Erasmus+ has two great pillars. KA2 is about organisations cooperating; KA1 is about people moving. If KA2 builds things together, KA1 sends individuals abroad to learn — and changes them in the process.
01Mobility, simply
"Mobility" is jargon for a simple thing: a period of learning in another country. A student studying a term abroad, a teacher job-shadowing a foreign school, a group of young people at a structured exchange — all are KA1 mobilities. The learning comes from the experience as much as the content.
02What KA1 funds
KA1 covers the costs that make mobility possible: travel, daily living (subsistence), organisational support, course fees where relevant, and extra support for participants with fewer opportunities. It spans school education, vocational training (VET), adult education, higher education and youth.
Indicative split of a typical mobility budget. Most goes to living costs and travel — the grant removes the financial barrier to going.
03Who can take part
Participants are pupils and students, teachers and trainers, VET learners and apprentices, adult learners, and young people and youth workers. Applications are made by organisations — schools, colleges, NGOs, training providers — not by individuals directly. The organisation holds the grant and sends its people.
04Accreditation vs short projects
There are two routes. Accreditation is a "frequent-traveller" status: organisations with a long-term plan get streamlined, ongoing access to mobility funding. Short-term projects suit newcomers and one-off plans, funding a fixed number of mobilities without a long commitment. Most organisations start short-term and graduate to accreditation.
Both deliver the same kind of mobility. The choice is about scale and commitment, not about who can benefit.
05How funding works
KA1 uses mostly unit costs — fixed amounts per day, per kilometre band, per participant — rather than reimbursing receipts. This makes budgeting predictable and reporting lighter: you plan the numbers up front and account against the units, not a shoebox of invoices.
06What makes it good
A strong KA1 project is not a trip; it is structured learning. Clear objectives tied to organisational needs, proper preparation (cultural, linguistic, practical) before departure, real learning during, and recognition afterwards — for example through Europass — so the experience counts. Weak projects skip the preparation and the follow-up; strong ones live in them.
What to remember
- KA1 funds learning mobility — periods of learning in another country.
- It covers travel, living costs, organisational support and inclusion.
- Organisations apply and hold the grant; individuals take part through them.
- Two routes: short-term projects for newcomers, accreditation for the committed.
- Funding uses predictable unit costs, not receipt-by-receipt reimbursement.
- Quality lives in preparation, structured learning and recognition.
We translate advanced technology and EU policy into practical training. This explainer is part of our open Insights series for educators, youth workers and SMEs.