International student mobility literature review

Abstract

To bring their understanding of patterns in students' study and work abroad up to date, HEFCE and the British Council, the UK National Agency for Erasmus, commissioned a review of international student mobility. Professor Russell King and Jill Ahrens of the University of Sussex, and Professor Allan Findlay of the University of Dundee undertook the review which includes new evidence from interviews with staff in higher education institutions (HEIs). A group of several UK stakeholders in international student mobility, including the organisations BUTEX (British Universities Transatlantic Exchange) and HEURO (the Association of UK Higher Education European Officers), and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) oversaw the work. The report brings together recent literature and data on student mobility. It looks at the trends in UK international students' mobility and compares these internationally. It also considers the causal factors for students' choice to spend time abroad, the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of mobile students, and the impact that time abroad has on their employability; and it highlights policy and practice in HEIs in respect of student mobility.