Comenius nadaljnja izobraževanja in uposabljanja (IST)

1. Can I receive a grant for participation in an international training course which takes place in my home country?
2. What is job-shadowing? In which types of organisations could that take place?
3. What types of courses are eligible?
4. Where can I find eligible courses?
5. Do I have to take a course from the catalogue?
6. Can I take part in a conference? What are the conditions?
7. I am a school psychologist. Am I eligible for an IST grant?
8. Are there national priorities for certain types of In-Service Training?
9. I am from a border region and live in France, but work in Germany. Where do I have to submit an application?
10. Which information is needed for the application?
11. What costs are covered? Is there a maximum limit?
12. I am a teacher of English but I am keen on integrating ICT in my lessons. Can I go on a course for ICT teachers?
13. I am a teacher of geography but I would like to improve my foreign language skills. Am I eligible for a training activity in pure language skills in-service training?
14. I am a teacher of mathematics and would be interested in a course for mathematics teachers in Germany. However, my German is not very good. Can I take part in the course?

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1. Can I receive a grant for participation in an international training course which takes place in my home country?
No. One of the eligibility criteria is that the training activity has to take place in another country than the country of permanent residence (and the country in which the applicant works if this is not identical).

2. What is job-shadowing? In which types of organisations could that take place?
In Comenius job shadowing should support the exchange of best practices by direct exchange. In this activity an applicant will "shadow" a colleague in another institution in order to learn more about his or her daily work. Participants witness firsthand the work environment, methods and approaches in practice and can learn how a certain method could be put into practice. A host institution should be located abroad and be experienced in the field of activity the applicant wants to learn.

3. What types of courses are eligible?
In principle all courses which respond to your specific training needs as a person working in the field of school education, have participants from different European countries and are tailored for a European audience. Courses should last at least 5 working days and take place in another European country. The should offer value-added that could not be gained through attending a course in your home country. In case of doubt, please contact your National Agency.

4. Where can I find eligible courses?
One possibility to find courses which are currently on offer is the Comenius-Grundtvig course database.

5. Do I have to take a course from the catalogue?
It is not obligatory to take a course from the database. Also the participation in other courses which fulfil the eligibility criteria can be funded. If you apply for grant to participate in a course not taken from the database, you should provide information on the course when applying for a grant (programme, target group, provider).

6. Can I take part in a conference? What are the conditions?
The Guide for Applicants states that grants under this activity can be also given for participation in "a conference or seminar organised by a Comenius Network, Comenius Multilateral Projects, National Agency or genuinely representative European association active in the field of school education." When applying for this type of training activity, please provide full information on the event.

7. I am a school psychologist. Am I eligible for an IST grant?
This action is open to all persons working in the field of school education. Applicants do not have to be teachers, but could be also other staff members in schools or the administration and support of school education in a participating country. In case of doubt; please clarify with your National Agency if you are eligible to receive funding.

8. Are there national priorities for certain types of In-Service Training?
There are European priorities and there might be also national priorities in your country. The European priorities in 2008 are listed in the call text, part I, chapter 1.1. National priorities are published on the website of your National Agency.

9. I am from a border region and live in France, but work in Germany. Where do I have to submit an application?
Applicants should submit their application to the NA in the country where they are currently working. In this case the application has to be submitted to the German NA. Please note that in cases like this neither a training in France (the country of residence) nor in Germany (the country where the applicant is working) is eligible.

10. Which information is needed for the application?
In your application you should provide information on the training activity itself and your motivation to follow this training. The application should show that the training activity has the potential to enhance the European dimension of the applicant's professional development, that the activity has a good cost-benefit ratio and that there is a clear match between the training selected and the applicant's training needs.

11. What costs are covered? Is there a maximum limit?
Usually the travel costs, course fees, visa costs and subsistence are covered by the grant. In order to give more applicants the chance to follow training courses, many agencies apply maximum rates. Please contact your National Agency in order to get detailed information on the applicable rates.

12. I am a teacher of English but I am keen on integrating ICT in my lessons. Can I go on a course for ICT teachers?
In principle yes, but the course should respond to your training needs. You will have to prove that the selected course which is targeted on the needs of ICT teachers responds also to your specific training needs as a language teacher.

13. I am a teacher of geography but I would like to improve my foreign language skills. Am I eligible for a training activity in pure language skills in-service training?
The possibilities to get funding for pure language learning are restricted to the following groups:
•    Persons teaching another subject in schools through the medium of a foreign language (often referred to as "Content and Language Integrated Learning – CLIL")
•    Teacher retraining as foreign language teacher
•    School staff participating in a Comenius School Partnership and requesting training in one of the Partnership languages
•    School teacher requesting training in a less widely used and taught language for teaching purposes

14. I am a teacher of mathematics and would be interested in a course for mathematics teachers in Germany. However, my German is not very good. Can I take part in the course?
If the teaching language of the course is German, a too limited knowledge of German could jeopardise your benefits from course participation. If some linguistic preparation before the training could solve the problem, National Agencies could award extra funding for linguistic preparation. Please mention the need for linguistic preparation in your application form and state how you intend to prepare yourself.