Instructions for signing exchange agreements

It is an important principle for the university that the departments develop their international contacts after making independent assessments based on academic interests and other considerations.

When entering into a faculty level cooperation, one of the departments within that faculty shall take on the administrative responsibility for the agreement, as the faculty offices ordinarily do not manage these types of tasks.

In 2022, the university President decided on the procedure for agreements management (“Handläggningsordning för avtalsarbete”). This was developed with the aim of describing the administrative procedure for, and providing support during, the handling of contracts and agreements. It also explains the distribution of responsibilities at central, faculty and departmental levels when drafting and reviewing agreements:

• Handläggningsordning för avtalsarbete (in Swedish only)

All active exchange agreements at Stockholm University can be found on the agreement portal:

• Stockholm University's agreements for student mobility
• Stockholm University's agreements for teacher mobility

Guiding criteria to choose a partner institution

When choosing an institution to enter into agreement with, it is good to take the following factors into consideration: what the institution adds to the internationalisation at Stockholm University generally and at the department specifically, the demand from students and teachers, the previous balance between outgoing and incoming students/teachers from other partner institutions in the same area/country, as well as diversity and other strategic considerations (long term effects, development potential and so on).

The geopolitical changes of recent years have placed new demands on how Swedish universities approach international collaborations and partnerships. The signing of new exchange agreements therefore requires a thorough pre-assessment, balancing academic benefits against risks concerning ethics, security policy threats, and human rights violations, to protect the university’s core values and research integrity. The Research Support Office and International Office at Stockholm University have together developed an internal guide on ethics and risk management to help in this respect:

• Responsible Internationalisation

Below are guiding criteria for signing agreements:

• Agreements are primarily signed with renowned universities. An assessment of whether or not a university is successful can be based on excellency criteria such as strong research traditions, size, broad subject structure or outstanding competency in a certain area and, ranking lists. It can also be based on the university’s innovative and cross-boundary work.
• The partnership benefits Stockholm University’s strategic interests and creates long-term relationships.
• The partnership is meaningful and takes into consideration Stockholm University’s strengths. The universities complement each other and together create prerequisites for high quality education and research.
• The partnership works for an increased recruitment of students and researchers to Stockholm University.
• The partnership emanates from the students’ interest for exchange studies. Student reports from studies abroad make up a valuable tool for choosing suitable exchange universities.
• Cooperation is made with institutions that can guarantee that outgoing students do not risk discrimination. For example, student exchange agreements should not be entered into with universities where outgoing female students do not receive access to studies on the same conditions as male students.
  

Concrete questions to ask before you sign an exchange agreement

• What do we want to accomplish with the partnership? Is there potential to develop the cooperation strategically?

• Does the partnership add diversity among the exchange opportunities or does it contribute to internationalisation at home?
• What commitments, conditions, responsibilities, and rights do we have?
• Does the institution offer relevant courses on different levels and of high quality?
• Does the agreement define the exchange students’ rights and responsibilities as well as the service level provided by the university?
• Are there routines at the institution for a decent welcoming of the exchange students, help with accommodation, and other student services?
• Is the agreement vetted at the department?
• Who is the contact person at your department that administers and processes the student exchange?
  

Agreement templates and specific instructions regarding the processing of personal data

Before choosing an agreement template, you must check whether the counterparty is a country with an adequate level of protection regarding the processing of personal data. The European Commission has decided that certain third countries have an adequate level of protection; those with an adequate level of protection are listed on the link below:

• Adequacy decisions

• If the counterparty is located in a country with an adequate level of protection, use agreement template 1 from the list below (“Mall institutionsavtal tredjeland med adekvat skyddsnivå”).
• If the counterparty is located in a country not included on the European Commission's adequacy list, use agreement template 2 below (“Mall institutionsavtal tredjeland utan adekvat skyddsnivå med SCC”) where the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) are annexed. The SCCs are intended to regulate the processing of personal data in a way that ensures sufficient protection for the personal data transferred to a counterparty in a third country not bound by the GDPR. The SCCs must not be amended by the counterparty; instead, the counterparty needs to determine whether they can comply with the terms as formulated by the European Commission.
• If the counterparty cannot comply with the standard contractual clauses, there is a final possibility to rely on a derogation; in this case, use agreement template 3 below (“Mall institutionsavtal tredjeland utan adekvat skyddsnivå med undantag”).

Agreement templates
Mall institutionsavtal tredjeland med adekvat skyddsnivå docx, 75.8 kB. (reviderades mars 2026)

Mall institutionsavtal tredjeland utan adekvat skyddsnivå med SCC docx, 98.8 kB.(reviderades mars 2026)

Mall institutionsavtal tredjeland utan adekvat skyddsnivå med undantag docx, 77.8 kB.(reviderades mars 2026)

To follow up, renew, or discontinue agreements

To make sure that your partnerships maintain a high standard of quality, you should continuously evaluate your agreements. The department responsible for the agreement should do this together with the faculties and the central support systems. The criteria mentioned above and the university’s overall goals for internationalisation should be considered during the re-evaluation. Other indicators that can be used are activity level, balance, study results, assessments both from teachers and students through reports and other quality aspects such as information, syllabi, and service.

You can decide to renew or discontinue the agreements based on these factors. Examples of situations that can lead to discontinuing an agreement: are lack of reciprocity, lack of information and communication, bad results on surveys, minimal activity during the recent years, breaches of contract, students lacking language skills, and cooperation difficulties.

Tip: The EU-financed project Equatic has created a web-based form for assessment of partner agreements.

Web based form within the project Equatic

Special requirements regarding Erasmus agreements

The departments that have signed Erasmus agreements with institutions within Europe can participate in the programme. No agreements are needed for internships and administrative staff mobility.

Bilateral Erasmus agreements are signed digitally through Erasmus Without Papers in Mobility Online. Multilateral Erasmus agreements (for example Nordplus-Erasmus) are signed on special paper templates. Only four-digit ISCED-codes are to be used. If a university initiates a partnership and sends an agreement draft, it is important to make sure that the agreement conforms with the information in the Stockholm University agreement template. All documentation regarding Erasmus must be saved for seven years.

See instructions on Confluence:

• Manualer - Avtal - Confluence
• Digitala avtal - Confluence (Erasmusavtal)
• Pappersavtal - Confluence (bilaterala avtal)

Contact

For general questions about exchange agreements
exchange.agreements@su.se

For legal questions, contact the legal team through the Self-Service portal, “Ask the Lawyer”
Serviceportalen

For questions related to agreements in Mobility Online
mobilitetssystem@su.se