Blended Intensive Programme (BIP)
Beside semester studies or internship programmes, you can also go abroad for short-term mobilities. The most popular ones are called blended intensive programmes (BIP). For short-term studies you can apply for scholarship to cover travel and living expenses related to the programme.
What is blended intensive programme?
BIPs are short programmes which focus on a specific topic. It is like a regular course but (usually) done in a shorter period and in collaboration with other universities abroad. BIPs have two parts: online and onsite part.
Online part or virtual part is held either before, during or after the onsite part. The structure can differ greatly depending on the subject but often it includes some homework or group projects, online lectures or seminars. Taking part in it is mandatory to receive a positive result on the course.
During onsite part the student will be abroad in the campus of organizing school. Onsite parts are mostly 5 days long. Students (usually) take part in groupworks, company visits and outings to explore the destination area.
After completing both the online and onsite part the student has earned their ECTS which will be transferred to their study programme.
Who organizes BIPs?
University or a group of universities come up with an idea to teach a course in certain subjects. The organizing university then finds suitable partner school’s who look for nominate interested students. For example, EBS has been in the past partners with Kozminski University and TUM. Kozminski invited EBS and TUM for a course and our students took part of a month long online part which ended with a study visit to Warsaw.
BIPs can be organized by any university at any time. That is also the reason why those opportunities can become available in irregular intervals, so it’s important to keep your eyes open for announcements and emails when we let students know there are open spots in some programme.
Why take part in a BIP?
BIP is ideal for students who for some reason cannot make the commitment for long-term mobility but students can also participate in both long- and short-term mobilities. BIP is a quick and direct way to network in international context which highlights in the future participants CV as well as adventures mind.
Perks of BIPs:
– free ECTS: you do not pay for the ECTS which you receive during the programme;
– available scholarship: you can apply for a scholarship to cover the travel and living expenses while abroad;
– short-term commitment: the workload isn’t big and online parts are often more flexible as well.
How do I apply?
As at the moment BIPs happen in irregular intervals, we announce possibilities through emails, announcements on Canvas or through a lecturer. Depending on a programme and how big the interest is, we might ask for motivation letter or check average grade to make a selection of students. All the details are given with the specifics relevant to that programme and application.
If you have any questions, contact Erasmus+ Project Manager Ellika Eero: ellika.eero@ebs.ee.