1. General information

The KIT Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has concluded exchange agreements (Inter-Institutional Agreements) with more than 50 partner universities within Europe. These agreements regulate student mobility according to the guidelines of the ERASMUS+ program. Students decide themselves on the timing (BSc from the 5th semester on, MSc and PhD) and the duration of their stay (one or two semesters) and can go abroad in Europe for up to 12 months in each study phase (BSc., MSc and PhD). ERASMUS+ offers the following benefits:

• Exemption from tuition fees at the partner university
• Recognition of achievements successfully completed abroad after appropriate prior consultation (recognition agreements)
• free online language courses in the "major" languages and/or low-cost intensive language courses at the partner university
• Mobility grant based on the cost of living in the host country

The first point of contact for all questions regarding partner universities, application requirements or recognition of achievements abroad is

• ISIM - International Service in Mechanical Engineering (Building 10.23, R.706)

Head: Sarah Witte

Office hours: Tue 9 am - 12 pm and by individual arrangement; e-mail: isim ∂does-not-exist.mach kit edu

Furthermore, you can get information about the ERASMUS program at:

• IStO - International Students Office of KIT. In regular events the ERASMUS team there informs about the basic features of the program, the organization of the stay and the administrative procedures. The dates can be found here.
• Information and experiences from a student perspective are provided by the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Karlsruhe.

2. Application for ERASMUS+

Before you apply for an Erasmus spot, you should consider what else you want to achieve with the study abroad besides the acquisition of language skills and social competences. Should the stay abroad specifically serve your academic further education, do you want to attend courses not offered at KIT for the purpose of broadening your horizons, or do you even plan to do a project, BSc or MSc thesis abroad? Check out the websites of our partner universities to find out which university is best suited to achieve your goals. You can receive funding for a maximum of 12 months in each of the Bachelor's and Master's programs as well as in the doctoral phase.

Selection criteria include:

Performance, language skills, motivation, personal commitment, completeness of documents, timely submission.

Documents

The following documents are required for the Erasmus application:

• one to max. two-page letter of motivation in German. Please also explain your study plans for your first desired university.
• Curriculum vitae in tabular form
• high school diploma
• current transcript of grades of your previous studies (BSc and MSc, if applicable)
• current proof of knowledge of the language of instruction (for required level, see list of partner universities). Additional knowledge of the local language may be advantageous for the application. As proof of a B2-level English according to the European Framework of Reference, the highschool diploma is sufficient for the faculty-internal application if it shows that the language was also taken during high school and the grade is at least equivalent to 10 points refering to the German grading table. For a C1 level, at least 13 points must have been achieved. Notwithstanding the above, the partner university may require more recent/other evidence as a prerequisite.
• Learning Agreement: Complete only your personal information and use Table A to outline your proposed studies at your first priority university. The final LA must be prepared only after a confirmation of the exchange place. Therefore, no recognition agreements need to be attached to the application.

Application Procedure

1. Please complete this application form and submit the completed form. For this you have to log in with your u-account.
   • Please fill out the application form completely and in one go.
   • Please do not change your provided student email address(uxxxx∂student.kit.edu).
2. After you submit the application form, you will receive a confirmation email. Included in the email is a link. Please open this link and log in with your u account as usual. You are now in the Mobility Online portal.
3. Complete all the necessary steps displayed in Mobility Online to finalize your application.
   • From here on, you can access your application and correct errors until you perform the final operation "Confirmation of completeness of application documents submitted, application finally submitted" (see step 5).
   • Make sure that the information (including typos) is correct.
4. In the Mobility Online Portal you can now also upload all required documents (certificates*, language certificates, letter of motivation, CV, etc.).
   • Here, too, you can update or re-upload documents until you perform the final operation "Confirmation of completeness of application documents submitted, application finally submitted".
   • Please note that you can only upload language certificates if you have answered the question "Language certificate available" in your master data with YES.
   • *Master's students must upload both their Bachelor's and Master's grade transcripts.
     • Tip: If you are applying to the partner university, you should also submit both grade statements.
5. Once you have filled in all required fields and uploaded documents, submit your application by performing the final operation "Confirmation of completeness of application documents submitted, application finally submitted".
   • From here on, you will not be able to change your application and especially the data you have provided. Make sure that the information is correct.
   • Errors can no longer be corrected. Incorrect information can lead to exclusion from the application process.
   • In any case, you must complete this step before the application deadline. Only then will your application be considered submitted on time and considered.
   • From now on, the subject coordinators will be able to view and process your application. An advantage of the new system is that you can be asked to upload incomplete documents again. So you will not be eliminated directly. For this reason, it is advisable to submit your final application before the application deadline.
6. Iteratively, we will now check whether your submitted documents are complete. If necessary, you will be asked to upload improved documents again via the exchange e-mail. However, this only affects the submitted documents and not your personal data/information.
7. If you are not contacted by ISIM, your application documents are complete, subsequent steps:
   • You will be informed by e-mail about the offer of an exchange place.
   • You must bindingly accept or reject the place in the system.
     • You decline: Your application will be cancelled and no further place will be offered to you.
     • You accept: The exchange place will be reserved for you and you will be nominated by IStO at the partner university. The partner university will again request application documents from you. All further procedural steps, especially the scholarship payment, will be regulated by IStO.
   • If we unfortunately could not nominate you for this exchange cycle, please apply...
     • for the remaining places.
     • again next year.

The complete application documents for the next academic year 2025/26 must be submitted by January 15, 2025 at the latest. Please also apply by this date if you do not intend to go abroad until the summer semester 2026 to ensure that you will be allocated an Erasmus mobility grant.

Allocation of remaining Erasmus spots for SS 2025

Mobility Online is open for the second application round for summer semester 2025 from April 1st till July 28 2024. Please note that the Erasmus grant can not be guaranteed at this point. A list of the remaining spots can be found on Ilias.

What is a Learning Agreement?

The Learning Agreement is a study agreement listing the courses you would like to take at the host university and which you would like to substitute for courses at KIT. You can compile your Learning Agreement with the help of the module handbooks, online course catalogs or course descriptions, which you can find on the homepage of the host university. You should - just like at KIT - take about 30 ECTS credits in each semester, which may include language courses. Please note that you have to achieve at least 20 ECTS abroad in order to receive your scholarship. However, you are free to decide if and how much of the achieved achievements you want to have credited after your return. It is common that there are deviations from the original Learning Agreement on site. There is a change form for this purpose. Changes are usually possible without any problems within the first 4 - 6 weeks after the start of studies at the host university.

4. ERASMUS+ Partners

Faculty-specific exchange programs are programs that are offered exclusively in the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and are tailored specifically to its students. In close consultation with the partners, a clear framework is defined with regard to the timing, duration and objectives of the stay. The recognition of the work done abroad is also usually arranged in advance. For faculty-specific programs there are financial aids - e.g. the waiving of tuition fees or mobility grants for travel and/or living expenses. Details about this can be obtained from the person responsible for the respective program.

Argentina

• Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA)

China

• GEARE: Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (Jiaotong, University of Shanghai)
• Tongji University Shanghai

France

• ENSAM - Arts et Métiers Paris Tech
• Ecole Polytechnique Palaiseau
• INSA - Lyon

Canada

• The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario

South Korea

• KAIST Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• UNIST Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

USA

• GEARE Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (Purdue University, Indiana State University)
• University of Kentucky, Lexington

General Information

A professional or research internship offers an opportunity to complete a study- or work-related stay abroad. In order to carry out an internship abroad, more initiative and independence are usually required, not only in the search for the internship position, but also on site, than is the case with studies. Comprehensive information can be found on the following homepages:

• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
• International Students Office (IStO)

A professional internship is a prerequisite for admission to the Master's program in Mechanical Engineering at KIT and can be carried out abroad in parts or completely. Consultation with the Studierenden Center Maschinenbau (Internship Office) is required to clarify the recognition of the internship. In addition, voluntary internships and research internships can also be completed abroad.

Internship search

As a rule, the interested party must look for the internship position himself/herself. In doing so, s/he can make use of internship offers in the corresponding internship exchanges worldwide or start direct applications.

Internship offers abroad can be found on the following sites, among others:

• DAAD
• KIT - SCM
• KIT - RSM
• KOOR - ERASMUS Services BW
• IAESTE

For direct applications to a company, foreign branches of large German companies are particularly recommended. In this case, depending on the procedure of the company, the application must be sent either directly to the corresponding foreign representative office, or to a central office within Germany for further referral. Especially in the second case, it is often assumed that an internship has already been completed at a German branch of the company.

Internship funding

Generally, internships abroad are remunerated by the employing companies. In addition, many scholarship programs offer financial aid for the increased expenses abroad, travel costs or similar. A first overview of the different financial aids can be found on the above mentioned pages of the DAAD and the ISTO.

As an example, the following general scholarship programs should be mentioned:

• ERASMUS+ Placement
  Internships within Europe can be funded through the ERASMUS+ Placement program - regardless of the salary. The application can be submitted to KOOR/BEST at the latest 4 weeks before the start of the internship and, according to experience, will be processed favorably. According to the guidelines of the EU, the funding is based on the cost of living in the host country. Further information

• PROMOS
  Internships outside Europe are supported at KIT by the PROMOS program . As in the case of study visits, three to four selection rounds are expected to take place per year throughout KIT.

• RISE worldwide
  In addition, bachelor students interested in an internship abroad are recommended to have a look at the RISE program of the DAAD, which arranges and finances research internships at university institutes or research institutions all over the world.

In addition, the following KIT programs are available for students of mechanical engineering at KIT:

• Research internship at CERN in Geneva
  For students of computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, and process engineering, the KIT-Technical Student Program at CERN offers the possibility to either complete an internship in Geneva for a period of 4-12 months or to write a thesis. The prerequisite is the approval of a professor of the own faculty. The call for applications is made via ISTO . Contact is Dr. Kai Rebensburg: kai rebensburg∂kit edu.

• International MINTernship Program
  This newly designed internship program is intended to create research-related exchange opportunities for young KIT scientists (BSC, MSc, and PhD students) in attractive English-speaking countries. The study or research stays at the foreign partner universities are exempted from tuition fees for KIT students and PhD students and financed by scholarships. The call for applications is also made via IStO . Contact person is Ms. Constanze Kreutzer: constanze kreutzer ∂does-not-exist.kit edu.
  • Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (USA)

Theses

Bachelor's and Master's theses can also be written abroad. However, they must always be assigned, supervised, and evaluated by a professor of the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Therefore, you should first contact the representative of the department in which you would like to write your thesis. He or she can advise you regarding a thesis abroad and often has personal contacts to foreign colleagues who can be helpful for a placement at the foreign university.

For example, the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering offers final theses with practical relevance in the field of production engineering, which are carried out at the Global Advanced Manufacturing Institute (GAMI) in Suzhou (China) . Final theses at the BIT Beijing Institute of Technology are also possible. Further information on this can be obtained from Professor Proppe.

A special offer for students of mechanical engineering at KIT is the scholarship of the Willy Höfer Foundation for the promotion of a thesis abroad.

In addition, there are often special funding programs for final theses, which you can find on the DAAD homepage. For example, funding through PROMOS is also possible. In this case, the more concretely you describe your project in your application, the greater your chances of success.

Within the framework of an Erasmus+ stay, a final thesis (BSc and MSc) can also be carried out. However, you should plan this early, as you are bound by the application deadlines for ERASMUS+ and the achievement should be included in your Learning Agreement. Furthermore, in addition to the subject representative in the KIT-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, you also need a supervisor at the partner university, i.e. you must initiate the coordination process in good time.