Travelling

Funding principles and procedure

It is the policy of the Department to promote scientific exchange, e.g., at conferences and stays at other universities. The guiding principles for the departmental funding are described below.

The travel may be funded by the Department, a project or reimbursed by your host.

If you want to apply for funding from your section or the Department, you are kindly asked to follow this procedure:

  • Fill in the application form (see below) of the section that you are in, or the Department form if you apply for funding from the Department, and send it to your head of section*.
  • Forward the approved application to one of the research secretaries of your section.

It is essential that you have obtained this approval before you commit to any expenses.

In case the funding is provided by an external grant, the conditions for the funding are determined by the regulations in the grant, and, as is the case in general, by the rules stipulated by Aarhus University.

The rules at Aarhus University regarding travelling can be seen here: AU Travel Policy. The rules distinguish between trips which last up to 28 days, denoted short-term visits, and trips longer than 28 days, denoted long-term visits.

* In the Economics section, the procedure is that the form must be approved by the section secretary if the amount is below DKK 1000 and by the head of section if the amount is DKK 1000 and above.

Conferences, workshops and short-term visits

It is possible to apply for funding of travel costs, conference fees, accommodation and daily allowances.

The travel costs cover transportation from your home/the Department to the destination of your trip. For some conferences, a conference fee applies. During the stay, the costs of accommodation, e.g., hotel or apartment can be covered.

Daily allowances, denoted the subsistence allowance, may be given to cover all expenses related to the travel beyond the other costs just mentioned. These may include meals and transport during the stay, i.e., if they are not covered by, e.g., the conference fee.

The overall travel funds allocated to a section are determined by the management of the Department. This is done by giving a conference frame intended for a typical member of a section. The actual allocation of the amounts within the section is under the discretion of the head of section.

Stays abroad (long-term visits) - not applicable for PhD students

As a guiding principle, a long-term stay abroad should be financed by external grant(s). Therefore, it is expected that sincere efforts have been made to obtain external funding before an application for partial departmental financial support is sent to the section head.

The Department may cover travel costs (including insurance) and travel costs for your nearest family provided they stay for the majority of the time of the visit. The section head may approve partial or full reimbursement of accommodation costs given the costs can be covered by the section budget.

It is advisable to consult SKAT (The Danish Customs and Tax Administration) well in advance to establish the fiscal consequences of the research stay.

The head of section processes the application. To ensure that teaching tasks and other tasks at the Department can be cleared, the section head will consult the head of education.

For further information on the general guidelines, see: http://medarbejdere.au.dk/en/administration/finance/travel-booking-and-expense-reimbursement/

Please note that PhD students have their own form. PhD students should get approval from their supervisor and then fill in the form and send it to the head of the PhD programme. Note also that PhD students must apply for approval of external PhD courses. Read more about funding for PhD students here.    


Booking

Airline tickets may be booked through AU's travel agency CWT or directly with the airline.

Please note that you are required to book the cheapest possible form of travel and that you are not allowed to use other travel agencies than CWT.

Booking through Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT)

You can book airline tickets online via the CWT travel portal (remember to activate your profile first) or by e-mail: au.dk@contactcwt.com or telephone 3363 7744.

In the CWT travel portal, it is also possible to check-in and to see your itinerary and information on travels. 

Read more about AU's rules regarding travelling

Train and hotel booking

You may use CWT travel for train and hotel bookings, but it is not mandatory.

It is recommended that you book train tickets through DSB (www.dsb.dk) - Pay with your AU credit card.


Settlement

All travel accounts and/or credit card transactions must be settled no later than 2 weeks after your return. You can do this yourself, or you can ask one of the research secretaries of your section to do it for you. All original tickets, receipts etc. must be handed in when settling the expenses.

Travel and expense reimbursement is done in RejsUd

Short trips must be settled within 2 weeks.

Long trips must be settled no later than 2 weeks after you return home.

You must scan and attach the signed approval form (cf. above) to your travel/expense settlement in RejsUd

If you pay fees, tickets etc. more than a month before your trip is going to take place, you should settle these expenses no more than 2 weeks after the payment(s) in order to avoid unpleasant reminders from the system. 

AU about travel expenses

AU Credit Card

A credit card can be issued to any full-time member of the academic or administrative staff, including PhD students, who has a regular need for it. The credit card can be used to pay for official university travel expenses. 

The use of credit cards replaces cumbersome administrative procedures for the handling of cash advances/outlays or the use of personal credit cards with subsequent reimbursement, so it is recommended that you apply for an AU credit card if you travel often.

Read more about the AU credit card here.


Travel Insurance

It is not a requirement to own or bring a physical card to be covered by AU’s travel insurance when travelling on official business. If you need to use the insurance during a trip abroad and you do not have the physical card, all the necessary information and contact information can be found at Statens tjenesterejseforsikring (europaeiske.dk)

If you still wish to bring a travel insurance card, it can be printed directly from Europæiske's website 

Activation of a claim requires confirmation from the head of department. If a situation arises where you need to use the insurance while travelling abroad, all necessary information and contact information can be found at Europæiske's website 

Please note that the individual AU employee is responsible for ensuring that the employee is covered by a valid travel insurance at AU before engaging in business travel.

Read more about AU travel insurance