COUNCIL OF EUROPE Directorate of School, Out-Of-School And Higher Education, Higher Education and Research Division and PEOPLES’ FRIENDSHIP UNIVERSITY OF RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR MAKING THE EUROPEAN.
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COUNCIL OF EUROPE Directorate of School, Out-Of-School And Higher Education, Higher Education and Research Division and PEOPLES’ FRIENDSHIP UNIVERSITY OF RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR MAKING THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA A REALITY: THE ROLE OF STUDENTS www.esn.org [email protected] International Student Experience: Mobility Ewa Krzaklewska Vice President Erasmus Student Network www.esn.org [email protected] Content The impact of the mobility The issues in the mobility schemes Students’ role in fostering mobility www.esn.org [email protected] Data on quality of exchange ESNSurvey – in 2005, 8000 students evaluated their exchange – in 2006, 12,500 students responded to questionnaire on exchange students’ rights (done in partnership with Universita’ Bocconi) More information at www.esn.org/survey www.esn.org [email protected] International experience - - Wide range of experiences: international students (full degree) specialised degree MA exchange students (Erasmus,Tempus, CEEPUS, bilateral) Internship, work short term experience www.esn.org [email protected] Impact on students+ 1. Culturally competent 2. Multilingual (2,1 => 3,6) 3. Mobile (78% would move) 4. More mature and indipendent 5. Created social network abroad. www.esn.org [email protected] Different experiences... My time in Edinburgh was an unforgettable experience, full of challenges and adventures, but also time of measuring my capabilities and time of meeting other cultures. Kasia, Polish (Scotland) www.esn.org [email protected] I think one thing that I appreciated most was getting to meet lots of people from different cultures. Just on my floor there were students from South Africa, Tanzania, Japan, Netherlands, Australia and France. It was great interacting with them all. Jim, English (Sweden) www.esn.org [email protected] I had time not only to learn about my academic discipline from the other perspective (new experiences, new technologies), but also learn language. Michal, Polish (Germany) www.esn.org [email protected] Impact on students+ Best experience in life 4,9 5 4,9 4,6 4 4,6 4 4 satisfaction w ith studies satisfaction w ith stay recommendation to a friend 3 Erasmus www.esn.org [email protected] non Erasmus Issues of exchange Finances Information Recognition 4,2 4,0 4,0 4,0 3,9 3,8 3,8 3,6 3,5 3,4 social dimension of stay 3,2 3,3 problem solv ing dimension of stay academic dimension www.esn.org [email protected] 3,0 of stay Erasmus non Erasmus Financial issues Expences Covered by Grant 30 25 (on the 1-5 scale). 20 Procent Satisfaction with financial situation is 2,97 15 28,9 21,7 10 21 13,1 5 9,8 5,4 0 www.esn.org [email protected] I did not A small part Around a Around half receive any of my quarter of my of my grant expenses expenses expenses (less than (20-40%) (40-60%) 20%) Most of my Almost all of expenses my expenses (60-80%) (more than 80%) Expences Covered by Grant Sources of income Other I took a loan With a support of my parents percent From my savings Working 0 www.esn.org [email protected] 20 40 60 80 Access to mobility Privilaged group of students have access to mobility International students do not have right to exchange programmes www.esn.org [email protected] Family's income Above my country average Average Below my country average 9,32% 30,22% 60,46% Information provision Limited access to information Information hard to find Information only in local language Unclear rules Satisfaction with information prior to stay abroad equals 3,05 (on 1-5 scale). www.esn.org [email protected] Recognition Recognition No Yes, all of them Yes, but only few of them Yes, most of them 6,5% 28% lost a semester at home university www.esn.org [email protected] 28,08% 52,14% 13,29% Comparable curricula ‘I got a B for my all semester in Estonia and they recalculated my semester abroad and put me an E. Saying that you can not compare our school to the university in Estonia.’ Amount of work Host and Home I did not receive any ECTS credits No, I worked less at the host university Yes 30,2 33 25,7 www.esn.org [email protected] No, I worked more at the host university 11,2 Other issues Practicalities e.g. accomodation Inadequate structures (eg. library systems) Visa obstacles Language No equal rights for local and foreign students International ghetto Lack of representation www.esn.org [email protected] Role of students Students as agents of change Questioning status quo and demanding solutions Creating partnerships Demanding recognition, also for nonformal education Showing issues before not viewed as important => changing structures www.esn.org [email protected] Erasmus Student Network International non-profit student organisation Founded in 1990 On 230 HEI in 29 countries Mission: to foster student mobility in Higher Education under the principle of Students Helping Students www.esn.org [email protected] Students-helping-students During the exchange – buddy-programme – language exchange – orientation week – trips, sports, parties – help-desk/office hours – representation of needs www.esn.org [email protected] Students-helping-students Before exchange – – – – motivating relevant information improving language skills internationalization at home After exchange – re-integration – sharing experiences www.esn.org [email protected] Fostering mobility Practical support for incoming students Integration with local community Representation on issues Motivating and informing local students Volunteers more often considers exchange Internationalization at home www.esn.org [email protected] Why students doing it? Students as more trustworthy helpers Taking responsability for their own institution and student European community Non-formal learning experience for local students „Paying off”already received help Always with students www.esn.org [email protected] Support for university Helping the IRO Increasing satisfaction with stay of foreign students Enhancing image of institution Connecting institution to wider European network Evaluating exchange www.esn.org [email protected] Conclusions Mobility experience has a great impact on students Main mobility issues are financial problems, limited access to exchange, lack of information and lack of recognition Practical issues can be solved within students-helping-students scheme www.esn.org [email protected] Suggestions Universities should encourage creation of local students groups supporting mobility (like ESN) This group shoud take care of practicalities of exchange but also represent exchange students towards university Student unions’ should consider exchange and international students in their policies Local group should provide evaluation on exchange to universities www.esn.org [email protected] Suggestions To help in financial obstacles: Amount of grant should be reconsidered Accomodation Getting the same rights as local students - discounts for meals, local transport Lower costs of visa and permits, and issue in time Help in job search, or employ by university www.esn.org [email protected] Suggestions To provide better information: Local students groups (such as ESN) should provide peer to peer counselling Buddy system could be introduced to foreign guests Ex-exchange students should be asked for help www.esn.org [email protected] Thank you More more data on exchange students see: www.esn.org/survey With questions: [email protected] www.esn.org [email protected]