Registration at the partner university
1st nomination: After you have accepted your exchange place, we will register you at the partner university. We will only pass on necessary data so that contact persons can get in touch with you. We will not pass on your application documents. We will inform you by e-mail as soon as we have registered you there. Until then, please understand that the nomination periods are completely different for all partners and you may therefore have to wait a few months for the next step after you have been accepted. This is absolutely normal. Nevertheless, you should already have a look at the partner websites and check the information for incoming exchange students. If you have not received any additional information from the partner university regarding the further registration process within a reasonable period of time (approx. four weeks) after our confirmation of nomination, or if you notice that the deadline for the subsequent application process is approaching, please let us know and we will contact the partner university again.
Note: Please check your spam folder regularly, as important information from the partner universities may end up here. E-mail correspondence is always sent via your Paderborn University e-mail address, which you also use to log in to Mobility Online.
2nd application: After you have been nominated, you will usually have to apply again at the partner university in order to be registered in their in-house systems. You will receive information on how to proceed, on the applicable forms, deadlines, etc. directly from your contact person there - the respective requirements vary greatly from university to university. For better planning, please inform yourself about the application deadlines and application information on the website of the partner university. After a successful application, you usually receive an acceptance letter from the partner university, which you can use to apply for a visa, for instance. Please make sure you adhere to the internal deadlines of the partner universities. You are responsible for this! The time schedule in the months leading up to your stay abroad (especially in non-European countries) can be very tight. Please do not let this irritate you, it is important that you organize yourself well and that you always know the next steps and plan ahead.
Please note: The actual selection for your exchange place has already taken place at Paderborn University. Nevertheless, please take the formal registration process at the partner university seriously. If you do not meet the respective requirements, you may be rejected there or you may be disadvantaged in terms of course selection, accommodation allocation, etc. This might also happen if you register very late. Therefore, always start the process very promptly. Obtaining documents can take an unexpectedly long time. Pay particular attention to the language skills and certificates required by the partner university.
Guidance on the application process at the partner university
Contact person at the host university - If you have specific questions about the processes and documents at the host university, you will initially always have a contact person on site whom you can ask for advice. The colleagues at the partner university know their own processes best and are happy to help with any problems. Please bear in mind that a reply may take a few days. If you are unable to get in touch, we at the International Office are here to help you.
Departmental Coordinator / Recognition Officer - Do you have questions about the subject-related aspects of your stay abroad, e.g. about your course selection and filling out the Learning Agreement? Then the departmental contact persons in your faculty are there to help you. These are, on the one hand, the departmental coordinators for the respective partner university (can be found on our partner university portal) and, on the other hand, the recognition officers for studies completed abroad in each faculty. Here you can find the appropriate recognition office for your faculty.
International Office - While the faculties support you in all subject-related questions, your IO-coordinators for the respective country in the International Office are your administrative companions. But you can always turn to us if you have any general problems or concerns. If you are going abroad with Erasmus+, the Erasmus+ representative is also your contact person for all duties and documents to be submitted.
The step of registering with the partner university requires a lot of personal responsibility and self-organisation from you. We know that you are probably filling out these kinds of documents for the first time and that the bureaucracy can be confusing at times. But don't worry, you can do it!
- First, sift through what documents are needed. (Allow for a time buffer: Do I still need signatures? Do I need to obtain further documents from other offices?)
- Decide in which way and in which order you need to submit the documents (e.g. is there an online registration? Should all documents be in one PDF?).
- Check the deadlines for submissions and start processing the application early.
As all universities have different registration procedures and paperwork, we are unfortunately unable to provide general guidance to assist you. However, we do provide some tips and assistance on frequently asked questions and terminology.
Frequently used terms
Here are some explanations of terms used when filling out application forms at the partner university.
Departmental Coordinator / Academic Coordinator/ Tutor: This refers to the Departmental Coordinator for the partner university in your faculty. You can find out who is responsible for which cooperation in our partner university portal.
Erasmus Coordinator: Ms Melek Boubaker
Institutional Coordinator / Administrative Coordinator: Your IO coordinator for the respective country in the International Office.
Contact Person: If no further explanation is given, you can indicate your IO coordinator for the respective country in the International Office.
Responsible Person: In the Application Form, this usually refers to the IO coordinator for the respective country in the International Office. In the Learning Agreement, however, the person from the faculty who signs the Learning Agreement is meant.
ISCED code or field of study: Our agreements are concluded in individual fields of study. There is also an abbreviated code (ISCED code) for each field of study. For the exact name of the field of study at your host university, please refer to the respective Bilateral Agreement in our partner university portal.
In many cases, our partner universities require an Transcript of Records in English, i.e. a list of courses attended and achievements made during your studies in Paderborn. You only need to have an Transcript of Records drawn up in English if this is required by the partner university. We do not require this document.
If you need an English ToR and cannot download it yourself in PAUL, please request this from the Central Examination Office.
A confirmation for a place to study abroad (necessary for BAföG or leave of absence) as well as a Confirmation of Nomination (if required by the host university) is available for download in Mobility Online after you have been nominated.
Note: If the document is not available for download, you may not yet have completed your personal data in the Mobility Online workflow. Please always make this entry as soon as possible, as we may also need this information for the nomination.
It may happen that a partner university wants you to submit a letter of recommendation as part of the application documents. As this is a professional assessment, your contact is your faculty. You can contact the Departmental Coordinator for the respective partner university, they will help you further. You can find the Departmental Coordinators for the respective collaborations in our partner university portal. Please contact the responsible persons in good time, as experience has shown that the issuing process can take a little time. Please ask for a version in English to avoid expensive official translations.