engleski

The mobility of students and the internationalization of higher education in Croatia

Croatia is in the process of transition and has become a candidate country for accession into the EU. Changes are visible in all areas – economy, politics, education, etc. In higher education the Bologna Process has initiated, inter alia, the mobility of students within Croatian universities and wider – to western European countries in particular. To define the students’ attitudes and concepts towards continuing undergraduate, graduate or post graduate studies abroad, the Faculty of Organization and Informatics conducted a research on 250 students in undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Information on the students’ self-assessments of their own proficiency relating to foreign languages was collected in order to establish possible correlations among variables. The students’ personal accounts whilst living abroad were investigated, focussing on their experiences in learning a foreign language or receiving professional training. An analysis of those students who returned to Croatia was also included. In addition, as Croatia is a country with a high level of student outflow (“ brain drain” ), the attitude of students towards this issue was also established. We questioned how many of them are considering, or have already decided to find work abroad after graduation. A quantitative analysis of answers was made relating to the advantages and disadvantages of moving to another western European country, America or further. Results have shown that the outflow of highly educated experts after graduation is an issue that Croatia has been facing with for several years. The Government has responded by creating encouragement programs in (a) supporting their return to Croatia from temporary posts and life abroad and (b) stimulating young people to find suitable employment immediately after graduation. Ways to attract students to return to Croatia after their studies abroad have also been explored. Finally, Croatia has started the process of higher education internationalization with the goal of attracting foreign students, especially those from regions where the language barrier is not so significant. Using Croatia as an example, the presenters hope to discuss with participants the causes and consequences of internationalisation of higher education in their own countries ; identify common problems or issues ; and share programs that attempt to stem “ brain drain” and invigorate “ brain gain” .

mobility; internationalization; foreign language; brain drain

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