National and regional strategy to increase HE student mobility

Background

Student mobility within Spain and abroad is quite a new phenomenon in Spain. Basically the strategy is based in two pillars. A financial one and an administrative one.
As far as the financial element is concerned, Spain has increased the money targeted to increase student mobility notably. As a result the number of Spanish students going abroad has increased a lot in the last years. Until now the universities have been the key players in creating the incentives for students and staff to decide to spend a period abroad with the financial help of the national administration, regional administration or the EU.

The administrative pillar is based in a framework which facilitate the recognition of studies once our students return to Spain. This administrative aspect has been essential to increase the number of our students going abroad.

In 2004 the money allocated to from our government to the Erasmus Programme was 4.6 millions euros but in 2008 has reached 60 millions and in 2009 will be around 66 millions. Our internal mobility for students is supported with a financial aid of 9.8 millions euro. At the same time we have now a financial scheme to help our students to study abroad at the Postgraduate level.

Aims and targets

The national programme called Séneca, since 2003-2004, is trying to improve the situation, as far as mobility within Spain is concerned, but so far only a little more than 2000 students (year 2007-2008) take part in this programme. The second one really started with the Erasmus Programme in 1987. Since then Spain has been, especially in the last decade, an important player. Nowadays, Spain is number one as a destination and second as the origin of outgoing students at the EU level. There is also a clear commitment to continue helping Erasmus students and to strengthen the social dimension. To that end, the 25,500 university students who have been awarded an Erasmus grant for 2008-2009 will receive “an average amount of €900 per month”.

Strategy and actions

Within the framework of the University Strategy 2015, the Ministry of Science and Innovation has introduced the Foundation for the International Promotion of Spanish Universities (Universidad.es), whose statutes were endorsed by the Cabinet on 24th October 2008. This new foundation has been created with the full support both of universities and the autonomous regions and among the objectives included in its statute are the promotion of Spain’s university education and research activities abroad through the creation of a brand image. The foundation also aims to improve the way foreign students, teaching staff and researchers are received and to improve the quality of their stay. Assistance will also be provided to Spanish students, teaching staff and researchers who go to other countries. In addition, efforts will be made to promote the European Higher Education Area and the Latin American Knowledge Area.

Monitoring and evaluation

The new foundation is structured along similar lines to other organisations for the international promotion of higher education such as Campus France, the Dutch organisation NUFFIC and the German organisation DAAD. The Foundation will benefit all universities, research centres and institutes in Spain by offering technical and legal assistance and encouraging their participation in international fairs and events. Other beneficiaries include Spanish and foreign teaching staff and researchers, in addition to Spanish and foreign Bachelor, Master’s and Doctoral students, who will be able to take advantage of mobility programmes. University administration and services staff will also benefit from the Foundation.

Funding/Cost effectiveness

Sustainability/Transferability

Outcomes/impacts

Achievements

Success factors

The willingness to study abroad as key element for improving the human capital of our students, the essential role of our universities in the field of internalisation and the increase of the financial help are three factors, amongst others, behind the success of our strategy to increase HE student mobility.

Unintended impacts

In some universities the number of incoming students is much higher than the number of outgoing students.

Strengths and weaknesses

The increase of the financial help is not enough in order to motivate our students to go abroad. We should integrate better our mobility windows in our programmes Universities should get some compensation for being more active on mobility.