Financial Conditions of the SMECC2E Scholarship

The scholarship awarded to individual participants—students, trainees and staff—shall cover their eligible travel, installation and subsistence costs during the approved mobility period.

The scholarship amount shall be calculated using a monthly unit contribution, applied pro rata to the actual number of eligible mobility days.

The applicable rate will be determined by the participant’s approved mobility category. Payments shall cover only the mobility period formally approved by the SMECC2E Project and confirmed through the relevant Scholarship or Mobility Agreement.

A separate institutional unit contribution shall be provided to support participating institutions in implementing the mobility scheme. This contribution is not payable directly to scholarship holders as part of their personal allowance.

The institutional contribution is intended to cover part of the costs associated with successful implementation of the mobility programme, including:

• Project management and coordination
• Communication, visibility and dissemination activities
• Services and support provided to scholarship holders
• Insurance coverage
• Participation costs, including tuition fees
• Research activities
• Academic, administrative and welfare support
• Monitoring, reporting and quality-assurance activities
• Other eligible costs necessary for implementation of the approved mobility plan

The institutional contribution shall be managed by the SMECC2E Consortium and participating institutions in accordance with the approved project budget and applicable EU financial rules.

Additional financial support may be provided for the mobility of a scholarship holder with a disability where the need is properly established and documented.

To qualify, the participant’s long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment must be certified by a competent national authority and must be of such a nature that participation in the mobility programme would not be possible without the requested special-needs items or services.

Eligible special-needs support may include:

• Assistance provided by third persons
• Acquisition or provision of specialised items or services
• Adaptation of the study, research or working environment
• Additional travel or transportation costs
• Accessible accommodation or mobility support, where eligible
• Other disability-related services necessary for participation

Scholarship payments shall be made according to the schedule and procedures stated in the individual Scholarship or Mobility Agreement. Payment may be subject to:

• Completion and submission of all required documentation
• Confirmation of registration or reporting at the host institution
• Confirmation of the participant’s arrival and continued physical presence
• Compliance with visa, residence and insurance requirements
• Submission of required academic, mobility and progress reports
• Satisfactory academic, research, training or professional performance
• Continued compliance with SMECC2E Project and home/host institution rules

Because the scholarship is calculated according to the actual eligible mobility period, the final amount may be adjusted where the mobility starts late, ends early, is interrupted or differs from the period originally approved.

The scholarship is a contribution towards the eligible costs of the approved mobility. It does not constitute employment, a salary or an automatic entitlement to reimbursement of every expense incurred by the scholarship holder.

A participant shall not receive another EU-funded scholarship or financial award covering the same costs during the same mobility period. All additional or overlapping sources of funding must be declared to the SMECC2E Project Management Team.

Payments may be suspended, adjusted, discontinued or recovered where a scholarship holder:

• Provides false, misleading or incomplete information
• Fails to register or report to the approved host institution
• Does not make satisfactory academic or professional progress
• Interrupts, withdraws from or abandons the mobility without approval
• Is absent from the host institution without authorisation
• Receives overlapping funding for the same costs
• Breaches the Scholarship or Mobility Agreement
• Receives payment for a period during which the participant is no longer eligible

Detailed entitlements, payment arrangements, eligible costs and participant obligations shall be stated in the individual Scholarship or Mobility Agreement. Where any inconsistency arises, the SMECC2E Grant Agreement and the applicable European Union guidelines shall prevail.