility is open to both academic and administrative Staff of partner universities. The staff exchange constitutes a one-way visitor flow from Asia. Staff undertaking a period of teaching, training or research in a partner University must:

• work in or be associated to one of the participating institutions;
• be fully integrated into the Department or Faculty of the host institution with a full time contract.

APPLICATION
All applications must be submitted online through the application system provided on the project web site. See the application page at: http://www.areas.polito.it/application

It is possible to submit up to 2 applications to different universities. Applicants cannot benefit from more than one scholarship within the AREAS project.

The call for application will be open from November 1st 2011 to January 31st 2012.

All mobilities in this project must begin before 31st December 2012 with the exception of:

• 34 months Doctorate mobilities that must begin before 1st September 2012.
• Staff mobilities that can start in any time within the project duration and must end within the project eligibility period.

While filling in the application, applicants are requested to provide the following information:

• Personal data: all Personal Data fields are compulsory. Applicants should provide their valid e-mail address because all communication will be realised by mail.
• Target group and study level.
• Academic data: all data concerning the level of education (and diploma) are obligatory. all data concerning the level of education (and diploma) are obligatory. The following data will be requested: Name of University/College, Location, Start Date, End Date, Type of Degree, Subject of degree, 3 key subjects, Average grade. In case applicants do not hold at the moment of the applications the required Certification because they are still attending the course or carrying out the related academic activity, they have to submit a Statement of Commitment declaring their current situation and their commitment to obtain the necessary certification within the deadline set by every host university’s enrolment procedure.
• Host institution and course: students and scholars should only apply for a study field equivalent to their current or previous study program and of which they master the language.
• Language competences: if requested by the host university, applicants should prove their knowledge of the language in which the courses are held.

The application must be submitted online only and no hard copies of the application or of the required documents should be sent or delivered. After the selection process, the host university may ask the selected candidates to send them one original hard copy of the application including all the attachments. If asked to, selected candidates must also present the originals for verification at the host university for registration.

Required documents
Applicants, either students, scholars or staff, must provide with their application a number of documents certifying their identity, eligibility and academic qualifications. Examples of required documents are: CV, motivation letter, transcripts of records, language certifications, diplomas or other documents to certify the study level needed for the selected course or programme at the host university.

The application form will only be valid if all the compulsory documents have been attached. All attached documents should be in English or an English translation certified by your university must be provided. Please note that all certificates/degrees have to be certified by stamps of the university.

The required documents depend on the type of mobility and on the target group, as well as on the course or program selected by the applicant. Specific information on the academic and language requirements for each program at each university are provided on the project website in the Fields of Study section.

SELECTION
Your application will be evaluated as follows:

• The university you have applied for will verify whether you are eligible, that is if all the administrative and academic requirements are met as specified by the project and by the University.
• If you are eligible, your home (for TG1 only) and host University will grade your application on the basis of the criteria listed below and taking into account the specific conditions for the program you applied for.
• All your applications submitted to different Universities will be evaluated as described above. If all else equal, the order of your applications will be considered as your preference.
• The Consortium will collect the selected candidates lists from all the Partner Universities and will generate the final overall nominated candidate list.
• The list of nominated candidates will be submitted for approval to the Education Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission.

Evaluation criteria for the selection:

• Academic relevance verified through transcripts of records, diplomas, project proposal, or teaching/working experience
• Language skills, as defined by the host institution and the course program
• Motivation
• Letters of recommendation (where applicable)
• Gender balance
• Level of vulnerability and socio-economic status

All applicants will be notified of the selection outcome within three months of the Call for Application closing, whether they have been nominated, whether they are on a reserve list or they are ineligible.

Candidates that have been selected and nominated for a scholarship will be required to accept the scholarship within 10 calendar days by filling in the relevant acceptance form that will be sent to them.

For every nominated candidate that will renounce or not accept within the deadline, the Partnership will nominate the first candidate in the reserve list for the same target group, level and duration of scholarship, will notify him/her and ask for acceptance as described above.

All communication with the applicants during the selection process will occur through email.

ADMISSION
Nominated students and scholars having accepted to participate in the project will be required to comply with the local admission requirements at the host University and will have to follow the standard individual registration procedure at their host institution.

All mobilities in this project must begin before 31st December 2012 with the exception of:

• 34 months Doctorate mobilities that must begin before 1st September 2012.
• Staff mobilities that can start in any time within the project duration and must end within the project eligibility period.

For exchange Undergraduate, Master and Doctorate grantees: before starting the mobility, selected applicants will be required to draft an ECTS Learning Agreement , to be signed by both host and home institution. Doctorate students will be required to submit the original version of the Work Plan Proposal, already provided during the application phase, signed by both host and home institution.

After receiving the candidate acceptance form, the host University will be responsible for contacting the applicant and providing him/her with all necessary information for admission to the University.

Partner Universities are bound to admitting the selected candidates except in case of fraud by the applicant in the application process.

All grant holders will be asked to subscribe a specific scholarship contract concerning their duties and responsibilities in relation to the scholarship. This agreement will need to be signed before the grant holder can start receiving the scholarship.

The host university will provide the following services to the Incoming grant holder:

• Assistance with visa issues
• Assistance with finding adequate housing
• Provide travel tickets for reaching the Host university at the beginning of the mobility and returning to the Home Country at the end of the scholarship period.
• Provide orientation upon arrival through the direct contact with qualified University faculty or personnel
• For exchange students, set up the Learning Agreement with the student and with the home University, before the start of mobility

For more information, please visit official website: www.areas.polito.it.

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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the above information is current and correct. However, applicants should contact the appropriate administering body before making an application, as details do change frequently.