How institutions apply for KA121 mobility projects

KA121 refers to a KA1 mobility project under Erasmus+ for higher education institutions. It funds short and longer student mobilities (study or traineeship) and staff mobility for teaching and training. The grant covers the mobility activities listed in your approved project; it is not a salary for participants.

• Eligible sending activities: study mobility (credit), traineeships (work placements), staff teaching and staff training.
• Funding is project-based: you apply for a number of mobilities and receive a grant to cover unit costs (travel, subsistence, organisational).
• National Agencies run the annual call and manage contracts, so rules and portals vary by country.

Check your National Agency’s KA1 call text for the exact list of eligible activities and the application portal your country uses.

KA121 applications are institutional. The mobility coordinator, finance officer and the legal/partnership contact must prepare specific IDs and documents before submission.

• Organisation ID / PIC: register your institution so funders can identify you.
• Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE): required for many programme countries — confirm whether your country asks for it in the call.
• Formal authorisation: proof of legal status and bank details; your finance office must verify solvency for co‑financing rules.
• Baseline data: current student numbers, recent mobility figures, partner institutions’ contacts.

PIC (Participant Identification Code)

A unique code your institution gets when it registers in the European Commission participant/organisation database. Used on applications and grant paperwork.

ECHE (Erasmus Charter for Higher Education)

A charter any higher education institution in a programme country needs to run Erasmus+ student and staff mobility under many KA1 actions.

Successful applications are concise and evidence-based. Treat the submission as two linked products: a project narrative (quality and impact) and a mobility plan (numbers, destinations, budgets).

1. 1
   1. Read the call and national guidance

   Download the KA1 call text from your National Agency. Note any country-specific rules, deadlines and the portal used for submission.

2. 2
   2. Confirm eligibility and get IDs

   Ensure PIC/OID is active and that ECHE is in place if required. Resolve any missing legal or banking documents early — issuing these takes weeks in some universities.

3. 3
   3. Build your mobility plan

   List mobility types, number of participants by group, sending departments and receiving partners. Match mobilities to learning outcomes and recognition mechanisms.

4. 4
   4. Draft the quality and inclusion section

   Describe selection criteria, support for participants with fewer opportunities, language support and measures to ensure recognition of learning outcomes.

5. 5
   5. Budget and risk assessment

   Use the unit-cost tables your National Agency provides. Include a short risk table (visa, insurance, host cancellations) and mitigation actions.

6. 6
   6. Internal sign‑offs and upload

   Get academic, legal and financial sign-off before upload. Submit before the deadline; late uploads are not accepted.

If you are awarded a grant, you must formalise each partnership and each mobility. Two documents matter most: the Inter‑Institutional Agreement (IIA) between sending and receiving HEIs, and the Learning Agreement for each participant.

• Inter‑Institutional Agreement (IIA): signed once per partner and activity type. It sets mobility types, recognition rules and the length of the partnership.
• Learning Agreement (LA): signed by sending institution, receiving institution and the student or staff member. It must state learning outcomes, credits (if study) and responsible persons.
• Use Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) or Mobility Tool+ connections if your partners use them to exchange LA data electronically.

Negotiate IIAs early: unresolved recognition clauses and insurance conditions are the most common cause of mobilities being cancelled at short notice.

Inter‑Institutional Agreement (IIA)

A bilateral contract that records the practical and academic terms for mobilities — recognition, duration, contact points, and number of places.

Learning Agreement (LA)

Individual document for each participant describing the planned work/study, learning outcomes and how activities will be recognised.

A short, practical checklist prevents most common failures. Use this as a template you can adapt to your institution’s size.

• Selection: written, scoreable criteria and published timeline; record refusals and appeals.
• Pre‑departure checks: visa status, travel documents, EU/non‑EU insurance confirmation and emergency contact details.
• Learning Agreement: LA signed by all three parties before mobility starts; add a section for remote changes.
• Recognition: planned recognition recorded on the LA and confirmed by department before departure.
• Host confirmation: written acceptance from host with mentor name, start/end dates and workplace address.
• Monitoring: a named coordinator for each cohort, mid‑mobility check and final report template.
• Data and GDPR: consent collection, secure storage of mobility documents and retention policy for audit.

The grant management phase has formal reporting and flexibility rules. Know when instalments arrive and how to report changes to mobilities.

• Grant Agreement: your National Agency issues this after award; it defines reporting deadlines and eligible costs.
• Payments: usually a pre-financing instalment and a final report-based payment. Exact timetable is in your Grant Agreement.
• Mobility Tool+ (or national equivalent): used for participant data upload and final reporting in many countries; check your NA for the required platform.
• Substantial changes: reduce or reassign mobilities only with NA approval; last-minute partner cancellations require prompt replacement or reallocation to avoid underspend.

Keep a simple live register of all participant LAs and IIAs for reporting and audit. That single document saves weeks at project close.

If you are ready to proceed, follow these practical next moves in order to convert readiness into an application or to scale an existing KA121 project.

• 1. Download the latest KA1 call text from your National Agency and calendar the deadline.
• 2. Check or obtain your PIC/OID and confirm ECHE status (if applicable).
• 3. Draft a one‑page mobility plan listing disciplines, partner countries and expected participant numbers.
• 4. Run a short internal review (academic head, legal, finance) and prepare your budget table using the NA unit costs.
• 5. If you need partner development or placement management, consider a specialist provider.

If you want external help to draft the application, manage Learning Agreements or handle placements, Piktalent offers institutional KA121/KA122 services; see /mobility-programs/ka121-ka122-mobility to enquire.