Policy framing of international student mobility in the Nordic countries

Figures & data

Table 1. Examples of coding categories.

	Examples of problems (‘This are our problems to solve’)	Examples of solutions (‘This is how we aim to solve this’)	Examples of justifications (‘This is why it is important’)
Economic	− Economic competitiveness − Limited local funding	− Attracting best students − Int. students as customers; orientation towards markets with fee paying students	− Normative arguments concerning rates of return, value and competitiveness
Educational	− Lack of diversity − Capacity issues − Academic quality	− Mobility as an academic norm (incoming/outgoing) − Internationalization at home − Emphasis on quality institutions for exchange	− Normative arguments concerning the academic value of internationalization
Cultural	− Need for intercultural competencies in a globalized world	− Mobility as cultural enrichment − Diversity of home/destination countries	− Normative arguments concerning intercultural skills and global solidarity
Political	− Political threats, alliances	− Specific strategic priority countries for collaboration	− Normative arguments concerning mutual understanding and strategic international cooperation

Table 2. Mobility patterns in the Nordic countries.

	Denmark	Finland	Norway	Sweden
Share of international students, full degree, bachelor and master*	6% Bachelor	6% Bachelor	2% Bachelor	3% Bachelor
	20% Master	11% Master	7% Master	12% Master
Share of degree mobility abroad**	2% of all	4% of all	6% of all	3% of all
ERASMUS, number of incoming students***	4291	7588	6359	8155
ERASMUS, number of outbound students***	2705	4193	2578	3745

*International or foreign student enrolment as a percentage of total tertiary enrolment, in 2019, Source: OECD Education at a Glance 2021 p. 222, Table B6.

**Percentage of national tertiary students enrolled abroad, Source: OECD Education at a Glance 2021 p. 222, Table B6.

***Annex 15 – KA103/107 Higher education student mobility under Call 2018, calculated total numbers of study mobility, excluding traineeships (programme and partner countries), Mobility periods summary, Erasmus+ Annual report 2019.