Erasmus Mundus Glossary

Applicant / Coordinating organisation – organisation that submits a grant application on behalf of a consortium, partnership or network of participating organisations; the applicant represents and acts on behalf of the group of participating organisation in its relations with the Agency; if the grant application is selected, the Applicant will become the main beneficiary (see Beneficiary definition below) and will sign the grant agreement on behalf of the participating organisations;

Bachelor Student (Undergraduate, student in first cycle) - a person enrolled in a first cycle higher education programme and who will obtain after the completion of the programme a first higher education degree;

Beneficiary and co-Beneficiary – the beneficiary (also referred to as “main beneficiary” or “coordinating organisation”) is the organisation that, on behalf of the consortium / partnership / network of participating organisation, has signed an agreement with the Agency; the Beneficiary has the primary legal responsibility towards the Agency for the proper execution of the agreement; it is also responsible for the day-to-day coordination and management of the project and for the usage of the Community funds allocated to the project; only in the context of a “Grant agreement with multiple beneficiaries” can partners be considered as co-beneficiaries and include their expenditure in the final budget of the project; in all other circumstances, only the expenditure incurred by the main beneficiary and duly recorded in its accounts in accordance with the applicable accounting principles of the country where it is established can be considered as eligible;

Co-tutelle – joint supervision of doctoral studies by two universities from different countries; if successful the doctoral candidate will be awarded a joint or double doctoral degree awarded by the two institutions;

Diploma Supplement - This Diploma Supplement model was developed by the European Commission, Council of Europe and UNESCO/CEPES. The purpose of the supplement is to provide sufficient independent data to improve the international ‘transparency’ and fair academic and professional recognition of qualifications (diplomas, degrees, certificates etc.). It is designed to provide a description of the nature, level, context, content and status of the studies that were pursued and successfully completed by the individual named on the original qualification to which this supplement is appended. It should be free from any value judgements, equivalence statements or suggestions about recognition;

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/rec_qual/recognition/diploma_en.html

Dissemination is defined as a planned process of providing information on the quality, relevance and effectiveness of the results of programmes and initiatives to key actors. It occurs as and when the results of programmes and initiatives become available;

Doctoral Candidate (candidate in third cycle) - an early-stage researcher at the beginning  his/her research career, starting at the date of obtaining the degree which would formally entitle him/her to embark on a doctoral programme;

Doctoral Candidate Agreement - an agreement signed by the Consortium and the doctoral candidate enrolled in the joint doctoral programme explicitly indicating any academic, research, financial and administrative modalities related to the candidate participation in the programme and, if applicable, the award and usage of the fellowship;

Doctoral Programme (third cycle) - a research-related programme of higher education study that follows a higher education degree and leads to a doctoral degree offered by higher education institution or, in those Member States where this is in accordance with national legislation and practice, by a research organisation;

Double or Multiple Degree - two or more national diplomas issued by two or more higher education institutions and recognised officially in the countries where the degree-awarding institutions are located;

ECTS - European Credit Transfer System which is a student-centred system based on the student workload required to achieve the objectives of a programme, objectives preferably specified in terms of the learning outcomes and competences to be acquired;
More information on ECTS

EMJD Agreement - an agreement signed by all consortium partners (and, if applicable, associated partners) clearly laying down the joint doctoral programme the academic, research, administrative and financial rules and procedures in adherence with the rules and requirements as set out in the Erasmus Mundus Programme;

EMMC Agreement - an agreement signed by all consortium partners (and, if applicable,  associated partners) clearly laying down the joint masters course academic, administrative and financial rules and procedures in adherence with the rules and requirements as set out in the Erasmus Mundus Programme;

Erasmus Mundus National Structures - Erasmus Mundus National Structures are contact and information points located in each of the participating European countries; they inform the public about the programme, offer assistance and advice to potential applicants and actual participants and provide feedback on programme implementation to the Commission.; they can provide useful information about the particularities of national education systems, visas requirements, credit transfers, and other tools; see list of Erasmus Mundus National Structures under Chapter 8;

Enterprise - all undertakings engaged in economic activity in the public and private sector, whatever their size, legal status or the economic sector in which they operate, including the social economy;

EQF (European Qualification Framework) - acts as a translation device to make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promoting workers' and learners' mobility between countries and facilitating their lifelong learning; more information on http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc44_en.htm;

European Country - a country which is a Member State of the European Union or which participates in the programme according to Article 9 of the Programme Decision;

European individual means a person who is a national or a resident of any of the Member States or the countries participating in the programme according to Article 9 of the Programme Decision;

European Institution means an institution which is located in any of the Member States or the countries participating in the programme according to Article 9 of the Programme Decision;

Evaluation Committee – is the committee in charge of drafting the selection proposal that will be subject of the formal grant award decision; the composition of the evaluation committee may vary from one action to another but it must be composed of at least three persons representing two different organisational entities with no hierarchical link between them; for Action 1, this evaluation committee is assisted by a  Selection Board composed of leading figures from European academia proposed by the Members States and selected by the Commission; for Action 2 and 3 it is composed of representatives from the Agency and from the services concerned in the European Commission;

Exploitation consists of “mainstreaming” and “multiplication”. Mainstreaming is the planned process of transferring the successful results of programmes and initiatives to appropriate decision-makers in regulated local, regional, national and European systems. Multiplication is the planned process of convincing individual end-users to adopt and/or apply the results of programmes and initiatives;

Higher Education - all types of courses of study, or sets of courses of study, training or training for research at the post secondary level which are recognized by the relevant national authorities of a participating country as belonging to its higher education system;

Higher Education Institution (HEI) - an establishment providing higher education and recognized by the competent national authority of a participating country as belonging to its system of higher education; for the purposes of Action 1 B - Joint Doctoral programmes, the concept of HEI includes also doctoral/graduate/research schools and research organisations under the condition they provide doctoral training and research activities, and deliver doctorate degrees recognised as such by the relevant authorities of the country concerned;

Higher Education Staff - persons who, through their duties, are involved directly in the educational process related to higher education;

Joint Degree - a single diploma issued by at least two higher education institutions offering an integrated programme and recognised officially in the countries where the degree-awarding institutions are located; in accordance with the Erasmus Mundus Programme Decision, “programmes resulting in the award of joint degrees shall be promoted”;

Marie Curie Initial Training Network - a European Commission funded programme aimed to improve early-stage researchers' career prospects in both the public and private sectors, thereby making research careers more attractive to young people; more information can be obtained from http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/initial-training_en.html;

Masters Programme (second cycle) - a second cycle higher education programme that follows a first degree or equivalent level of learning and leads to a masters level qualification offered by a higher education institution;

Master Student (student in second cycle) - a person enrolled in a second cycle higher education programme and who has already obtained a first higher education degree or has a recognised equivalent level of learning according to national legislation and practices;

Mobility - moving physically to another country, in order to undertake study, work experience, research, other learning or teaching or research activity or related administrative activity, supported as appropriate by preparation in the host language;

Post-doctoral Programme - higher education study or research offered by a higher education institution or a research organisation established in accordance with national legislation and practice that follows a doctoral degree;

Post-doctoral Researcher - an experienced researcher who is in possession of a doctoral degree or who has at least three years of full-time equivalent research experience, including the period of research training, at a research organisation established in accordance with national legislation and practice after obtaining the degree which formally allowed him/her to embark on a doctoral programme offered by higher education institution;

Scholar / Academic – a person with outstanding academic and/or professional experience who lectures or conducts research in a higher education institution or a research organisation established in accordance with national legislation and practice;

Student Agreement - an agreement signed by the Consortium and student enrolled in the joint masters course explicitly indicating any academic, financial and administrative modalities related to the student's participation in the joint course and, if applicable, the award and usage of the scholarship;

Third-Country - a country which is not a Member State of the European Union and which does not participate in the programme according to Article 9 of the Programme Decision;

Third-country individual means a person who is neither a national nor a resident of any of the Member States or the countries participating in the programme according to Article 9 of the Programme Decision;

Third-country institution means an institution that is not located in any of the Member States or the countries participating in the programme according to Article 9 of the Programme Decision. The countries participating in the Lifelong Learning Programme are not considered as Third-Countries for the implementation of Action 2.

Source: EACEA