Students who wish to carry out an Erasmus mobility for study at the Department of Biology of the University of Pisa must be nominated by their Home institution.
Nomination/application deadlines are available on the FACTSHEET.

NOMINATION PROCEDURE
Nominations shall be sent to Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo. it within the given deadline, enclosing nomination sheet duly filled in. 
Nominated students will receive a confirmation message including instructions to complete their application (see below).

before the mobility

PRELIMINARY LEARNING AGREEMENT (BEFORE THE MOBILITY)

1. Due to technical issues, Online Learning Agreement (OLA) is not available through the Erasmus Mobility Portal.
   Students must compile the Learning Agreement Before the Mobility (LA-Before), using the form provided by their home University and information provided on this document. 
   PN: students must read GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION OF COURSES;
   
   
2. Students must send a PDF copy of the LA-Before to International Office (Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.) for a first evaluation and check.
   - If the proposal is accepted directly, students will receive the document duly signed by our International Coordinator;
   - In case there are changes to be made, we will get in touch with students and explain what they have to modify. As soon as all changes are fixed, they will receive the document duly signed by our International Coordinator.
   
   
3. Students must send the document to the Erasmus Coordinator of THEIR home University.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

1. Students must register on the Alice portal. Guidelines for the compilation are available HERE.
   PN: After registering students will receive the UniPI credentials;
   
   
2. Students must access our Erasmus Mobility portal, using the UniPI credentials, within the given deadline  enclosing the required documents. 
   PN: Students can see the video tutorial for application. Please mind to select the correct academic year before filling in the application form on Erasmus Mobility portal;
   
   
3. Students must upload the LA-Before with all three signatures (student's signature, Unipi Coordinator’s signature and home university Coordinator’s signature).
   PN: If everything is ok, we will approve the application and students will receive an automatic e- mail message from our system. After validation of the application by the Erasmus Coordinator of the Department of Biology, students will receive an email notification regarding the start of enrolment process. See also the video tutorial for enrollment.
   
   Mobility can start only after validation of the application by the Erasmus Coordinator of the Department of Biology through the Erasmus Mobility portal.
   
   Missing this validation, the student is not entitled to benefit from Erasmus Incoming Student status, nor to start the mobility at University of Pisa and access the Department facilities.
   
   NON- EU student must also comply with VISA and Residence permit regulations, (see "Entry requirements" mentioned below).
   
   Acceptance letter, if required, is provided to the student only after completing application procedure on the Erasmus Mobility portal.
   
   

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AND RULES FOR ITALY
Incoming students are required to comply with entry requirements described on the following webpages:
EU Erasmus incoming students
Non-EU Erasmus incoming students

ERASMUS INCOMING STUDENT GUIDE
General information for Erasmus Incoming students, including accommodation, insurances ecc..can be found on in this guide.

during the mobility

UPON YOUR ARRIVAL IN PISA
Erasmus incoming students are required to set an appointment with:

1. the International Central Office, to get your student card. The online agenda is available on your Erasmus Mobility profile by clicking on “Online form for Erasmus+ student”. The International central office is located in Lungarno Pacinotti 44;
2. the International Office of the Department of Biology, to get your arrival certificate, which prooves your arrival at the Department of BIology and states the start date of mobility. The meeting shall be held in presence. Please make sure well in advance that your home institution does not require any specific template, otherwise we will provide you with UNIPI template. You can ask for an appointment sending an email to Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.. The office is located at Polo Nobili, Via Alessandro Volta 4Bis. 

INSTITUTIONAL EMAIL ACCOUNT
All students are required to use the UNIPI institutional account (Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.) to communicate with teachers and administrative staff. Please access https://outlook.com/ and log in with user name and password received after registration on Alice portal. Further instructions are available on this link.

TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Erasmus incoming students are recommended to carefully read TEACHING ACTIVITIES GUIDELINES.
All teaching activities, including laboratories, seminars, exercises, projects, exams and other practical activities, will be held in presence.

E-LEARNING
Erasmus incoming students can join e-Learning platform using UNIPI institutional credentials. Teaching material may be provided through e-learning platform. In case of problems in accessing the platform, please contact the relevant teacher.

CHANGES TO THE LEARNING AGREEMENT
Any changes to the Learning Agreement Before the mobility must be requested by sending the Learning Agreement During the mobility to Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo. at least one month before the end date of the mobility mentioned on the Learning Agreement Before the mobility. The Learning Agreement During the mobility must be sent ONCE, any additional requests for changes will not be accepted. Please make sure to fill in the appropriate section, which is usually titled "Exceptional changes to the Learning Agreement", and get the signature of all parties for the approval of changes. Missing the approval of the Learning Agreement DURING by all parties, the request for changes will not be considered valid.

ACADEMIC CALENDAR AND TIMETABLE OF CLASSES
See relevant information on this link.

LOCATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Classes are held in different buildings (NOB, SR, DST, FIB) located in Pisa, see the maps avaialble on this webpage.
Be aware that courses from different degree programmes may have overlapping timetables and distant locations.

LANGUAGE OF TEACHING/ LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
Bachelor courses held at the Department of Biology are taught in ITALIAN while a limited number of master courses are taught in English. 
Relevant information about language of teaching of each course is provided on Course Catalogue. 
When starting the mobility at the Department of Biology, incoming students are strongly recommended to possess:
- B2 level of Italian language knowledge for classes held in Italian
- B2 level of English language knowledge for classes held in English
Incoming students are therefore expected to understand and communicate in the language of teaching. This applies to lessons (practical and theoretical) and final exams. Teaching material will be available only in the language of teaching. 

UNIVERSITY LINGUISTIC CENTRE
Erasmus students can benefit from a free Italian Language course at the Centro Linguistico of the University of Pisa.
Although these courses are not mandatory, it is strongly advised to take advantage of this opportunity.
Student shall pre-register for the assessment test.
For further details see the relevant webpage or contact Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.
Students who wish to get 4 credits for the Italian language course are required to:

1. comply with the relevant regulations of the Linguistic centre
2. add the course in their Learning Agreement at least one month before the end date of their mobility. Course title is Italian language course for foreigners. Course Level must be spcified (level A1, A2 ecc...) No course code is required.
3. upload the Language knowledge certificate, provided by the Centro Linguistico, on their personal area of the Erasmus Mobility platform.

ERASMUS INCOMING STUDENT GUIDE
General information for Erasmus Incoming students, including accommodation, insurances ecc..can be found on in this guide.

SAVE THE DATE!
Erasmus incoming students are recommended to join the Welcome day for Erasmus Incoming students organized by the Department of Biology as well as the Welcome week for Erasmus Incoming students organized by Erasmus Student Network with the participation of the University of Pisa. Further information about the programme and location will be provided by email to incoming students.

Erasmus Student Network
Get in touch with other Erasmus students in Pisa through Erasmus Student Network.

Unibuddy
Register to UniBuddy platform and take the chance to chat with our ambassadors! They are international students enrolled at the university of Pisa. You can chat with them and share information about international student life at the University of Pisa. The platform also contains blog, video and post regarding useful issues.

Students tutors
The list of students tutors can be found on this webpage.

end of mobility

BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE FROM PISA
Erasmus incoming students are required to set an appointment well in advance with the International Office of the Department of Biology (Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.).

The meeting with the staff of the International Office shall be held in presence in order to:

1. return the Student card (for reclaiming any leftover credit, please ask Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.)
2. get the Transcript of records.
   Since exams are displayed on Alice portal only after 48 working hours, please make sure that all your exams have been recorded in your student booklet before setting the appointment.
   Should you also require the Learning Agreement After the mobility, please ask for it  (Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. E' necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.) and we will send it to you by email shortly after your leaving. 
   Please remember that all exams must be taken in presence and before the end date of mobility. 
   Any exam held after the end date of mobility will not be recorded in the Learning Agreement After the mobility.
   Transcript of records and Learning Agreement After the mobility WILL ONLY MENTION THE LIST OF PASSED EXAMS.
   Any kind of certificate of attendance to classes or exams session WILL NOT BE PROVIDED.
3. get the Certificate of stay. Please make sure that your home institution does not require any specific template otherwise we will provide you with UNIPI template.

 Please also remember to return any book you may have borrowed.