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Attracting and retaining international students in Germany ,
Source: BAMF
The study describes the political and legal framework of attracting and retaining international students, outlines the relevant actors, challenges, measures and strategies in the context of internationalisation of the higher education institutions.
International students are perceived mainly as a potential source of qualified labour by the professional public. Political discussions again focus on attracting and retaining international students in order to put German higher education institutions (HEIs) and the German academic system on the global map and also in order to secure a sufficient supply of qualified workers.
Over the last few years residence law provisions have been streamlined considerably, for example by the introduction of an entitlement to a residence permit, by making intra-EU-mobility easier for international students and by introducing and expanding the possibility of staying after graduation in order to look for a job.
Out of almost 375,000 foreign students enrolled in German HEIs in the winter semester 2017/18, circa 282,000 were mobile foreign students who did not obtain their higher education entrance qualifications in Germany (Bildungsausländer). 74 percent of these mobile foreign students were third-country nationals with China, India, Russia, Syria and Turkey being the five most important countries of origin. Engineering sciences are the most popular subject with international students, followed by social sciences, law, and economics.
Attracting international students
Several institutions are providing information and undertaking marketing efforts to promote studying in Germany. The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD) plays a key role in these efforts. It not only provides extensive online information, but also runs a network of regional offices and information centres in the countries of origin of potential international students. The German Rectors’ Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, HRK) and the German National Association for Student Affairs (Deutsches Studentenwerk) are two other important information providers.
Over the last few years, the number of courses and lessons held in English has risen considerably. This helps to make Germany a more attractive destination for international students. According to the Higher Education Compass offered by the German Rectors’ Conference, German HEIs currently offer 1,438 courses of study (or 7 percent of the total) in English.
Challenges in attracting international students mainly stem from long processing times and complex rules concerning HEIs admission and visa and residential procedures. Moreover, while the number of English-language courses has risen significantly, it is still small in comparison to other major destination countries. The main challenges for international students in Germany are finding accommodation, financing their chosen course of study, language barriers, a lack of (knowledge about) support and counselling offers and their residence status.
Retaining international students
International students may remain in Germany for up to 18 months after their graduation in order to find a job commensurate with their qualification. International students will be faced with a number of challenges during their job search, too, for example the time limit for the job search, insufficient language skills, a lack of practical experience, insufficient knowledge about labour-market opportunities or reservations and lack of knowledge among employers. Furthermore, the local labour market situation, corporate efforts or support from local institutions and employment agencies are just as important.
Enabling students to gain practical experience and to create private and professional networks during their studies, offering information events, specific training opportunities and tandem learning as well as language courses which form part and parcel of the course of study are measures which have helped students in the past to find a job. The promotion and successful placement of international students in the field of engagement (e.g. voluntary or community work) is also increasingly regarded as an important factor for societal participation and as a tool for strengthening retention and a perspective to stay.
International cooperations
A diverse range of cooperations between Germany and third countries exist on the federal but also on the Länder and especially on the level of the HEIs. The Federal government and the Länder support HEIs in the process of internationalisation and to create international networks by signing separate research cooperation agreements with other countries. These agreements focus amongst others on the mutual recognition of higher education and vocational degrees or the promotion of transnational educational cooperations and partnerships between HEIs.
EMN comparative publications on the topic
The Working Paper 85 was authored as part of the European Migration Network (EMN) and is therewith also drafted by the other participating EU Member States and Norway. Both the single national studies as well as the com-parative EMN publications (EMN Synthesis Report, EMN Inform and the EMN Flash) on the topic will be published on this website as soon as they are published.
Authors of the study: Paula Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik and Janne Grote