Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)

Blended Intesive Programmes (BIP) - GENERAL INFORMATION

Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is a mobility programme under Erasmus+.

A BIP course consists of

• a virtual part (length can vary from 1 hour to 1 semester, depends on the host institution)
• an on-site part at the host institution (5-30 days).

The course is awarded by at least 3 ECTS credits, either under the name of the BIP course or as one of the courses from the student's study plan.

A BIP must be organized as a cooperation of at least 3 partner universities (1 coordinator + partners).

Comenius University as a partner university – OUTGOING

STUDENTS

Students are informed about BIPs either at their home faculty / department that has an Inter-Institutional Agreement for BIP with other universities, via university newsletter or at Enlight website.

Before the mobility

Student signs up for a BIP course which consists of a virtual and on-site part, it is not possible to attend only one of these parts and the on-site part cannot be attended online. The following instructions describe the application process for outgoing students of the CU, the receiving institution may have another system where similar / the same documents must be filled in by students incoming to that institution. Always follow instructions from both Comenius University and the receiving institution.

When applying for a BIP course, make sure you know how the credits you receive would be recognized - either a new course will be added to AIS2 OR the course will be recognized as one of the courses from your study plan. Discuss this at your study department and with international relations officer at your faculty.You need this information for your Learning Agreement.

Application

1. Student needs to register into Mobility Online system, where they choose the course they're interested in. Link for registration is provided by a contact person for the specific BIP at the university / faculty / department.
2. Student applies for the mobility by uploading a CV, motivation letter and Transcript of Records into Mobility Online. Deadline for application and results are provided by the contact person. If you are - due to shortage of applicants - chosen for the BIP without selection procedure, write "already chosen / už vybraná/ý" into the motivation letter field of the application, which is mandatory.
3. Once the admission to the BIP course is confirmed, student uploads a scan of your European Health Insurance Card and a fully signed Learning Agreement into Mobility Online. The Learning Agreement can either have both Table A and Table B as with standard mobilities if the BIP course is recognized as one of the courses from the student's original study plan OR the shortened BIP version, if the course is not recognized as one of the courses from the student's study plan at Comenius University and a new course is created for them in AIS2. This depends on the faculty policy concerning course recognition. It's strongly recommended to find out how the course would be recognized at your faculty upon application for the BIP course.
4. Student can get a 50€ top-up for using green travel. Student must upload a train / bus ticket or a declaration of honour that they are sharing a car with other students into the system in order to receive the top-up and - should the distance of travel demand it - additional days for travel. Awarding additional travel days is up to the mobility administrator based on the distance, each mobility is considered individually. Flying any part of the journey disqualifies the claim for green travel top-up.
5. Once all documents are in order, the student receives a Grant Agreement. This needs to be printed 2 times, manually signed and sent to the Erasmus Office at the Rectorate, Šafárikovo námestie 6, 81499, Bratislava. The grant is sent to the bank account of the student specified in the Grant Agreement within 30 days since the Agreement is received by the Erasmus Office. To receive the money before the mobility, make sure you have all documents uploaded at least 2 weeks before the mobility. The grant is 70€/day during the first 14 days, from day 15 to day 30 it's 50€/day.

After the mobility

1. Student uploads a Transcript of Records & Certificate of Attendance from the host university into Mobility Online.
2. Student arranges recognition of received ECTS credits at IRO of their faculty - discuss this at your faculty before the mobility. See the contacts of IRO offices.
3. Mobility is formally closed by IRO.

EMPLOYEES

The process is the same as with standard STT / STA mobilities, see STT/STA Application.

Comenius University as coordinator of a BIP

To organize a BIP, your faculty needs to have an active IIA for BIP with partner institutions. Students from at least 2 partner institutions must be present, the minimum number of foreign attending students is 15. Should there be less than 15 students at the on-site part, you'd loose the funding, so make sure the partner universities have a sufficient number of outgoing students and some back-up students just in case some of the originally chosen students would give up the mobility. There are no limits for domestic students, however, these are not funded. All students must participate in both online and on-site activities to get the credits.

The coordinator gets 400€ for 1 participating foreign student. The maximum number of students funded is 20, there may be more students attending, but maximum financial contribution for organizing a BIP is 20 x 400€ = 8 000€. Only original BIPs get the organization support - you cannot organize the same BIP with the identical programme twice.

The whole procedure from the decision to create a BIP to the BIP taking place lasts for approximately 4-5 months, so make sure you plan sufficiently in advance.

To organise a BIP, following information must be entered to the Beneficiary module - IT management system for Erasmus+ projects. Info is provided by the organising faculty but only OPE RUK staff have access to the system. The system then generates Blended Intensive Programme ID, which must be used as reference in grant agreements with students and staff by sending institutions. BIP contact person UK rectorate / Erasmus+ Office (Oddelenie programu Erasmus+): Anna Duffeková, anna.duffekovauniba.sk, 02 90 10 20 53.

Data that needs to be provided to OPE+ in order to register your BIP into Beneficiary Module:

Title:

Type of Participants (Learners): students OR staff

Number of Participants (Reported - minimum 15 from partner institutions):

Number of countries of the Participants:

Number of HEIs in the Partnership:

Number of Teachers/Trainers delivering the Programme:

Methods and outcomes (limit 5000 characters):

Objectives and Description (limit 5000 characters):

Priorities Addressed (select 1 - the main one): Digital transformation / Environment and fight against climate change / Inclusion and diversity / Participation in democratic life / Other

Field of study: select 1 from ISCED field of study codes

Level of Study: select 1: Bc / Master / Phd. / other

Start Date (physical part):

End Date (physical part):

City of Venue: Bratislava

Country of Venue: Slovakia

Number of ECTS Credits Awarded:

Main Teaching/Training Language:

Virtual Component Description (limit 5000 characters):

Virtual Component Duration:

Virtual Component Timing (select 1):After / Before / Before and after / Before and during / During / During and after

For each partner (must be from Erasmus+ programme countries = EU & North Macedonia, Serbia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey):

OID (organisation ID in EC system - you can use OID search tool if necessary)

Partnership Role: Coordinator / Partner

Mobility Activity Role (select 1): Co-hosting organisation / Coordinator / Receiving HEI / Sending HEI