The Erasmus+ KA171 International Credit Mobility (ICM) enables project-based mobility for students, doctoral candidates and academic and professional staff between Erasmus University Rotterdam and selected institutions in countries outside the EU (Erasmus+ Partner Countries or Third countries not associated to the Programme). Mobilities take place under inter-institutional agreements that adhere to the principles of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE).
KA171 focuses on mobility that supports, for example, joint projects, the development or strengthening of partnerships, knowledge exchange, professional development, or a more balanced flow of participants in existing mobility windows. Each year, Erasmus University Rotterdam participates in several KA171 projects in cooperation with partner institutions worldwide. Below you can find an overview of the projects.
Click on a country to see an overview per project: faculty. partner institution, summary and impact.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Universidad Privada Bolivia (UPB), SDSN Bolivia hub, Center for Research in Economics (CIEE)
Summary
ISS and UPB collaborate on research and MA education in development, poverty and sustainability, with joint courses and seminars on local governance, multidimensional poverty and sustainable development.
Impact
The partnership strengthens research and teaching capacity at UPB, builds international networks for staff and PhDs, and enriches classrooms with more diverse and applied perspectives on Bolivian development challenges.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Fundacao Universidade Federal de Ciencias da Saude de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA, Brazil), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC, Chile)
Summary
EMC, UFCSPA and PUC collaborate on liver diseases, focusing on viral hepatitis (Brazil) and fatty liver disease (Chile), combining cohorts and lab expertise to improve early diagnosis and treatment.
Impact
The project trains students and staff in advanced clinical and lab methods, strengthens a Latin America–EU liver research network and supports better, more equitable liver‑care strategies for diverse patient groups.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Fundacao Universidade Federal de Ciencias da Saude de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA, Brazil), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC, Chile)
Summary
Within the same trilateral liver‑disease collaboration, EMC offers lectures and hands‑on training at UFCSPA and PUC, and hosts Latin American PhD students in Rotterdam to work on viral hepatitis and fatty liver disease.
Impact
Reciprocal training and shared data increase research quality across all centres, develop a new generation of liver‑disease experts and inform future guidelines and treatment strategies in both Europe and Latin America.
- Faculty: Erasmus School of Law (ESL)
- Partner institutions: Universidad Externado de Colombia (UEC), Law Faculty; Centre of Law and Genetics; Centre of New Technologies and Private Law
Summary
ESL and UEC collaborate on how law should regulate digital and green transitions, combining ESL’s EU‑focused expertise with UEC’s work on genetics, neurolaw and new technologies.
Impact
Colombian students and PhDs gain exposure to cutting‑edge EU legal approaches, while staff from both sides build a joint research agenda and long‑term network on law, technology and sustainability.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus School of Health, Policy & Management (ESHPM)
- Partner institutions: Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ); Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL)
Summary
ISS and USFQ work on community‑based research into the impacts of extractive industries and plan a double‑degree MA in Development and Tropical Ecology. ESHPM and ESPOL collaborate on health economics, focusing on health impacts of extractive activities and climate change.
Impact
The partnerships strengthen local research and teaching capacity in development and health economics, create new double‑degree and conference opportunities and deepen Dutch–Ecuadorian collaboration on extractives, health and sustainability.
- Faculty: Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
- Partner institutions: Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University (FoE, ASU)
Summary
IHS and ASU extend long‑standing cooperation on urban development through joint course development, research and advisory work on topics such as food security, housing, resilience and the blue economy.
Impact
Students and staff gain access to joint teaching, shared case studies and project opportunities, while both institutions strengthen their regional role in urban sustainability and North–South / South–South collaboration.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Addis Ababa University (AAU), College of Development Studies; Gambella University (GU)
Summary
ISS, AAU and GU collaborate under the RRUSHES‑5 project on land deals in Ethiopia, examining how large‑scale investments affect communities, land rights and food security, particularly in Gambella.
Impact
The partnership builds research and advocacy capacity on land politics and rural transformation, supports PhDs through writeshops and training, and strengthens links between universities, policymakers and civil‑society groups.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT‑H) / Human Sciences Research Centre (HSRC)
Summary
ISS and IIIT‑H work together on technology and development, studying platform work, AI‑related extractive industries and just transitions, combining social‑science and technical perspectives.
Impact
PhD students and staff develop joint research agendas on technology and inequality, gain cross‑disciplinary skills and prepare collaborative grant proposals on digitalisation and development.
- Faculty: EMC
- Partner institutions: Keio University School of Medicine
Summary
EMC and Keio renew their organoid‑based hepatology collaboration and student exchange, focusing on liver organoid models for viral co‑infections and personalised therapies.
Impact
Researchers and doctoral students gain hands‑on experience with complementary organoid technologies, co‑develop new experimental methods and strengthen an international network in liver‑disease innovation.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanese American University (LAU)
Summary
ISS, AUB and LAU collaborate on research and teaching about forced migration, crisis and alternative governance, using critical and decolonial approaches rooted in Lebanese and regional contexts.
Impact
The partnership builds a Lebanon‑based network on community‑led crisis responses, strengthens critical migration scholarship and supports shared training, joint publications and future research projects in the region.
- Faculty: Erasmus School of Health, Policy & Management (ESHPM)
- Partner institutions: Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions (BISI), NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Summary
ESHPM and BISI collaborate on how to implement healthcare innovations effectively, combining ESHPM’s organisational and implementation‑science expertise with BISI’s behavioural and implementation focus.
Impact
Joint projects, PhD exchanges and seminars help both partners develop more generalisable knowledge on implementation challenges and strengthen their position as global hubs for implementation research
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: ender and Development Studies (GDS), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), GTD journal
Summary
ISS and GDS expand their long‑standing collaboration to focus on the social impacts of AI in relation to gender, migration, politics and social justice, including shared teaching and a GTD special issue.
Impact
The project develops new AI‑related teaching materials in gender and development, deepens research networks in Southeast Asia and Europe and supports student and staff mobility on technology and social justice.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Makerere University, College of Health Sciences (Mak)
Summary
EMC and Makerere extend their collaboration on HIV and infectious diseases through training, mentorship and joint research within consortia such as SPIRAL and AFRICURE.
Impact
Mak researchers and clinicians gain advanced lab, leadership and grant‑writing skills; EMC deepens its understanding of infectious diseases in African contexts; and both institutions strengthen regional research and training capacity.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Makerere University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS)
Summary
ISS and CHUSS collaborate on teaching and research in areas such as peace and conflict, migration and social policy, building on projects like ADAPTED and the Urban Action Innovations Lab.
Impact
The partnership enhances PhD supervision and teaching capacity at CHUSS, offers Ugandan and ISS students comparative perspectives and underpins joint research projects and curricula on development and conflict in Eastern Africa.
- Faculty: Erasmuc MC
- Partner Institute: University of Minnesota, Hennepin Campus, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Summary
In this collaboration, EMC and UMN propose to expand the interactions to the clinical training and research fields in liver disease. Through the current strategy we propose focusing on two important features:
- Bimodal (trainee and experienced faculty) training on liver point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for assessment of liver disease in the United States
- Artificial Intelligence-mediated assessment of liver signals via liver POCUS to better address liver disease
Impact
This collaboration will impact multiple aspects of liver health at a local level, country-wide level and global level.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: University of Zambia, School of Health Sciences (UNZA)
Summary
EMC and UNZA collaborate on infectious‑disease research and training, especially HIV, as a follow‑up to earlier KA171 and SPIRAL partnerships and an NIAID/CRDF award.
Impact
The project strengthens UNZA’s technical, leadership and grant‑writing capacity, improves diagnostics and treatment in Zambia and consolidates a long‑term regional network on infectious diseases with EMC and African partners.
Click on a country to see an overview per project: faculty. partner institution, summary and impact.
- Faculty: Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies
- Partner institution: Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo (FAU USP)
Summary
IHS and FAU USP deepen their feminist, decolonial urban studies collaboration through staff and student exchanges on housing, land and urban planning, focusing on peripheral women’s activism and intersectional approaches in the Global South.
Impact
The project strengthens South–South curriculum development and joint courses on feminist and decolonial urbanism, generates new comparative research and supports a shared capacity‑building course on intersectionality and access to land.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies
- Partner institute: Universidad Católica de Manizales (UCM‑COL)
Summary
ISS and UCM collaborate on research and teaching about the socio‑environmental impacts of climate‑driven agricultural change and global supply chains, with a focus on export avocado farming in Caldas.
Impact
The project builds a multidisciplinary network on rural transformation in the Andes, improves graduate teaching at both institutions and supports co‑authored publications by staff and PhD students.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institution: School of Public Health of Addis Ababa University, Bahir Dar University (BDU)
Summary
ISS, ESHPM and Ethiopian partners expand long‑standing work on health insurance and maternal health to develop new interdisciplinary research and teaching on Ethiopia’s pathway to universal health coverage.
Impact
The collaboration strengthens PhD training and North–South research links, involves national stakeholders in co‑designing studies and contributes to policy debates on improving health coverage in Ethiopia and the region.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC
- Partner institution: Tbilisi State University (TSU)
Summary
EMC and TSU link expertise in liver transplantation, organoids and organ perfusion to explore better ways to increase donor‑organ quality and develop artificial livers, with attention to sex differences in liver disease.
Impact
Participants gain advanced translational‑research skills and awareness of gender and diversity in medicine, while the institutions strengthen their international profiles and lay groundwork for future joint PhDs and clinical guidelines.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Vietnam National University of Economics; University of Economics of Ho Chi Min City (UEH); University of Indonesia; Universitas Padjadjaran; USM
Summary
ISS and Southeast Asian partners build on decades of cooperation to study youth, nutrition and migration, focusing on issues such as obesity and inadequate diets among young people in Vietnam and Indonesia.
Impact
Three‑month PhD stays at ISS improve students’ academic writing, methods and networking, feed into a joint research programme on youth and nutrition and strengthen long‑term double‑degree and joint PhD collaborations.
- Faculty: Erasmus School of Philosophy (ESPhil)
- Partner institution: University of Tokyo (UT), Kobe University (KU) / Kobe Institute for Atmospheric Studies
Summary
ESPhil extends a philosophy exchange with UT and adds KU, enabling EUR students to study with leading Japanese philosophers and linking ESPhil’s Feral Ecologies Lab with KU’s atmospheric studies.
Impact
The partnership supports a permanent exchange in comparative philosophy, fosters cross‑cultural philosophical dialogue and leads to shared publications, student colloquia and regular joint workshops.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institution: Mongolian Academy of Sciences / National University of Mongolia
Summary
EMC and Mongolian partners collaborate on Hepatitis D (HepD), for which Mongolia is a global hotspot, combining EMC’s leading research with local expertise to better understand and manage HepD.
Impact
The project trains Mongolian staff and students in advanced liver‑disease research, builds a long‑term EMC–Mongolia axis and launches a virtual global HepD platform to support professionals worldwide and contribute to WHO liver‑health goals.
- Faculty: Erasmus School of Law (ESL)
- Partner institution: Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU)
Summary
ESL and UCU cooperate on international and European health law and patients’ rights, supporting UCU’s focus on democratic transition, health‑care reform and EU accession.
Impact
Students and staff gain deeper understanding of health, human‑rights and EU law, strengthen teaching and trainer capacity in Ukraine and support post‑war health‑system reform and integration into European legal and academic networks.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Tashkent Medical Academy (TMA); Samarkand State Medical University (SSMU); Bukhara State Medical Institute (BSMI)
Summary
EMC and three Uzbek universities collaborate on living‑donor liver transplantation to tackle hepatitis‑related mortality, combining EMC’s expertise in liver regeneration with Uzbekistan’s expanding transplant programmes.
Impact
The project trains doctors and researchers in transplantation and biobanking, strengthens Central Asian networks connected to EMC and Kazakhstan and contributes to a global living‑donor transplantation platform and guidelines.
Faculty: Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM)
Partner institution: Universidad del Pacifico (UP)
Summary
ESHPM and UP create a platform for joint teaching and research on economic evaluation of health policies and on climate change, health and healthcare in a Latin American context.
Impact
The collaboration supports UP’s new health economics curriculum, enriches ESHPM’s work on environmental health economics and fosters joint courses, guest lectures and future research proposals.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institution: PLUC
Summary
ISS and PLUC work together on indigenising social‑science knowledge and community‑development education, emphasising local epistemologies and bottom‑up approaches rather than imported Western models.
Impact
The project strengthens research‑methods training at PLUC, feeds into curricula at both institutions and builds a transnational partnership centred on mutual learning and intercultural competence in development studies.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Vietnam National University of Economics; University of Economics of Ho Chi Min City (UEH); University of Indonesia; Universitas Padjadjaran; USM
Summary
As part of the same Southeast Asia youth‑studies collaboration, ISS and Vietnamese partners study youth nutrition and migration, including urban obesity and diet changes among Vietnamese children and adolescents.
Impact
Vietnamese PhD students use three‑month stays at ISS to strengthen research and writing skills, contribute to joint publications and deepen long‑term institutional ties through shared courses and a common research agenda on youth and development.
- Faculty: Erasmus School of History, Culture & Communication (ESHCC)
- Partner institution: Seoul National University (SNU)
Summary
ESHCC and SNU expand their partnership around AI and society, with student exchanges between ESHCC’s AI‑focused courses and SNU’s programmes on AI, media and human-computer interaction.
Impact
The collaboration enriches AI‑related curricula at both institutions, supports the development of a new ESHCC master’s on AI and societal impact and prepares joint grant proposals on human-computer interaction and trustworthy AI.
Click on a country to see an overview per project: faculty. partner institution, summary and impact.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Khazar University (KU) – Department of Political Science and Philosophy; Department of Geography and the Environment
Summary
ISS and Khazar University collaborate on water governance, peace and diplomacy in the South Caucasus, linking research and teaching on climate change, water scarcity and transboundary conflicts, and preparing a double‑degree programme.
Impact
The partnership strengthens PhD training, joint publications and research networks on water diplomacy, and positions ISS–KU as a regional hub for universities working on peace and water governance.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Azerbaijan Medical University (AMU) – Liver transplantation centre
Summary
EMC and Azerbaijan Medical University cooperate on liver transplantation and biobanking in support of the WHO goal to cut hepatitis‑related deaths, combining AMU’s high living‑donor volume with EMC’s biobank and precision‑medicine expertise.
Impact
The project upgrades biobanking and research skills at AMU, gives EMC access to larger, more diverse cohorts and helps build a regional and ultimately global liver‑transplantation biobank to improve protocols and patient outcomes.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Rajshahi Medical University (RMU) and affiliated hospitals; BGMEA University (and affiliated hospitals)
Summary
EMC works with Rajshahi Medical University and BGMEA University to improve quality and safety in acute care and hospital management in severely overcrowded Bangladeshi hospitals, using simulation‑based training and curriculum support.
Impact
Staff and students develop skills in acute medicine, hospital management and modern teaching methods, strengthening training capacity in both public and private sectors and laying the groundwork for a national simulation‑training centre.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ); Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL); Amazon Defence Front (FDA, civil‑society partner)
Summary
ISS partners with USFQ and ESPOL on community‑based monitoring of extractive industries in the Amazon and on designing a double degree that bridges development studies and tropical ecology.
Impact
The collaboration enhances PhD supervision and joint research on extractives and public policy, strengthens professional networks and supports a new joint degree that promotes evidence‑based, community‑centred Amazon governance.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), Faculty of Medicine
Summary
EMC and USFQ collaborate on hepatobiliary cancers and infectious diseases, exchanging students and staff to share clinical and laboratory expertise for earlier detection and better management of liver disease.
Impact
The partnership trains specialists in state‑of‑the‑art diagnostic and clinical methods, broadens research collaboration and helps integrate Ecuador into international networks aimed at improving liver‑disease outcomes.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Bahir Dar University (BDU), Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Political Science and International Relations
Summary
ISS supports Bahir Dar University in strengthening PhD education and research in governance and political science, building on earlier capacity‑building projects and joint European doctorates.
Impact
BDU PhD candidates receive stronger supervision, methods training and international exposure, while both institutions expand joint research agendas and teaching capacity in governance and development from a Global South perspective
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Ilia State University (ISU); Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU); Alte University
Summary
EMC collaborates with Ilia State University, Tbilisi State Medical University and Alte University on train‑the‑trainer programmes in acute care, using simulation‑based courses to align Georgian medical training more closely with EU standards.
Impact
The project builds local trainer capacity in acute care and team‑based simulation, supports internationalised and practice‑oriented curricula and creates a foundation for long‑term exchange and joint research in medical education.
- Faculty: Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC)
- Partner institutions: Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
Summary
ESHCC and the TISS work together on teaching and research in the cultural and creative industries, focusing on India’s growing creative economy and non‑Western perspectives on creative sectors.
Impact
Staff gain new didactic approaches and research collaborations, TISS strengthens its curriculum in creative economy, and ESHCC deepens its understanding of Indian creative industries, supporting future joint courses, workshops and publications.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: Nazarbayev University (NU); Karaganda State Medical University (KSMU); Kazakh National Medical University (KNMU)
Summary
EMC and three Kazakh universities (NU, KSMU, KNMU) collaborate on living‑donor liver transplantation, linking Kazakhstan’s extensive clinical experience with EMC’s biobank and research infrastructure to improve outcomes and support WHO liver‑health goals.
Impact
Participants gain advanced skills in transplantation and biobanking, the partners develop a Central Asia–Europe axis in living‑donor liver transplantation, and pooled data and samples underpin a future global platform to refine protocols and reduce liver-disease mortality.
- Faculty: Erasmus MC (EMC)
- Partner institutions: University of Pristina (UniPr), Faculty of Medicine
Summary
EMC partners with the University of Pristina to strengthen Kosovo’s response to viral hepatitis through training in epidemiology, diagnostics, clinical management and monitoring, in line with WHO elimination targets.
Impact
The project builds local capacity in public‑health surveillance, lab diagnostics and clinical care, supports the setup of biobanks and monitoring systems, and broadens EMC’s comparative research on hepatitis across Europe and the Western Balkans.
- Faculty: Erasmus School of Law (ESL)
- Partner institutions: Moldova State University (MSU) – including the Inter‑University Medical Law Centre
Summary
ESL and Moldova State University collaborate to introduce and strengthen international and European health law and patients’ rights in Moldovan legal education, addressing a major gap in protecting people in healthcare.
Impact
Students and staff gain expertise in health and human‑rights law, institutions develop new courses and joint research, and the groundwork is laid for integrating patient‑rights training into national legal curricula and policy debates.
- Faculty: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
- Partner institutions: Birzeit University (BU) – Institute of Women’s Studies; Graduate School; Law Clinic at the School of Law
Summary
ISS and Birzeit University deepen long‑standing cooperation by co‑developing teaching and research on land, women’s rights, human rights, international justice, climate change and migration, with an eye to future double‑degree and joint PhD tracks.
Impact
The partnership improves MA and PhD training, fosters co‑publications and shared curricula and strengthens both institutions’ roles in regional networks addressing complex social and political challenges in Palestine and the wider MENA region.
Erasmus+ Disclaimer. The Erasmus+ programme is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency Erasmus+. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.