Digital international collaborations allow more students to gain international experience

This is according to the study Learning beyond borders, published by Nuffic on 10 July. This study into credit mobility and digital international collaborations in Dutch higher education is based on figures from the annual Learning Mobility survey, a survey of graduates conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The 12,000 graduates who took part in the survey graduated in academic years 2020-21 and 2021-22.

By ‘credit mobility’, we mean going abroad for at least three months or 15 credits (ECTS) during study. Digital international collaborations are programmes in which students work together online on a project with students from a school or university abroad.

Nuffic researcher Anneloes Slappendel-Henschen emphasises the unique nature of this study. “Whereas previous studies considered credit mobility and DICs separately, we’ve now combined them for the first time.” For this study, Nuffic worked closely with Theo Bakker’s Learning Technology & Analytics lectorate at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. This research group investigates the role of technology in education and study data to promote equality of opportunity.

Graduates of universities of applied sciences more likely to go abroad

Almost half (47.8%) of graduates with international experience had gone abroad to study, while an almost identical percentage participated in DICs. Interestingly, students from universities of applied sciences are more likely to have an international experience than those from research universities. Over a quarter (27.2%) of Bachelor’s graduates from universities of applied sciences had an international experience, compared to 18.1% for research universities.

The field of study Services, which covers hospitality, tourism and leisure, had the highest percentage of students with international experience (38.8%). By contrast, Education study field had the lowest percentage at 13.4%.

Accessibility

A key finding of the study is that digital international collaborations are more accessible than credit mobility. “This result was in line with expectations, but it’s valuable to see it confirmed,” Slappendel-Henschen says. “Students whose parents hold a degree from a university of applied sciences or a research university are more likely to participate in credit mobility than students whose parents have no higher education background. There’s no such difference for DICs.”

For some students, going abroad is not an option. Besides financial constraints, other factors also come into play, such as informal care responsibilities or parenthood. Also, some degree programmes are not as well suited as others.
This is why DICs are such a great option, Slappendel-Henschen argues. “Students who don’t have the opportunity to go abroad, due to informal care responsibilities or lack of funds, can still gain the necessary international competences thanks to DIPs. Obviously, this can have a reinforcing effect: students who complete a DIC successfully might want to go abroad afterwards.”

Differences in perception and motivation

The study shows that students participate in international experiences for various different reasons. For students who had gone abroad, personal and societal development was the main motivation. For DIC participants, this was often a compulsory part of the curriculum. Half of the students who had gone abroad perceived it as helpful for their future careers.

The pandemic was found to be the biggest barrier to physical international mobility, which makes sense given the academic years studied. Lack of funding was the second biggest barrier. In addition, a large group of students found that there was insufficient information about studying abroad. “This is a relatively easy problem to solve,” Slappendel-Henschen maintains. “A lesson, talk or briefing by an experiential expert can lower these barriers significantly.”

Learning outcomes

Another lesson teaching staff or educational institutions can take from this study is that different types of internationalisation yield different learning outcomes. For DICs, language proficiency is most often mentioned as a learning outcome, while credit mobility mainly promotes independence.

Slappendel-Henschen advises educational institutions and teaching staff to take these differences into account when designing the curriculum. “What would you like your students to learn during the lesson or programme? On that basis, you can then choose what fits best: a digital collaboration or credit mobility. Based on the desired learning outcomes , you then look at what activities you offer for your students.”

Another striking finding of the survey is that one in five students deliberately opted out of an international experience because of the high quality of Dutch education. “Many students are satisfied with the level of education in the Netherlands, which is nice to hear.”

However, Slappendel-Henschen believes that this also shows that we must continue to convey the added value of an international experience. “Those who do go abroad do so mainly out of personal or societal commitment. They want to be together and improve the world. International competences, such as being open to other cultures and perspectives, are indispensable in this respect.”