Deadline: 31 October 2025

The MIND PhD24 project , coordinated by the University of Porto and with the University of Aveiro, the University of Minho and the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro as partners, promotes mobility opportunities for learning, internship or training purposes for students, teachers and administrative staff from the four academic communities. The main objective is to encourage the mobility with a focus on strengthening the promotion of doctoral schools, training in transversal skills and boosting doctoral programmes in international networks.

Types of mobility

1. Doctoral students (60 grants) – for mobility periods in eligible institutions, offering activities to enhance doctoral training, including participation in Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs), visits to laboratories or research centres, and participation in training sessions, workshops, summer/winter schools, symposia, or conferences.
2. Staff involved in doctoral schools and/or programs
   1. For teaching missions (15 grants);
   2. For training missions (20 grants).

Eligibility

1. Applicants must maintain an active affiliation with one of the consortium member universities – the University of Porto, University of Aveiro, University of Minho, or University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro – at the time of application submission, during the mobility period, and until its conclusion;
2. For third-cycle mobility, students must be duly enrolled in a doctoral degree programme at the time of application, during the mobility period, and until its conclusion.
3. For teaching mobility, applicants must hold a contractual agreement explicitly including teaching activities.

In this call, priority will be given to mobility proposals involving the University Alliances to which the MIND Consortium member universities belong and which promote the exchange of their respective academic communities. The complete list of the eligible institutions can be found here (Art. 4).

The Erasmus+ grant is compatible with FCT grants under Article 16 (Exclusivity) of FCT grant regulations, provided the FCT grant does not include an international component and the contractual work plan with the Foundation is upheld. Doctoral candidates must verify compatibility directly with FCT if uncertain.

Funding

The Erasmus+ grant is not intended to cover the costs arising from mobility entirely; instead, it is a contribution towards meeting the additional expenses (travel and subsistence) incurred during study, traineeship, teaching or training period abroad.  The beneficiary is responsible for assessing these costs and securing co‐funding solutions should the mobility expenses exceed the Erasmus+ grant provided. The amount of financial support to be allocated will be determined by the effective dates of the mobility, taking into account the travel support, mobility and travel days. The calculation of travel support is based on the “distance band”, which fixes the geographical distance between the place of origin and the destination. The consortium will use the European Commission’s online distance calculator to determine the applicable “distance band” for each mobility proposal (check it here, Art. 14).

Duration

The Erasmus+ Programme stipulates the minimum durations for mobility and the consortium determines the maximum durations as follows:

1. A minimum of 5 days and a maximum of 30 days for short‐term PhD students’ mobility;
   1. A minimum of 2 months (60 days) and a maximum of 5 months (150 days) for long‐term PhD students’ mobility and a maximum of 4 months (120 days) for internship mobilities;
   1. A minimum of 8 teaching hours for each teaching period and a maximum mobility duration at 5 working days and 2 travel days;
   1. A minimum of 2 working days for each training period and a maximum mobility duration at 5 working days and 2 travel days.

The proposed mobility dates should consider that the start date of mobility must be on or after 1 December 2025 and the mobility period concludes on or before the 31st of July 2026.

 How to apply

The application form is available here. Those interested may contact the Doctoral School of the University of Aveiro (edua@ua.pt) to verify eligibility conditions and necessary formalities before submitting their proposals directly on the website.

Supporting material

The complete application guidelines can be found here.

The MIND PhD24 Project management team is available for any further clarification through the following emails:

• Doctoral students: international@ua.pt
• Staff (teaching/training missions): staffmobility@ua.pt.