The Politecnico di Bari offers students the opportunity to undertake a period of study abroad at a higher education institution in a European or non-European country with which it has established bilateral student exchange agreements, guaranteeing the possibility to attend courses, use university facilities, and obtain recognition of the exams taken, which thus become an integral part of the student's educational curriculum.

University Regulations for International Student Mobility
The regulations is the main regulatory document governing international mobility. It sets out the general principles and rules for mobility, defines the duties and responsibilities of the bodies responsible for its management, and establishes the specific rules for outgoing and incoming mobility.

Study mobility
The Erasmus+ programme of the European Union funds the completion of part of one's study programme at a university in one of the “Programme Countries” (list updated on the website of the Erasmus+ Italian National Agency). According to the rules of the Erasmus+ programme, the mobility of individual students for study purposes is managed directly by the universities. 

The Polytechnic University of Bari annually announces Erasmus+ mobility grants for study periods lasting one academic semester, extendable to the entire academic year. The call is open to all students enrolled in first-cycle degree programmes (three-year bachelor’s degrees), second-cycle degree programmes (master’s degrees or single-cycle master’s degrees), third-cycle programmes and second-cycle post-graduate programmes (research doctorates, specialisation schools, second-level master’s programmes), provided they meet the minimum admission requirements. Selection is based primarily on academic performance. See the calls section.

- INTERNATIONAL CALLS FOR APPLICATIONS -

Traineeship mobility
In addition to study mobility, the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union also funds traineeships in a foreign company. The traineeship may also be carried out within a university, but in the capacity of a trainee in a research laboratory (and not for taking exams or writing a thesis). The traineeship may be carried out before or after graduation, but according to the rules of the Erasmus+ programme, students must have been selected for mobility before graduation.

The Polytechnic University of Bari periodically announces Erasmus+ mobility grants for traineeships, with a minimum duration of two months. The admission requirements and selection criteria are similar to those for study mobility. Please see the calls section.

Thesis mobility
The Politecnico annually provides scholarships to enable thesis preparation at a foreign university institution or company. If thesis mobility is carried out at a university institution and is framed as a training unit, it is managed as study mobility.
If thesis mobility is carried out in an organization or company, or in any case is not framed as a training unit, it is managed as traineeship mobility. Thesis credit recognition takes place using specific forms, prior e final. 

Incoming students carrying out their thesis work at the Politecnico di Bari are issued a specific assessment document for the work carried out.

Degree mobility
Degree mobility occurs when a student undertakes mobility at a foreign university institution with the aim of obtaining a qualification awarded by that institution, for example within the framework of a double degree agreement. Degree mobility is managed, in all respects, as study mobility, taking into account the particular needs connected with the objective of obtaining the qualification and the specific agreement with the foreign university institution.

Studies carried out abroad and recognition of credits
The recognition of credits for examinations and other educational activities completed during mobility periods must be timely and managed through effective and transparent procedures. For this purpose, the Politecnico di Bari has adopted, by resolution of the Academic Senate no. 1/2015, a specific regulation consisting of a pair of documents: "Guidelines for the recognition of credits earned abroad by students on mobility", and "Management of the process of recognition of credits of students on mobility abroad". The two documents describe in detail the recognition process, from general principles to the technical aspects related to the recording of credits in the ESSE3 information system, including the allocation of responsibilities and timelines. These same rules were subsequently incorporated into the regulations general regulations on international student mobility.

According to the regulations in force, the inclusion in the academic record of a period of study abroad is equivalent to the formulation of an individual study plan, and as such must be managed accordingly. The fundamental principles followed are as follows.

1) Credits earned abroad are always fully recognized, provided that they have been approved in advance by the competent academic structure (in the Learning Agreement) and certified by the host institution (with the Transcript of Record and, where applicable, other certifications). 

2) A "one-to-one" equivalence between the educational activities of the two institutions is not required; rather, a correspondence "by packages" is applied, consistent with the general profile of the relevant degree programme. 

3) Credits earned abroad are recognized to the greatest extent possible as curricular activities; if necessary, some credits are recognized as extracurricular activities, which must in any case be included in the student's academic record and in particular in the Diploma Supplement.

4) It is permitted not to remove entirely an educational activity of the Politecnico from the student's study plan, but rather to reduce it to a lower number of credits. However, this is permitted only if total removal proves impossible, for example because the credits earned abroad are insufficient in number, or because they are of a type not consistent with the activity to be replaced.

5) It is instead expressly prohibited to require a supplementary educational activity at the Politecnico on the grounds of a lack of exact correspondence in content between the activities, or identity of titles. It is similarly prohibited to require, for the validation of credits earned abroad, supplementary examinations to be taken at the home institution.

The regulation addresses various technical aspects of the transcription in the ESSE3 system of credits earned abroad. The technical choices are guided by the following principle:

- Any certificate issued by the Politecnico containing the complete list of examinations taken by a student will describe as faithfully as possible the educational activities actually carried out, both curricular and additional.

The educational activities carried out abroad (including those relating to any degree thesis preparation) are therefore transcribed in the academic record with the original titles reported in the Transcript of Record.

The recognition of credits earned abroad is handled by the Coordinator for International Mobility (or "Erasmus Coordinator") responsible for the student's degree programme, who processes the case within their Department and, once approved, forwards it to the International Relations Office, which oversees the actual registration. To make the process uniform and fast, a specific form.

Grade conversion for examinations taken abroad
Grade conversion takes place in accordance with the ECTS Users' Guide of the European Union, which constitutes the fundamental reference for the correct implementation of student mobility. The tool for grade conversion is the ECTS Grading Tables (ECTS tables), which show the statistical distributions of the grades obtained by appropriately grouped students (e.g., by field of study). At the Polytechnic University of Bari, one ECTS table is used for each degree programme. The ECTS tables are updated every year and are available at this page.

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