Reasons for study-related visits abroad undertaken by domestic students, by mobility experience, in the 2023/24 winter semester

From the students’ point of view, what are the most important reasons for undertaking study-related visits abroad? During the survey in winter semester 2023/24 of DAAD’s “Benchmark internationale Hochschule” (BintHo) project, roughly 95,000 domestic students were questioned about their study-related international mobility.
The four aspects that were most frequently selected by internationally mobile students are: personal development (71%), improving language skills (52%), gaining exciting, interesting experience in the host country outside university walls (50%) and cultural interest (31%). Five other mobility motives that were rated as particularly important much less frequently can be attributed to: improved prospects on the labour market (22%), establishing contacts and extending my network (22%), discovering another higher education system and other teaching methods (18%), gaining practical experience (12%), plus acquiring specialised expertise or artistic development (7%).
The BintHo Survey carried out by the DAAD asked not just internationally mobile students about possible reasons for their study-related visits abroad, but also students who had not yet completed a study-related visit abroad. The findings were relatively similar: by a clear margin, they also indicated that personal development was an important aspect (58%), followed by improving language skills (50%), gaining exciting, interesting experience outside university walls (44%) and cultural interest (35%). The greatest differences between internationally mobile and non-mobile students are found in the relevance of personal development and acquiring specialised expertise. The former was much more frequently cited as a key motive for mobility by internationally mobile students and the latter by non-mobile students.