Short and blended mobility and summer courses abroad

Erasmus+ blended short mobility means that a mobility contains both a short (5-30 days) physical mobility together with a virtual component before and/or after the physical mobility.  Erasmus+ blended short mobilities are often completed as a part of a Blended Intensive Programme, BIP, organised by our partner university together with University of Helsinki and at least one other European Higher Education Institute. Typically several students from UH and other organising universities participate in the same course, often joined also a by a teacher from UH. Information on Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes are for the moment provided primarily by teachers of your own study programme, that are participating in organising BIPs.

Erasmus+ blended short mobilities include a daily grant. More information on the grant can be found in the Funding for the student exchange in the Erasmus+ mobility grants section.

Terms for Erasmus+ blended short mobilities

• Erasmus+ blended short mobility grant can only be applied for taking part in an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP). Also, the University of Helsinki must be participating as one of the partner universities of the BIP.
• The course contains a virtual component and a  5-30 days physical mobility. This means that the course must have online meetings before and/or after the physical mobility.
• The course is minimum 3 ECTS.
• No tuition can be charged for the course. It is, however, possible to have a fee for leisure activities related to the course, such as trips and activities.
• Bachelor’s and Master’s level students can apply for maximum one Erasmus+ blended short mobility per study cycle. PhD students, who are not employed by the UH, can apply for maximum one Blended short mobility per academic year. 

The application period for the Erasmus+ blended short mobility grant is ongoing (15.8.–15.6.) and the application for the grant is made in Mobility Online. Below you can find the application instructions and the link to the application form.

How to apply for the Erasmus+ blended short mobility grant

• Erasmus blended short mobilities have their own application form
  • Log in with your university username and password.
  • Check once again that it says “Blended short mobility for students” as programme.
  • Check that it shows the correct Academic year.
  • “Type of mobility” must be marked as “Blended”.
  • “Subject code at the sending institution” can be found on the email sent to you with instructions on how and when to apply for the grant.
  • Fill in the application form. Press “Send application".
• You’ll receive an email with a link to the application system where you can finish your application. Log in to your application through the link.
• Upload your Transcript of records of University of Helsinki on your application (Upload application documents). You can download the transcript from Sisu.
• Remember also to fill in the Learning Agreement (LA) on Mobility-Online. The LA is a compulsory part of your Erasmus mobility and you can start your LA by clicking “Complete Learning Agreement”.
  • Click “Enter further courses” and fill in the information of the course at the host institution, such as course code (write “TBC”, if the course does not have a code), course name, ECTS credits. Remember to also write a short description of the virtual component. Click “automatic recognition”.
  • After filling in the course information, click “create” and sign the LA by first clicking “Final check before signing” and then “Sign and transfer”.
• After the supplement has been uploaded and Learning agreement has been filled in, go to "Submit application with attachments".

Your application is now submitted and handed in for International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation for processing.

After the application has been processed, you will be asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding means of transport and travel days. If you travel to the exchange destination prior to the first day of the course or return after the last day of the course, you can add max one travel day per direction to your application. If you are traveling green, you can add up to additional two travel days per direction. Read more on means of transport and travel days on Funding for the student exchange -website. Later, you will receive instructions on reading and accepting grant terms and conditions. 

What is meant by a short course?

With a short course we mean any courses taught at another university abroad. The course must be of high quality and support your studies at the University of Helsinki. The duration of the course may vary from 1 week to 3 months.

The student applies independently to the course at the host university's home page. The student must pay any course fees and travelling and housing costs himself.

University of Helsinki gives a grant for attending the course. The grant can be applied by all Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral levels. The application period is ongoing (15.8.–15.6.) and the application is made at an online application portal Mobility Online. If you are entitled to a general student grant from Kela, you may apply for that also for attending the short course if you meet their criteria. 

Please note that there is a certain amount of grants available and if they run out, we must end the application period in advance. In that case, we would inform about it on this page and directly to prospective students who have already started their application by email.

International Exchange Services will open an application round in February for grants for courses held in Summer. The summer school places to apply for in February are listed below.

How can I find a suitable short course?

The simplest way to find courses abroad is to see partner universities' home pages and course catalogues.

Many universities organize for example courses during summertime (Summer School, Summer Academy) but it might be possible to attend courses during the semester as well. All universities have different guidelines for accepting students for a shorter time than a semester.

You may apply to any university of high quality (preferably a partner of the University of Helsinki), teaching is at university level (Bachelor, Master, Doctoral) and you get the course credits transferred as a whole to your program/degree at the University of Helsinki. The course must last at least one week (5 days) and at most 3 months.

Some short courses can be found on these pages (also other times than summer):

• Summer Schools in Europe
• Northern relevant courses and programs offered by institutions in the Arctic region (UArctic)

These application instructions are on applying for a grant for attending a short course that you've found independently and that doesn’t qualify as Erasmus or Nordplus. Instructions for applying for Erasmus+ grants you can find on this page under Erasmus+ blended short term mobility. Information on the application round for summer schools in February can be found under summer school application round.

The application period for attending a short course whereto you have applied independently is ongoing (15.8.–15.6.). You may apply for the grant once you’ve received confirmation for your attendance on the course. You may of course already start your application before receiving the acceptance letter from the course. Please note, that the grant cannot be awarded after the course has taken place.

Here is how you apply

1. Register as an applicant the Mobility Online portal 

These are instructions for independent attendance on a short course (freemover short course):

• Log in with your university username and password
• Check once again that it says “Freemover short courses” as programme
• Check that it says 2025/2026 as "Academic year"
• Fill in the lacking information, including the name of the course and information on the credit transfer to your degree. Press “Send application".
• If you are about to convert the credits of the course to a certain obligatory course in your program, seek for approval from your faculty. If you are planning on including the course in your selective studies, it is sufficient to write, for example, "To my selective studies in Master's degree." on the registration form. 

2. You’ll receive an email with a link to the application system where you can finish your application. Log in to your application through the link.

3. Prepare the following supplements to your application and upload them on your application on “Upload application documents”:

Unofficial transcript of records of the University of Helsinki

• You can order this via Sisu, save it on your computer and add it to your application.

A copy of the acceptance letter from the host university

• Once you’ve received information on your acceptance to the course, please upload the acceptance letter to Mobility online. Note that the acceptance letter can also be an email in which your acceptance of the course is detailed.

4. After all the supplements have been uploaded, go to "Submit application with attachments".

Your application is now submitted and handed in for International Exchange Services for processing.

Your questions will be answered by:

International Exchange Services

studentexchange@helsinki.fi

The International Exchange Service organizes an application round to some Summer Schools with which we have made an agreement. A certain amount of students will be chosen for these universities based on the agreements and general selection criteria of International Exchange Services will be used. Below you can find the destinations open in this application round, technical instructions for applying as well as the necessary attachments to the application.

The application round will be 2nd to 12th of February 2026 (by 15.00 local Finnish time). 

Please note, that the destinations for the summer 2026 are currently being updated on the website. Final list of destinations is ready by 30 January.

The selections of grant recipients will be made as soon as possible after the application period ending.

Nordic Center summer courses in India and China

University of Helsinki takes part in Nordic co-operation in India and China and gets to choose a couple of students yearly to attend summer courses offered by Nordic Centers there. These paid courses in English are held yearly in June - August, and are applied to in February, through an application round by the International Exchange Services. The selected students are then enrolled for the course by the International Exchange Services. For the Indian course, application is done directly according to instructions received from the Centre, and for the course in China, through International Exchange Services. Note that the course fee is paid by the student. University of Helsinki gives a grant to the selected students, more exact sums can be found in the information about each destination.

The courses have students and lecturers from other Nordic countries.

Please note that Nordic Center summer courses can be found in Mobility Online under 'Summer courses' and the following codes: IND HYDERA01 - Nordic Center in India - University of Hyderabad and CN SHANGHAI01 - Fudan University. Write the name of the course(s) to the text field in your preferred order. The same student can only receive a grant for one course per summer, even if they do not overlap time-wise. Also note the level of the course - students should preferably be on the same (BA / MA) level as the course they're applying for.

Nordic Center at Fudan University - Business and Innovation in China

Course information on the Nordic Centre website

General information

• 10 July - 24 July 2026
• Master's level course
• 5 ECTS credits

Eligibility criteria set by the organiser

• The course is designed for Master's level students, but graduating Bachelor's level students may also be enrolled. Priority is given to Master's level students.
• Previous studies in the study field are highly recommended.

Costs and other important matters

• Course participation fee is 1000 CNY
• The following costs are also paid by the student: accommodation, travel tickets, short site-visits, social programme, insurance and visa expenses. etc.
• Host university’s own application deadline is 13 March 2026. Applications will be sent by the International Exchange Services to the host university.
• Grant sum is 500 euros
• Host university in Mobility Online SHANGHAI01 - Fudan University. Please write clearly on the application form, which course are you wishing to apply for.

Quota

3 places

Nordic Center in India - Gender and Society in Contemporary India

TBC.

Summer courses in the Nordic countries

University of Helsinki has agreed on sending a certain amount of students after pre-selection to the summer schools offered by our partner universities. 

The nominated students don't have to pay course fees but there might be other costs for attending the course. International Exchange Services pays a grant of 500 euros for nominated students to help with the costs such as travel, accommodation and social expenses. 

Some of the courses might have been filled before the decision about the grant. Remember to check the deadline and to apply to the Summer School in time! Nomination to the Summer School is not yet a guarantee for admission.

Aarhus Summer University, Denmark

Aarhus University Summer University Courses

General information

• Term 1: 6 July - 24 July 2026
• Term 2: 27 July - 14 August 2026
• Bachelor's and Master's level courses
• 5 or 10 ECTS credit courses

Eligibility criteria set by the host university

When applying for a Master's level course, you must hold a Bachelor's degree of a relevant study field by the time of application.

Costs and other important matters

• Nominated students from the University of Helsinki are waived from the tuition fees, but the following costs are paid by the student: accommodation, travel tickets, short site-visits, social programme, possible insurance and visa expenses. etc.
• Estimated budget for one month in Aarhus
• Host university’s own application deadline is 17 March 2026.
• Grant sum is 500 euros
• You may apply for one course

Quota

3 places

Linköping University Summer Academy, Sweden

Summer Academy courses

General information

• 26 June - 25 July 2026
• Bachelor's level courses
• 7,5 ECTS credits

Eligibility criteria set by the host university

You must have completed at least 60 ECTS at the University of Helsinki when applying to the host university.

Costs and other important matters

• Nominated students from the University of Helsinki are waived from the tuition fees, but the following costs are paid by the student: accommodation, travel tickets, short site-visits, social programme, possible insurance and visa expenses, etc.
• Host university’s own application deadline is 20 March 2026.
• Grant sum is 500 euros
• You may apply for one course

Quota

3 places

Technical instructions for applying and the necessary attachments

1. Register as an applicant the Mobility Online portal.

Application for attendance on an agreement-based Summer School:

• Summer courses have their own application form.
• Log in with your university username and password
• Check once again that it says “Summer courses” as programme
• Check that it says 2025/2026 as "Academic year"
• Fill in the lacking information. Press “Send application".
• Please make sure to indicate cleary on the application form, which course you attend to apply for.
• If you are about to convert the credits of the course to a certain obligatory course in your program, seek for approval from your faculty according to their instructions. If you are planning on including the course in your selective studies, it is sufficient to write for example "To my selective studies in Master's degree." on the registration form. 

2. You’ll receive an email with a link to the application system where you can finish your application. Log in to your application through the link.

3. Prepare the following supplement to your application and upload it on your application on “Upload application documents”:

Unofficial transcript of records of the University of Helsinki

• You can order this via Sisu, save it on your computer and add it to your application.

4. After the supplement has been uploaded, go to "Submit application with attachments".

Your application is now submitted and handed in for International Exchange Services for processing.

If you are selected in the summer school application round you must still after being nominated apply for the summer school course itself according to the instructions of the receiving institution. Once you receive it you must also upload the acceptance letter from your host university so that the grant can be paid.

Your questions will be answered by:

International Exchange Services

studentexchange@helsinki.fi