Marco Polo Fund

In 1997 the University of Groningen set up the Marco Polo Fund. As a student of this university you can apply for a grant from the Marco Polo Fund when you go abroad for three to twelve months as part of your degree. The Marco Polo Fund is complementary to the Life Long Learning Programme/ Erasmus (LLLP/Erasmus) of the European Union. This means that you first have to try to use the LLLP/Erasmus programme and that only if this fails, for example because of your nationality, you can try to apply to the Marco Polo Fund. Usually, you can only receive one grant, either from the LLLP/Erasmus programme or the Marco Polo Fund. In very few cases, an exception can be made in order to finance a second stay abroad with a bursary from the Marco Polo Fund. Your faculty has to give explicit permission for this.

Your application to the Marco Polo Fund has to be submitted to the International Office or the international officer of your own faculty. As part of the application process there will be checks to see whether you meet the requirements below and any possible additional requirements of your own faculty (for example, the deadline of submission).

Criteria:

1. You must be registered as a normal bachelor or master student at the University of Groningen. To be eligible for a grant from the Marco Polo Fund as a bachelor student, you must have completed at least the first two years of your degree. Whether you meet this requirement, depends on the criteria given by your faculty or degree. In practice, most students have finished their second year before they leave. As a student of medicine, dentistry or pharmacy, you may receive a scholarship from the Marco Polo Fund for studying abroad after your basic training.
2. Usually, you can only be awarded a scholarship from the Marco Polo Fund for studying abroad and internships at an institution with which the University of Groningen has a demonstrable and structural relationship. 
3. You can be awarded a scholarship from the Marco Polo Fund for studying or doing an internship abroad in one of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey or any overseas territories of these countries ('LLLP/Erasmus countries'). Exception: when you have received a grant from the LLLP/Erasmus programme during your bachelor, it might be possible to be eligible for a grant from the Marco Polo Fund during your master. The destination can then also be an LLLP/Erasmus country. This is only possible when your faculty finds studying or doing an internship abroad necessary, for example in the context of a joint programme.
4. You may receive a grant from the Marco Polo Fund for a period of between three and twelve months (15 ECTS minimum, 60 ECTS maximum).
5. The exam board of your faculty or an other formally appointed qualified person or institution must approve your stay abroad before you leave. This approval is based on study achievements, such as your grades and motivation.
6. You must have proof of a commitment that you will be supervised by your own university and the host university. This may be in the form of an invitation letter, a 'learning agreement' or internship contract.
7. Your own faculty will test your knowledge of the official language of your host institute and the culture of the country you will visit. In addition, your faculty will check whether you have prepared yourself sufficiently for your stay abroad.
8. After your return to the Netherlands, you have to hand in a copy of your ticket, a short report and proof of your academic results at the International Office or the international officer of your own faculty. This needs to be done within a month after coming back.
9. The University of Groningen has the right to withhold or to reclaim the grant if your stay abroad was much shorter than expected or if the exam board finds your study results below par. The grant can also be reclaimed if your conduct, at the host institute or outside of that, has damaged the reputation of the university/faculty or has put a strain on international relations, either before, during or after you stay abroad.

Regarding internships, there are additional requirements: 

• If you go abroad for an internship, you must hand in a statement from the organisation where you will do your internship, that shows whether you receive a reimbursement and if yes, how high it is. This reimbursement will be deducted from the grant you receive. If the compensation for your internship or the reimbursement of the costs for travel, lodging and insurance surmount 650 euros per month, you are not eligible for an additional grant from the Marco Polo Fund. Concerning the reimbursement of an internship it is the gross amount that counts. If you do not mention your internship compensation, you will have to pay back your grant. 

Grant amounts