Enhancing professional skills and strengthening inter-university collaboration.
The CHARM-EU traineeship mobility program enables students to undertake professional work placements at partner universities, allowing them to develop their skills in real-world settings while gaining international experience. This initiative is a core component of CHARM-EU’s commitment to fostering transnational education and institutional collaboration. By bridging academic learning with professional exposure, the program prepares students for global careers while strengthening ties between universities.
For host institutions, welcoming trainees brings fresh perspectives, strengthens research and academic collaborations, and enhances institutional visibility. CHARM-EU facilitates a structured and well-supported process, ensuring that both students and host institutions maximize the benefits of traineeship mobility.
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The traineeship mobility program is a key component of CHARM-EU’s broader mobility strategy, aiming to enhance student employability while promoting inter-university collaboration. The program allows students to undertake professional traineeships within academic and administrative settings, such as research groups or university offices, providing them with practical experience that complements their academic studies.
The strategic objectives of this initiative are to foster international collaboration between universities, improve knowledge transfer, and promote student skill development in a global context. Traineeship opportunities are structured to enrich students’ professional, academic, and cultural development, enhancing their ability to contribute to global challenges and providing them with exposure to diverse work environments.
Unlike traditional traineeships, the CHARM-EU approach integrates structured support mechanisms, ensuring that both students and host institutions maximize the benefits of participation. The program is available in two models: student-initiated traineeships, where students independently seek placement opportunities, and host-initiated traineeships, where predefined opportunities are advertised centrally.
Key benefits of the traineeship mobility program include:
- For students: practical work experience, improved employability, professional networking, intercultural exposure, and financial support through Erasmus+ grants.
- For host institutions: additional support for research and administrative teams, access to motivated international students, potential recruitment opportunities, and strengthened academic collaborations.
- For CHARM-EU: enhanced institutional cooperation, knowledge exchange across member universities, and increased student engagement in transnational mobility.
Since the launch of the CHARM-EU project in 2023, the program has expanded, with key developments including the Chemistry Mobility Network, which connects students with interdisciplinary research opportunities.
SOMETHING FOR YOU TOO? EXPLORE THE OPPORTUNITIES!
The traineeship mobility program is designed to benefit a range of stakeholders, including students, host units, academic staff, and international coordinators. If you are a host unit looking to attract talent or an institutional coordinator seeking to promote cross-border collaboration, learn more about how you can engage with the traineeship mobility program below.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CARRY OUT A SIMILAR PROCESS YOURSELF? SEE OUR GUIDES!
| Step | Action | Who Should Be Involved? | Resources / Support |
| Step 1 | Assess institutional readiness and conduct a feasibility survey Survey institutional capacity to host trainees, funding availability, and potential departments that can offer placements. Identify administrative or research units interested in hosting students. | International offices/ coordinators, department heads, academic staff | CHARM-EU Mobility Handbook |
| Step 2 | Promote the traineeship program to host units Raise awareness about the program through university websites, information sessions, and promotional materials. Highlight the benefits for both students and host institutions. | Student advisors, international coordinators, communication teams | CHARM-EU Website News and events page |
| Step 3 | Collect and advertise traineeship opportunities Encourage host institutions to submit structured offers detailing the role, required skills, and support available for trainees. Compile offers and publish them on the CHARM-EU website. | CHARM-EU mobility office, host institutions | CHARM-EU Website News and events page |
| Step 4 | Promote the traineeship program to students Raise awareness among students about available traineeship opportunities through university websites, faculty networks and targeted communication. Provide guidance on the application process and eligibility criteria. | Student advisors, international coordinators, communication teams | CHARM-EU Website News and events page |
| Step 5 | Support students in the application and selection process Provide students with clear guidelines on how to apply for a traineeship, including CV preparation, contacting potential hosts and filling out required documents (ex.: learning agreement). | International offices/ coordinators, student advisors, career services | Application Guidelines Support Contacts |
| Step 6 | Facilitate pre-departure and on-site support + mentoring Assist students with applications for accommodation and orientation/mentoring programs. Provide host units with guidelines on mentorship and student supervision. | International offices, host unit coordinators | Intercultural preparation course Support Contacts |
| Step 7 | Monitor and evaluate the traineeship experience Conduct feedback surveys to assess student satisfaction and institutional impact. Use insights to improve future traineeship opportunities. | International coordinators, students, host units |
