Eastern students embrace Erasmus

Date: 27/04/06

An increasing number of students from central and eastern Europe are taking advantage of the EU's Erasmus mobility programme. But a survey suggests that their motivation for doing so and their experience while abroad are different from those of western European students.

The Erasmus programme gives university students the opportunity to study abroad for between three and 12 months. The latest figures from the European Commission show that participation rose by 6% in 2004-05, compared to the previous academic year, to a total of 144,037 students. But the greatest response has come from central and eastern Europe, where student participation increased by 22%, to 22,870 students.

While students from central and eastern Europe (CEE) could participate in Erasmus before the expansion of the EU, they were required to travel to one of the 15 EU member states. In 2004-05, exchanges between CEE states were permitted for the first time, and the Commission suggests that this may explain some of the increase. The figures bear this out, with almost all CEE countries seeing large percentage increases of incoming students.

But students from CEE universities seem to approach their time abroad with different priorities from westerners, according to a study published last month by the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). It compiles the results from a survey conducted during the summer of 2005 of 7,754 exchange students, most but not all involved in Erasmus exchanges. Of the respondents, 78% were from western Europe, 22% from central and eastern Europe.

The survey found that CEE students were more academically oriented than westerners, more eager to learn about different education systems and to learn a foreign language. Westerners, by contrast, tended to think in terms of having new experiences and enhancing their career prospects. It is perhaps no coincidence that CEE students were also more likely to come from families where both parents were university-educated.

Money was also an issue, with western students less likely to be satisfied with their financial situation than those from CEE countries and less likely to report that their grants covered a significant part of their expenses. "That does not mean that their financial situation abroad was objectively worse," the survey points out. "Western students might be used to the higher standard of living; this is why their financial expectations are higher."

To look closer at national differences, the ESN analysed the results from France, Italy and Poland, countries where the response to the survey was particularly strong. This backed up the broader finding on academic orientation, with 49% of Polish students writing their thesis while abroad compared to only 24% of French and Italians. Another difference was that Polish students were more likely to have jobs alongside their studies, 37% against 23% and 20% for French and Italian students respectively.

The survey tried to assess the general mobility of students, by asking about previous travel, willingness to relocate and whether they would consider a serious relationship with a foreigner. By these measures, students from France were the most mobile, followed by the Italians and then the Poles.

• Ian Mundell is a freelance journalist based in Brussels.

Article reports that an increasing number of students from central and eastern Europe were taking advantage of the EU's Erasmus mobility programme. But a survey, published in March 2006 by the Erasmus Student Network (ESN), suggested that their motivation for doing so and their experience while abroad were different from those of western European students.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'EU enlargement'.

Erasmus Student Network: Research Report: The experience of studying abroad for exchange students in Europe. Erasmus Student Network Survey 2005, March 2006 http://www.esn.org/documents/files/ESNSurvey2005Report.pdf

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