Implemented in Türkiye since 2004, the Erasmus Programme has enabled student and staff mobility in higher education through KA131 projects with Programme Countries across Europe. With the launch of the Erasmus+ Programme in 2015, the scope of this activity was broadened to include not only Programme Countries but also many Partner Countries (non-Programme Countries), thereby making higher education student and staff mobility possible with these countries as well. In this context, the KA171 project is a type of activity that provides higher education students and staff with opportunities to study or gain professional experience in what are referred to as “Third Countries Not Associated to the Programme.”
These are countries other than the 27 EU member states (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden) and the non-EU Programme Countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, and Türkiye). In other words, nearly all countries outside these are considered “Third Countries Not Associated to the Programme.”
They are categorized into the following regions:
Region 1 – Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro
Region 2 – Eastern Partnership: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine
Region 3 – South Mediterranean Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia
Region 4 – Russia: Russia
Region 5 – Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, North Korea, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Region 6 – Central Asia: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Region 7 – Middle East: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Region 8 – Pacific: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
Region 9 – Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Region 10 – Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
Region 11 – Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
Region 12 – United States and Canada: United States of America, Canada
This activity provides higher education students and staff with opportunities to study or gain professional experience abroad. The main objectives are to support the personal development and employability of higher education students, to promote the professional development of staff, and to enhance the institutional capacity and international dimension of higher education institutions.
In addition, the activity is designed to:
This activity includes two main types of mobility:
Student Mobility: Mobility of higher education students from Türkiye to third countries not associated with the Programme and from those countries to Türkiye, for study or traineeship purposes.
Staff Mobility: Mobility of academic staff for teaching in a higher education institution located in a third country not associated with the Programme, as well as mobility of academic/administrative staff for training in such institutions.
The target group consists of students enrolled in formal education at higher education institutions (associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels) and academic/administrative staff currently employed at universities. Students and staff wishing to participate in mobility must apply through the calls for applications announced by their respective higher education institutions via the TURNAPortal system.