Opportunities of the European Higher Education Area: Survey Based on the Experiences of Former Erasmus Students

Abstract

The most effective and most popular segment of the European Higher Education Area is student mobility, which provides opportunity for students to get international experience. The standardization of higher education systems in Europe and the scholarship programs offer good altenative throughout their university years and broaden the perspective of students. In addition to the language learning opportunity, the students improve their knowledge, which has a positive effect on their studies and their position at the labour market. The opinion and experiences of those students who have participated in the program earlier are very useful feedback to measure the effectiveness of student mobility.
This research was carried out to explore topics that are not included in the majority of related literature in Hungary, such as the financial background of the students’ international studies, the most popular courses, as well as the skills and expertise students generally acquire during the mobility. We try to present an overall picture on the mobility trends of participating students, as well as on the effectiveness of Erasmus programme. In addition to this, we also elaborate on the positive effect of international experience and enhanced language skills on the student’s position at the Hungarian and international labour market. Based on the experience of students we discover the common requirements of the receiving higher education institutions.