Exchange programmes and student mobility: meeting student's expectations or an expensive holiday?

Abstract

The Bologna Process aims, amongst other things, to improve the mobility of Students within the EU. Student mobility is supported through programmes such as ERASMUS, and the success of these programmes is measured against quality and quantity of Student mobility within the European Union. This study aimed at establishing, from the students' perspective, the benefits of these programmes. To this purpose, 7 Students who were involved in a German-Finnish exchange programme were interviewed. This population was chosen, because they represented the largest group of students going to the same host university, and were influenced by the same variables, such as language difficulties and climatic conditions. The main objective of this study was to determine whether the educational and personal needs of the students were met during their exchange programme. The data analysis was done using Mayring's content analysis method. The results showed that successful mobility at student level, could lead to a diffusion of knowledge and skills between different countries. It was also found that the students indicated that their personal and educational needs were met irrespective of the language difficulties they experienced.