From Central Asia to Europe: Erasmus Mundus “gSmart” Student Mobility.

Abstract

Student mobility, including obtaining degrees abroad, is one of the most effective means of internationalizing education and establishing a common denominator of qualifications for academics and professionals. The European Erasmus ‘family’ of programmes stimulates multilateral cooperation projects in higher education, including curriculum development, pedagogical and technical innovation, joint degrees and mobility grants. The ‘gSmart’ Erasmus Mundus initiative led by the University of Salzburg, Austria brought together six European universities with partners from all five Central Asian countries. Partially building on existing relationships, like the Austria-Central Asia Centre for GIScience in Bishkek serving as a regional hub for communication with Central Asian partner universities, students and faculty from these partner institutions and beyond (‘target group 2’) were invited to apply for mobility to Europe, with a lower number of grants available in the opposite direction. This study is focused on detailing the characteristics of student mobility flows from Central Asia to Europe, exploring regional characteristics as well as age, gender, academic level and destination preferences.