Suchergebnisse

This article draws on data from six European countries (Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Spain) to explore the higher education timescapes inhabited by students. Despite arguments that degree-level study has become increasingly similar across Europe – because of global pressures and also specific initiatives such as the Bologna Process and the creation of a European Higher Education Area – it shows how such timescapes differed in important ways, largely by nation. These differences are then explained in terms of: the distinctive traditions of higher education still evident across the continent; the particular mechanisms through which degrees are funded; and the nature of recent national-level policy activity. The analysis thus speaks to debates about Europeanisation, as well as how we theorise the relationship between time and place.

Drawing on data from students, higher education staff and policymakers from six European countries, this article argues that it remains a relatively common assumption that students should be politically engaged. However, while students articulated a strong interest in a wide range of political issues, those working in higher education and influencing higher education policy tended to believe that students were considerably less politically active than their predecessors. Moreover, while staff and policy influencers typically conceived of political engagement in terms of collective action, articulated through common reference to the absence of a 'student movement' or unified student voice, students' narratives tended not to valorise 'student movements' in the same way and many categorised as 'political' action they had taken alone and/or with a small number of other students. Alongside these broad commonalities across Europe, the article also evidences some key differences between nation-states, institutions and disciplines. In this way, it contributes to the comparative literature on young people's political engagement specifically, as well as wider debates about the ways in which higher education students are understood.

Drawing on data from students, higher education staff and policymakers from six European countries, this article argues that it remains a relatively common assumption that students should be politically engaged. However, while students articulated a strong interest in a wide range of political issues, those working in higher education and influencing higher education policy tended to believe that students were considerably less politically active than their predecessors. Moreover, while staff and policy influencers typically conceived of political engagement in terms of collective action, articulated through common reference to the absence of a 'student movement' or unified student voice, students' narratives tended not to valorise 'student movements' in the same way and many categorised as 'political' action they had taken alone and/or with a small number of other students. Alongside these broad commonalities across Europe, the article also evidences some key differences between nation‐states, institutions and disciplines. In this way, it contributes to the comparative literature on young people's political engagement specifically, as well as wider debates about the ways in which higher education students are understood.

This article examines how higher education (HE) students are conceptualised in Spain, drawing on an analysis of policy and institutional narratives about such students, as well as on the perspectives of university staff and students themselves. More specifically, it will explore an interesting paradox that we encountered in our data: on one hand, marketisation is less firmly established in the HE system of Spain than in many other European countries, and policy and institutional narratives in Spain present the HE system as being relatively unmarketised. On the other hand, the staff and students we interviewed presented the Spanish HE system and the student experience as having been dramatically transformed by marketisation. In analysing this paradox, the article highlights the importance of not viewing countries as coherent educational entities. In addition – while broadly supporting scholarship that has pointed to a growing market orientation of national HE systems across Europe – the article draws attention to how the manner in which the marketisation of HE is experienced on the ground can be very different in different national contexts, and may be mediated by a number of factors, including perceptions about the quality of educational provision and the labour market rewards of a degree; the manner in which the private cost of education (if any) is borne by students and their families; and the extent to which marketisation may have become entrenched and normalised in the HE system of a country.

For Germany, India is the second most important source of foreign postgraduate students, after China. Student flows from India are contributing significantly to Germany's efforts to internationalise higher education in the country and address labour market skills shortages. Understanding what is driving postgraduate student migration from India to Germany is crucial for further increasing these flows. In India, awareness about Germany as a study destination has been growing in recent years but remains low compared to awareness regarding more traditional study destinations for Indian students, such as the USA, the UK, and
Australia. Indian students heading to Germany are attracted by the low cost of education, courses taught in English, the perceived high quality of education, the availability of paid part-time work opportunities during study, an 18-month post-study visa, and the EU Blue Card scheme, together with the perceived availability of
good jobs. Overall, the cost advantage German universities offer over universities in the USA,
the UK, and Australia is the main draw for most students heading to Germany. Engineering and information technology (IT) courses are the most popular
among Indian students in Germany, with the vast majority of these students enrolled on such courses. Students first encounter the possibility of study in Germany through their social networks or private education consultancies, both of which - along with
social media sites - serve as important conduits of information and support to aspirant student migrants to Germany. Policy Implications: To benefit from rising Indian student flows to Europe, the cost advantage of
German universities must be preserved. Also, students should be given more opportunities to directly interact with representatives of German universities, as education consultancies have limited incentives to recommend study in Germany. The value of embarking on courses other than engineering should be demonstrated.

Indien ist nach China das zweitwichtigste Herkunftsland graduierter Migranten, die in Deutschland studieren. Die Zuwanderung von Studierenden
aus Indien trägt signifikant dazu bei, die Hochschulausbildung in Deutschland wie beabsichtigt zu internationalisieren und dem Fachkräftemangel entgegenzuwirken. Dieser Zustrom indischer Absolventen lässt sich nur
verstärken, wenn wir seine Triebkräfte verstehen. Der Bekanntheitsgrad Deutschlands als Studienland nimmt in Indien seit einigen Jahren zu, ist aber im Vergleich zu den angestammten Zielländern indischer Studierender, z.B. den USA, Großbritannien und Australien, nach wie vor gering. Für Deutschland entscheiden sich indische Studierende wegen niedriger Studiengebühren
und englischsprachiger Studiengänge, weil sie die Bildungsqualität als hoch einschätzen, während des Studiums in Teilzeit arbeiten und nach ihrem Studienabschluss ein 18-monatiges Visum erhalten können, sowie dank der Blauen
Karte EU und der bekanntermaßen günstigen Arbeitsmarktlage. Die Hauptmotivation der meisten Studierenden, nach Deutschland zu kommen, ist jedoch der Kostenvorteil deutscher Universitäten gegenüber den USA, Großbritannien und Australien. Die bei indischen Studierenden in Deutschland beliebtesten Fachrichtungen sind Ingenieurwesen und Informationstechnologie (IT); die überwiegende Mehrheit von ihnen ist in diesen Studiengängen eingeschrieben. Auf die Idee, in Deutschland zu studieren, werden junge Inder durch ihre sozialen
Netzwerke oder private Studienberatungsagenturen gebracht. Letztere sind - neben den sozialen Online-Medien - wichtige Multiplikatoren und unterstützen Studierende, die ein Studium in Deutschland anstreben.
Fazit: Um von der wachsenden Zuwanderung indischer Studierender nach Europa zu profitieren, muss der Kostenvorteil deutscher Universitäten erhalten bleiben.
Da es für Studienberatungsagenturen nur begrenzt attraktiv ist, ein Studium in Deutschland zu empfehlen, sollten Studierenden mehr Möglichkeiten angeboten
werden, direkt mit Vertretern deutscher Universitäten Kontakt aufzunehmen. Es sollte zudem deutlich gemacht werden, dass auch nichttechnische Studiengänge
aussichtsreich sind.