International Mobility
International mobility is multifaceted: students and staff are mobile, both outgoing and incoming. Student mobility includes exchange semesters at partner universities, semesters abroad as so-called "freemovers", study phases abroad over several semesters as part of a double degree, participation in international summer and winter schools, excursions abroad, internships abroad, theses abroad, and in the case of incoming student mobility, even an entire degree programme. Staff mobility is usually for teaching or training purposes, but can also include business trips to establish contacts with international partners, participation in conferences and much more.
Below you will find an overview of international student mobility in the academic years 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Trends in numbers of international degree-seeking students
International degree-seeking students are students with foreign citizenship and a foreign higher education entrance qualification. They are also referred to as international students. Their share of the total number of students at the HNU was comparatively low for a long time, but has been rising steadily since the introduction of English-language degree programmes. The absolute number is currently 157 international students out of a total of 4,088 students.
Incoming Student Mobility
The HNU welcomes approximately 90 international exchange students per year. Most of them come from one of the more than 80 international partner universities with which the HNU has concluded a student exchange agreement. Usually, the exchange students stay at the HNU for one semester, their official period of stay starts with an orientation phase before the start of lectures and ends with the end of the examination period.
Countries of origin
In the academic years 2018/19 and 2019/20, exchange students came from a total of 24 different countries.
Gender ratio
Almost 3/4 of incoming exchange students are female.
Distribution by semester
About 2/3 of incoming exchange students come to the HNU in the winter semester.
Impressions of stays by international exchange students at the HNU
The HNU is a highly well organized and welcoming university, I am sure I will recommend it for other fellow students.
Outgoing Student Mobility
Gaining international experience is an important part of studying at the HNU. Every year, more than 300 HNU students go abroad. There are many options for this:
- study semester at a partner university or as a freemover
- participation in an international summer or winter school
- participation in an excursion abroad
- practical semester or optional internship abroad
- theoretical or practical thesis abroad
The number of students who integrate a stay abroad into their studies is growing steadily, even though in 2020 the numbers declined slightly due to Corona.
Destination countries
In the academic years 2018/19 and 2019/20, HNU students have travelled to a total of 35 countries and brought back a wide range of impressions and experiences.
Type of stay abroad
A study semester at a partner university is currently the most popular way to go abroad. The faculties also organise a variety of excursions abroad for their students.
Outgoing students by department
Students from the Departments of Business and Economics and Information Management are particularly often attracted to study abroad.
Gender ratio
About 2/3 of the outgoing students are female.
Distribution by semester
About 8 out of 10 outgoing students go abroad in the winter semester. This is not only due to the weather, but often also to the semester times, which fit better internationally in the winter semester.
Impressions from HNU students abroad
In a nutshell: it's worth it. Not everything was rosy, but every problem also helps to move forward personally. I am now pretty sure where I want to go professionally. Of course, the stay has significantly improved my English.
