Turing Scheme Terms and Conditions

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s flagship student mobility funding programme that provides funding to UK organisations to unlock life-changing experiences across the world for their students. 

To be eligible for Turing Scheme funding, you must:  

• have been accepted by the Study Abroad and Exchange team as being eligible for Turing Scheme funding.  

• have completed an online pre-departure questionnaire and received formal approval from Manchester Metropolitan University to travel abroad to undertake your mobility placement at your host organisation.  

• complete all of the required Stage 1 and Stage 2 Turing Scheme documentation.  

• remain a registered student at Manchester Metropolitan University, be actively undertaking your mobility placement, and physically living in your host country abroad for the full duration of the mobility period.   

Turing Scheme Grant Rates for 2023-24 academic year 

The Turing Scheme provides funding towards the general cost of living abroad in the form of mobility grants that are calculated according to set grant rates in accordance with the length of the mobility period abroad. 

The amounts granted vary depending on destination and duration of mobility. Destinations are grouped into three categories: Group 1 (high cost of living), Group 2 (medium cost of living), Group 3 (lower cost of living).   

HE student placements with a total duration of 4 to 8 weeks will receive:  

• £545 per month (equal to £136.25 per week) for Group 1 destinations 

• £480 per month (equal to £120 per week) for Group 2 and 3 destinations 

HE student placements with a total duration of 9 weeks to 48 weeks will receive:  

• £380 per month (equal to £95 per week) for Group 1 destinations  

• £335 per month (equal to £83.75 per week) for Group 2 and 3 destinations 

A higher grant rate plus travel grant is available to students from a background identified as underrepresented in higher education, if they meet one or more of the following criteria:   

• Participants with an annual household income of £25,000 or less
• Participants receiving Universal Credit or income- related benefits because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them, such as a child or partner
• care leavers and Participants who are care experienced. This refers to anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked after background at any stage of their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked after or those who access the Care Experienced Bursary in Scotland
• Participants who have caring responsibilities
• A carer is anyone who has a commitment to providing unpaid care to a family member or friend who could not cope without their support
• estranged Participants. A Participant is estranged if the Participant has had no contact with their biological/adoptive parents) for 12 months or more, or their relationship with their parents has broken down within the last 12 months and they do not expect this to change in the near future
• Refugees and asylum seekers

Participants on an HE placement meeting the disadvantaged background criteria outlined above will receive an additional £110 per month to their cost-of-living grant. As such, the total cost of living grant funding provided to students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be as follows:  

For placements with a total duration of four to eight weeks:  

• £654 per month (equal to £163.50 per week to Group 1 countries or territories)  

• £590 per month (equal to £147.50 per week to Group 2 and 3 countries or territories).  

For placements with a total duration of nine weeks to twelve months:  

• £490 per month (equal to £122.50 per week to Group 1 countries or territories)  

• £445 per month (equal to £111.25 per week to Group 2 and 3 countries or territories). 

Travel grant rates:   

• 10 to 99km: £20   

• 100 to 499km: £165   

• 500 to 1,999km: £250   

• 2,000 to 2,999km: £325   

• 3,000 to 3,999km: £480   

• 4,000 to 7,999km: £745  

• 8,000 to 12,000km: £905   

• 12,000km+: £1,360  

Distances are calculated according to direct distance (bird-eye view) between Manchester Metropolitan University and your host organisation using Google Maps.  

To make an award, we will need to assess your eligibility for higher rate funding and we will ask you to provide evidence of this.  

We can accept the following as evidence:  

• Qualifying for support by the Inclusion Service at Manchester Metropolitan University.   

• Universal credit or other income-related benefits award letter  

• Income assessment by the Student Loans Company   

• Official documentation or residence permit confirming humanitarian status as a refugee or asylum-seeker.  

If you are in receipt of a UK government student loan, you are income assessed when submitting an application to student finance for loans purposes. Manchester Metropolitan University will use this information to assess your household income level. If you are in receipt of a UK government student loan, we would advise you to contact student finance directly to confirm your HRI (household residual income) status and check that you have granted sharing of this information with Manchester Metropolitan University.   

If you are not in receipt of a UK government student loan but are eligible to apply, we will ask you to complete an income assessment with the Student Loans Company.  

If you are not in receipt of a UK government student loan and are not eligible to apply, we will ask for other formal evidence of your income in order to complete an income assessment (e.g. P60 or HMRC self-assessment).  

If you are care experienced but do not qualify for support as a care leaver with the Inclusion Service, we will ask for any evidence that you have (either formal or informal) to confirm that you are care experienced. Being care experienced means you will have spent time living with foster carers under local authority care, in residential care (e.g. a children’s home), looked after at home under a supervision order, or in kinship care with relatives or friends, either officially (e.g. a special guardianship order) or informally without local authority support.  

If you identify with any of the above criteria, please contact the Study Abroad and Exchange team at exchanges@mmu.ac.uk to discuss your eligibility for the higher rate Turing Scheme funding. 

If you are successful in being awarded Turing Scheme funding for your mobility placement abroad, you will be informed of your total mobility grant allowance.  

Your total mobility grant allowance is calculated according to the actual length of your mobility period abroad in days, as specified in the Learning Agreement and Certificate of End of Mobility.   

• The start date of the mobility period is the first day that you are required to be present at your host organisation.   

• The end date of the mobility period is the last day you are required to be present at your host organisation.    

• You will receive 80% of your expected total grant allowance at the start of the mobility period subject to submission of the required Stage 1 documentation.   

• You will receive your second instalment of funding at the end of your mobility period abroad, upon submission of the required Stage 2 documentation.   

• If the end date on your Stage 2 documentation shows that you completed your mobility placement earlier than outlined in your Learning Agreement, your total grant allowance will be recalculated according to your actual number of mobility days at your host organisation.  

• If the end date on your Stage 2 documentation shows that you completed your mobility placement later than outlined in your Learning Agreement and you have not had formal approval for an extension to your funding allowance, your second instalment will be paid according to the original dates outlined in the Learning Agreement.  

Payments will be made to you in pound sterling into the UK bank account that you have provided to us on the Bank Form. 

Restrictions to destinations with an FCDO Travel Advisory 

The Turing Scheme cannot fund mobility periods that are less than 4 weeks or more than 48 weeks in duration. Under the Manchester Metropolitan University funding scheme, all mobility periods abroad must end before 31 August 2024.  

The Turing Scheme does not provide funding to destinations defined as a red-list country by the UK government or to destinations with a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advisory “against all or against all but essential travel” at the time of application for such funding.   

You will lose eligibility for Turing Scheme funding if your destination country is placed on the UK Government red-list or if there are any FCDO advisories against all or against all but essential travel before the start of your mobility period. If your destination is placed on a red-list or has any FCDO advisories against travel after the start of your mobility period, you will not lose eligibility for Turing funding.  

If you are unable to travel for any reason and:  

• have received approval to start studying at the host university by distance learning (virtual study), you will not receive a grant for the period of virtual study. Once the physical mobility period starts, you will be then entitled to the funding rate specified for the period of time spent physically abroad to undertake the placement. The grant would be re‐calculated according to the new start and end dates for physical mobility. The length of physical study abroad must be longer than 4 weeks in duration in order to remain eligible for Turing Scheme funding.  

• defer the placement to a later date, we will re‐assess your eligibility for funding. 

Restrictions on double-funding 

The Turing Scheme prohibits double-funding of placements abroad. This means that participants should not be funded twice for the same expense. Participants cannot use Turing Scheme funding to pay for assets (e.g., IT equipment) or services (e.g., travel) where a participant is, or expects to be, in receipt of funding provided by another source for the same assets or services. For example, if you are in receipt of a Turing Scheme travel grant, you are not allowed to apply for a travel grant via Student Finance England (and vice versa).  

As part of the award of Turing Scheme funding, we will ask you to declare whether you are in receipt of any other sources of grant funding or whether you intend to apply for any other sources of grant funding. We will then assess whether this would be classed as double-funding for the Turing Scheme. 

Participants can ‘top up’ funding where one source of funding does not meet the full costs of participation in the placement. For example, if travel is more expensive than the amount of funding provided by the Turing Scheme, participants can use funding from another source to cover the additional costs of travel, although this should not exceed the actual travel costs. Similarly, if the Turing Scheme cost-of-living grant does not cover the actual cost of living abroad, participants are allowed to make up the difference between the amount available to them and their total living costs through funding from other sources. 

If you wish to extend the duration of your mobility period whilst abroad, you will need to make a request to exchanges@mmu.ac.uk more than one month before the end of the mobility period. We cannot guarantee the availability of funding for extension requests.   

If you wish to reduce the duration of your mobility period whilst abroad, please contact the Study Abroad and Exchange team at exchanges@mmu.ac.uk to discuss the academic, financial and wellbeing implications to inform your decision.   

Depending on your circumstances, you may need to pay back your grant allowance (in part or in full) if you terminate the mobility period before its expected end date.   

If you have had to terminate your placement within 4 weeks of the start date due to force majeure circumstances, you can make a short duration request for funds. This will then be considered by Capita. 

A short duration request is applicable for participants taking part in the Turing Scheme who do not meet the minimum duration required for their stay, due to force majeure. Force majeure is defined as any event or occurrence which is outside the reasonable control of the Party concerned and which is not attributable to any act or failure to take reasonable preventative action by that Party. Therefore, short duration requests should not be submitted for mobilities that have not yet started.   

You can make a request following the start of your mobility period if there are clear and certain circumstances which are beyond your control, and which have an impact on your study / mobility progress or wellbeing. Generally, this will include:   

• serious illness or injury, where a medical certificate states that the participant was unable to attend their studies or mobility   

• bereavement related to close family members such as parents or grandparents   

• major political upheaval or natural disaster in the host country requiring emergency travel and this has impacted the mobility   

• a traumatic experience which could include involvement in or witnessing of a serious accident, or witnessing or being the victim of a serious crime, and this has impacted on the participant.  

You will need to provide full evidence to support your request.   

Force majeure does NOT cover:   

• disputes between participants and receiving organisations that could potentially be resolved   

• cancelled classes or study sessions by the receiving organisation   

• participants simply wanting to return home   

• foreseeable circumstances that could be resolved by either the participant or the sending or receiving organisation   

• labour disputes, strikes, financial difficulties   

• any default of a service, defect in equipment or materials or delays in making them available.   

Please note this list is not exhaustive and Capita (Turing Scheme Delivery Partner) will look at each form on a case-by-case basis. The Turing Scheme grant only covers the actual period spent abroad and participants are only entitled to receive grants that correspond with the actual duration of the mobility.  

If you need to suspend your mobility due to force majeure, your funding will be paused during the period of suspension and will resume when you continue the activities after the interruption, provided that the mobility end date does not exceed the end date of the project. 

Manchester Metropolitan University will process participant information in accordance with any fair processing or privacy notices provided during the mobility application stage and in accordance with its registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office (MMU: Z5710637) and its Data Protection Policy. Please see our policies, legal notices and regulations page and www.ico.gov.uk/register for further information. 

Manchester Metropolitan University is required, as part of the Turing Scheme, to share information about all participants with the Capita (Turing Scheme Delivery Partner).  

In participating in the Turing Scheme, you acknowledge that your personal information will be shared with the Capita (Turing Scheme Delivery Partner) via the Turing Scheme Live Reporting Tool as part of the Turing reporting requirements.   

The following personal information will be shared with Capita (Turing Scheme Delivery Partner) via the Live Reporting Tool:  

• First name and last name  

• Email address and telephone number, or the email address and telephone number of the person accompanying you if you are under 18  

• Date of birth  

• Learner or student ID number / HUSID ID  

• Home postcode  

• Nationality  

• Ethnicity  

• Gender  

• Level of education  

• Whether you have a special educational need or a disability  

• Whether you meet the Turing Scheme criteria for underrepresented groups in higher education  

• Details of your host organization location and contact information 

• Start and end dates of your placement  

Documentation you have completed in relation to the award of funding will be held for a period of 7 years from 31 August 2024 and may be shared with Capita in case of financial audit.  

Any information that you share as part of your final report may be shared with Capita (Turing Scheme Delivery Partner), if requested. 

Privacy Notice for the Turing Scheme