Frequently Asked Questions

Here you will find some answers at most FAQ topics Study Abroad.
Is your requested information not here? Feel free to contact fhictstudyabroad@fontys.nl.

General
Brexit and Erasmus+

After the Brexit deal the UK will continue to participate in both Erasmus and Horizon until the end of the current programs. This means that the existing exchange agreements can continue to exist until the new program starts. Students who want to go to the UK with a Brexit deal can simply get a grant.

Contact persons internationalisation per study programme

For content support and some education related subjects there are contact persons per study programme:  

Erasmus+ and Coronavirus

Was/is the Coronavirus affecting your (plans to) study/internship abroad? In this document you will find the latest version of what this means for your Erasmus+ Scholarship. Fontys Team Internationalisation updates this file as soon as new information becomes available.

https://fontys.edu/Study-abroad-4/Scholarships-23/Erasmus-Scholarships.htm

Plan B

Regarding the situation due to COVID-19 travelling is more unsure then we have used to until last year. The travel advice of your destination has to be green or yellow when you will go abroad for your studies (either internship, minor or graduation abroad). We strongly advise to act on a plan B if the travel advice stays orange, which means an application in Progress.WWW for a minor within FHICT or Fontys or through KOM (Kies op Maat) for another university in the Netherlands. 

The final Learning Agreement for your external minor will only be aproved by the Exam Board if it is clear that you definitely will not go abroad. If that is the case the LA for your minor abroad is no longer valid and the Exam Board will aprove the LA for the external minor.

Application process
Application process at the partner university

Communication and continuing process varies a lot per partner. Some partners inform future incoming exchange students through their website or send a factsheet or link to their website with regarding information when accepting the students nomination. 
In all cases the receiving institution and you as a student are in charge after Fontys has sent the nomination to the partner university. 

Need help:  send an e-mail to fhictstudyabroad@fontys.nl (or ask Student Desk).

Contact details for application at partner university, Erasmus+ and Learning Agreement

For your application at the partner university, Erasmus+ or Learning Agreement you have to fill in contact details:

Contact person 
Marilyn Bailey
Study Abroad Advisor Fontys School of ICT, Cluster Technology
+31 8850 78703
fhictstudyabroad@fontys.nl

Address
Rachelsmolen 1
5612 MA Eindhoven

Responsible person
For your internship abroad: the concerning internship or graduation coordinator.

For your minor abroad: the Exam Board FICT
Just use the general name and e-mail of the Exam Board responsible for minors:
 
Exam Board D, fhict-examboardd@fontys.nl
General Exam Board: fhictexamencommissie@fontys.nl.

Please note that these contact details are to fill in at the regarding documents via Mobility Online.
You have to submit your request for an aproval via https://examboard.fhict.nl/.

English proficiency

At first we advise you to send in a copy of the transcript of your prior education. Your current study programme at Fontys School of ICT does not contain English as a course programme, so your secundary education probably is the last exam subject of the English knowledge. In general we count you have reached there level B2 and at Fontys it might even be higher.
When the partner university does not accept that document as your English proficiency and request an approval you can ask your semester coach or your contact person internationalisation to sign the regarding document or set up a statement, so: 

  • use a form from the sending institution
  • prepare a letter of confirmation (f.e. attachment)

and send it to your semester coach and ask for a statement, or send it to your contact person internationalisation (see contact persons internationalisation per study programme). 

GPA - grade point average

GPA’s are no longer used in the Netherlands!

If the Host University asks you to provide a GPA:
You must provide the weighted average and a curriculum supplement with a Grade Distribution Table.
The GDT provides insight into how grades are distributed from high to low within a program, institution or country. The grade culture is hereby made transparent by means of a table in which all the satisfactory assessments of a program from 3 past academic years are categorized into 5 grades. The GDT thus provides insight into the distribution of the assessments given within a program and does not make a statement about the results of an individual student.  Together with the weighted average, students can indicate their position in relation to the GDT.

You can request the curriculum supplement at the Student Desk team B.

Learning Agreement from Fontys

Process steps Learning Agreement

  1. Select your courses from the course list of the partner university (if available) for 30 ECTS in total. In some countries a credit transfer applies.
  2. Fill in the chosen courses for the Learning Agreement in Mobility Online
  3. Create a pdf-document LA in MO (print step)
  4. For an approval by your Exam Board you have to send the pdf-document in a request to the board via the portal.
    Please note that regarding the OER (education exam regulations) the responsible person has to respond within at last 3 weeks. In practice an answer on your request will be sooner, but avoid last minute requests and therefor disappointments.
  5. Upload the approved LA in MO when it is signed by 3 parties (by you, Fontys School of ICT and the receiving university*)

*) Sometimes a partner signs the LA once you have arrived at your destination or at the start of the courses, because only then the conducted courses are confirmed. If so, please upload the signed LA by Fontys and yourself before you go abroad.

Changes LA
Changes Learning Agreement is a step if applicable when you want to change some courses at or shortly after the start at the partner university. Please take note that you submit the Changes LA within 5 weeks after your arrival. 
After "changes to COURSES in learning agreement" in Mobility Online, you create a new pdf-document to send in to the Exam Board for an approval. Just like the steps at the previous LA.  

Learning Agreement from partner

Sometimes a partner university uses their own document besides or instead of the Erasmus+ Learning Agreement as provided in Mobility Online.
In that case you can use both documents for the approval of the Exam Board. So send in the MO document and the partners document by e-mail to the Exam Board and ask them to sign both.
Once you have collected three signatures please upload the complete Learning Agreement in MO.

Read more at Learning Agreement from Fontys.

Proof of enrolment

Your host university might ask for a proof of enrolment at Fontys. You receive this document at the beginning of the academic year from Fontys, as part of an automatical process fulfilled your tuition fee obligation at Fontys. 
In order to formalize the Fontys proof of enrolment you can ask the Student Desk for a stamp and signature. You can also ask the Student Desk colleague to print this list and formalize it at once. 

Please visit the Student Desk in your building or contact them by e-mail: 
R10 studentdeskfhict-teama@fontys.nl
TQ studentdeskfhict-teamb@fontys.nl
P8 hogeschoolict-tilburg@fontys.nl  

Recommendation letter

Some partner universities ask a reccomendation letter as one of the deliverables in their application process. Preferable ask your semester coach to fill in the form or write a recommendation letter, or ask the contact person internationalisation of your study programme (see FAQ contact persons internationalisation per study programme). 

TOR - Transcript of Records from Fontys

To formalize your Transcript of Records (TOR) from Fontys School of ICT you can create a list from Progress.WWW and ask the Student Desk to sign and stamp this document. You can also ask the Student Desk colleague to print this list and formalize it at once. 
Please visit the Student Desk in your building or contact them by e-mail: 
R10 studentdeskfhict-teamb@fontys.nl
TQ studentdeskfhict-teamb@fontys.nl
P8 hogeschoolict-tilburg@fontys.nl  

If just the Transcript of Fontys will not be sufficient you can add the curriculum supplement for a clarification of fulfilled programme components. Exceptionally the host university will ask for a GPA and needs an elaborated overview. If so, please send a request to the Exam Board via the portal.

Visa application

Mostly the receiving partner university will start up the visa application for their incoming students. The partner will inform you about process steps and necessary documents once you have been accepted.
Last semester we have noticed that the visa application is not handled by Yeungnam University. In these exceptional cases you have to find out how it works by yourself.
Visit the Fontys website for more information. 

Pre departure
DUO form OV

During your stay abroad you can request Public Transport compensation. You have to fill in the regarding form and ask the Student Desk to finalise the form with signature and stamp. You can go to the desk at your location or send an e-mail to studentdeskfhict-teamb@fontys.nl. 

Language assessment in MO

You will receive an invitation automatically through Mobility Online. This is sent out around the date of departure. 
This test does not affect the Erasmus scholarship if you are already selected. Test is mandatory so you will only get the 1st payment when this is completed.
Students who go to Belgium and do a study/traineeship in Dutch do not have to do the assessment, nor do other native speakers.

NL Scholarship

More information about the NL Scholarship can be found here.

Reminder Learning Agreement before your departure

In the study abroad workflow some students have not yet submitted their Learning Agreement in Mobility Online. We are curious how far along you are in the application process and the choice of subjects. Have you received enough information from the partner university about their application process and the choice of courses? Can we help you with anything else? We would like to hear from you via fhictstudyabroad@fontys.nl.

It is very important that you complete the MO Workflow Learning Agreement before you go abroad. Otherwise, neither you nor we will get it right and it will go administratively incorrect in case of necessary changes in the LA. Therefore, check the follow-up steps in MO and read carefully what to do.

See further explanation on Learning Agreement from Fontys and please note -if not finished yet- this necessary step on short term:

  • After you have submitted the Learning Agreement in MO, we will accept it. But be aware, this does not mean that the Exam Board already approves the chosen courses and thus the completion of the minor abroad. The Exam Board can only assess when you mail the LA as pdf document to them. Unfortunately, this process part is not yet online in MO.
  • The document LA can be created via the print step in MO. The approval request runs through the Exam Board portal.
  • After approval by the Exam Board, you will receive the answer via an email notification and subsequently you take care of uploading the LA with 3 signatures in MO.
    If the partner university is not yet able/willing to sign (sometimes only after arrival) then in any case upload the LA with your signature and that of the Exam Board in MO.

This complete step must therefore be completed before your departure!

 

 

Selection Minor Study Abroad Fall 2024 | next steps after selection

Information mail Minor Study Abroad Fall 2024 | 08.03.2024

Dear students, hi all,

A few weeks ago we have finished the selection procedure for your Minor Study Abroad Fall 2024 and all final results were communicated through an automatic confirmation mail from Mobility Online!
In this information mail I would like to inform you about next steps to take, refer to certain information sources and upcoming events to prepare your Minor Study Abroad.

A special semester during your studies for which we still want to congratulate you with your place at one of your choices partner university for a semester abroad!! 
Countdown can really begin from now….

Some facts and figures 1st round application and selection

  • 361 applicants in total within Fontys applied for a Minor Study Abroad, so the selection for partner universities with more applicants than places is quite complex
  • 32 Fontys ICT students have applied for a minor abroad Fall 2024 (100 in total in Cluster Technology)
  • some numbers of Fontys ICT after the 1st round:
    • 12 students have been selected for a Fontyswide partner (33 in Cluster Technology)
    • 20 students will go to a partner university of Fontys ICT/Cluster Technology (67 in total in Cluster Technology)

We will look after matches within Cluster Technology for students travelling to the same partner university of destination. Finally the first time of lottery as a selection method was quite successful.

Nomination
After the selection round we have started with the nomination at partner universities (in March). For Fontyswide partners this will be done by Fontys Study Abroad and sometimes took place on very short term because of early deadlines at a concerning partner.
For Fontys ICT and Cluster partners we are working on the nominations per partner university ourselves as sending institution by e-mail or in their nomination platform.
This is an intensive work phases and will be finished Mid-March. Please note this is a time-consuming process with limited capacity so it will take a while with many types of data and working methods at 50 different partner universities for the 5 Fontys institutes. You will get a message about once you have been nominated at your partner university.

Then you will get information from the receiving institution at any moment. Please note that the exact moment and speed differs a lot, so be patient for follow-up of the application procedure and other formalities of the concerning partner university. Meanwhile you can visit the Study Abroad Guide Fontys ICT for FAQ.

Selecting your courses – Learning Agreement
After nomination to and acceptance by the partner -this is a formal step, so no admission requirements- you can start selecting your courses. The course list will be provided by the partner!
Perhaps actual information is already published on their website, but in general you will receive correct information after acceptance. Please note that last minute changes in the course list upon arrival or at the start of the semester might be the case.
When you have completed your Learning Agreement in Mobility Online, you have to create the pdf-document and send it to the Exam Board by mail for an approval of your courses and your minor abroad in general.
Besides earlier deadlines of the partner universities for Fontys ICT you have to finalize your approved Learning Agreement in Mobility Online before the end of this semester. We will communicate the exact date soon. So you have plenty of time to think about the courses for next semester and can discuss this with your study coach or contact person internationalisation of your study profile if you need some feedback on programme content.
For general minor information see the Study navigator Fontys ICT.  

Save-the-date for upcoming events!

Also see the agenda at studyabroadfontysict.nl

Online Info Session for Minor Study Abroad Fall 2024 | Thursday 14 March 12:00-13:00.
This session is meant for all of you and all Fontys students who will go to a partner university like you. To inform you about next steps to prepare your Minor Study Abroad.
You are with more than 350 as the next group of outgoing students next semester. Topics will be:

  • your Learning Agreement
  • possible guidance and assistance
  • common documents
  • practical information etc.
  • all kind of questions and answers

Fontys Study Abroad will send you an invitation and link to join the meeting!

Study Abroad Event (during the Career Day in Eindhoven) | Thursday 18 April 14:00-16:00.
A broader network event for you all preparing to go abroad next semester. Also for future students who are interested in abroad options during the studies at Fontys ICT and last but not least for students who were abroad before and want to share their experiences with you.
Main goal of this event is to connect with and learn from others. You will receive an invitation with more information and save-the-dates!

Online Fontys Pre-departure Event | Thursday 16 May 12:00-13:00
The Fontyswide event is meant for all students selected for the Minor Study Abroad next Fall 2024 and will receive an invite for this event. The link to the session will be provided 1-2 weeks before the event will take place. 
This event focuses more on practicalities, such as making sure that you organize insurance, accommodation, visa, etc, before departure. Also. For the students going to Erasmus partners, there will be a presentation on Erasmus scholarships. At the end of this event there will be a Q&A session.

Meet & Greet and Q&A Fontys ICT students | Thursday 16 May several timeslots during the day
Additionally to the online event above there will also be onine sessions to meet Fontys ICT studets currently studying abroad, at scheduled timeslots to be announced.
Very useful for tips and advices and just connect with other interested and experienced students. We will also invite current students abroad to host an online Q&A session.

Any questions or changes?
When you have any further questions or remarks please let me know. We are supporting you to realize your plans to go abroad.
For study abroad matters we use this general email: fhictstudyabroad@fontys.nl instead of Teams messages. You can also visit a Q&A hour.
Please collect your questions with a lower priority until the upcoming info session in March, so even useful for other students.  

Enjoy the excitement of going abroad next semester where adventures begin….
We will support you to realize your plans as best as we can!

Have a nice weekend!

 

 

Start date internship for Erasmus application

In the Erasmus application there is a step asking for the exact start and end date of the internship. You have to fill in the start date of your internship at the company.

Q&A chat of the Fontys Information Session for Minor Study Abroad Spring 2024

Answers to questions that were asked in the Q&A chat of the Fontys Information Session for Minor Study Abroad Spring 2024 can be found in the attachment: Roadmap QA 10 Oct. 2023 – Spring 2024.

Also available:
The slides that were presented will be published soon (attachment: Roadmap 10 Oct. 2023) 

Vaccins and how to prevent diseases

For relevant travel information about travel diseases and how these can be prevented you can visit the website from the independant foundation LCR.
Look at one of the topics below to find what you are looking for!

During and after stay
Transcript of Records partner university

In general the partner university shall provide a Transcript of Records (ToR) to Fontys and/or you as the regarding student directly.
This ToR has to be approved by the Exam Board before the ECTS can be processed in ProgressWWW.

Process steps managed by FICT Study Abroad:

  • Receipt of Transcript of Records, signed by host
    by FICT Study Abroad (Marilyn Bailey as contact person) by regular mail or e-mail
    (if so we will send you the regular document or a digital copy)
    or
    by you directly from the host university, please send the ToR in pdf to us by e-mail fhictstudyabroad@fontys.nl 
     
  • Approval by Exam Board
    we will check the courses at your LA and the ToR and request the Exam Board to approve this document via their portal
     
  • Processing by minor administration at Student Desk
    after aproval by the Exam Board Heleen Swillens will take care of processing the ECTS in ProgressWWW
    Heleen responsible for minor administration also works at FICT Study Abroad 
     
  • Upload ToR, signed by Exam Board, in Mobility Online
    we will check the completion in Mobility Online and finalize the whole process
     
  • Payment remaining amount HSP
    if applicable, we will submit the payment order remaining amount Holland Scholarship of €250
     
  • Workflow Erasmus+
    if applicable, by you to finalize the process steps at the Erasmus workflow in MO