Welcoming a guest from abroad
The International Relations Office offers administrative and/or financial support for welcoming foreign guests:
- The Welcome Centre offers administrative support for welcoming invited researchers (visa, accommodation, day-to-day life in Lausanne, etc.).
- SEMP exchange agreements provide financial support for a maximum of two weeks’ teaching at UNIL for a colleague from a European partner university.
- Bilateral exchange agreements provide financial support for a maximum of one week’s teaching or research at UNIL for a colleague from a partner university.
- In connection with its participation in the Scholars at Risk network, UNIL can welcome foreign researchers facing threats because of their research.
Welcome Centre
The Welcome Centre provides administrative support for visiting researchers (visas, accommodation, daily life in Lausanne, etc.).
The Welcome Centre is aimed at:
- researchers and professors invited by UNIL, who are neither enrolled at UNIL, nor employed by UNIL
- staff from abroad
- the spouse of any member of UNIL staff arriving from abroad, under the DCC (Dual Career Couples) programme.
The assistance offered by the Welcome Centre includes, among other things:
- Help with internal and external administrative procedures, including getting a visa
- Help with finding accommodation
- Practical advice on day-to-day living (school system, insurance, language classes, etc.)
- Support for dual career couples (“DCC”)
For more information, please see the Welcome Centre page.
Bilateral agreement
Bilateral agreements provide financial support for teaching and research activities with universities all over the world according to the directive 2.4. about the financial participation in the framework of international agreements.
General agreements (which cover all of UNIL) are separate from faculty agreements (which are limited to a particular faculty).
Once the agreement has been signed, the International Relations Office can contribute to the costs of the exchange for teaching staff from the partner university, subject to the funds available.
The International Relations Office will fund a maximum of three trips per year for a general agreement (one per faculty) and one trip per year for a faculty agreement.
- Reimbursement of the hotel costs up to CHF 180 per night (breakfast included) for a maximum of seven nights;
- Reimbursement of the flight (economy class) for teaching staff coming from a university located in a country eligible to receive official development assistance from OECD, in the categories Least Developed Countries, Other Low Income Countries, and Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories (list valid at the time when the trip is announced to the International Relations Office).
Before the exchange
- Notify Marinette Robert at least one month before the trip. The International Relations Office will then confirm if and to what extent the stay can be supported. The International Relations Office does not reimburse travel or subsistence costs unless it has been notified in advance.
After the exchange
- Return the reimbursement form in English or in French to the International Relations Office, completed and signed, along with the receipts. The reimbursement will take place once all the documents have been received.
- Send to the IRO a brief activity report in English or in French, within 30 days after the end of the stay.
Contact
Ms Marinette Robert
Tel. +41 21 692 20 20
The International Relations Office may contribute to the costs of a preparatory visit, subject to the funds available. The same conditions as those outlined above will apply.
SEMP agreements
The SEMP (Swiss-European Mobility Programme, which has replaced Erasmus+ in Switzerland) supports mobility opportunities for teaching staff and students. The programme is funded by the Swiss national agency Movetia.
SEMP agreements provide funding only for teaching activities with European universities that take part in the programme.
- SEMP agreement on mobility for teaching staff signed with the host institution
- International Relations Office notified of the visit in advance
- Minimum of eight hours’ teaching delivered during the visit
- Length of visit between two days and two weeks, depending on the terms of the SEMP agreement.
Before the trip
- Notify the International Relations Office of the trip as soon as possible (see contact details opposite) by completing the Mobility agreement and teaching programme (in French or in English.
- Participants with a disability should complete the Special Needs application form in French or in English and return it to the International Relations Office.
The International Relations Office will let you know whether it can provide financial support, depending on the funds available.
Accommodation, subsistence, administrative fees, local transport
- Conditions : On submission of the Mobility agreement and teaching programme and of the Final report
- Amount : CHF 170 per working and/or travel day
Travel costs
- Conditions : Distance between institutions according to the European Commission’s online calculator
- Amount : Fixed allowance based on the mileage rates of the Swiss national agency
Frais liés à une situation de handicap
- Conditions : On request via the Special Needs application form in French or in English to be sent to the International Relations Office
- Amount :According to need