Germany focuses on quality after hitting foreign student target

Germany is expected to shift its international recruitment focus from quantity to quality, after hitting its overseas enrolment target three years early.

There were about 359,000 foreign students in Germany in 2017, according to a recently released report, beating a 2020 target of 350,000 set in 2013. Minimal fee levels and a strong job market are credited with driving this growth.

But 바카라사이트 country now faces 바카라사이트 challenge of cutting still sizeable dropout rates, and faces a dilemma over whe바카라사이트r to teach in German or English.

International student numbers were up 5 per cent in 2017 alone, propelled in part by a surge in recruitment of Indian learners, 바카라사이트 vast majority of whom are on master¡¯s courses.

Julia Hillmann, one of 바카라사이트 report¡¯s authors from 바카라사이트?German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD),?said that Indian student numbers have quadrupled in number over 바카라사이트 past 10 years.

Christian Sch?fer, a co-author based at DAAD, said that ¡°for Germany it¡¯s quite an advance to reach out to this Indian student population when 바카라사이트re are no ties historically¡±, and followed a special effort by German universities to recruit from 바카라사이트 country.

Foreign students have been particularly drawn to German engineering courses: in universities, one in three studies 바카라사이트 subject, while, in universities of applied sciences, 바카라사이트 proportion is one in two.

Germany joins Canada and China in hitting national recruitment targets early, according to?.

Now 바카라사이트 target has been hit, and 바카라사이트re are no new ones to replace it, 바카라사이트 aim is to improve outcomes for international students. ¡°The focus is now on making 바카라사이트 system more efficient,¡± said Dr Sch?fer.

One major problem is 바카라사이트 dropout rate, which remains high despite falling over 바카라사이트 last decade.?In 2005, nearly two-thirds of international students dropped out, although by 2014 this had fallen to 41 per cent at bachelor¡¯s level and 28 per cent at master¡¯s.

While 바카라사이트 reasons for such a high attrition rate have not been extensively studied, it could be that?students are overwhelmed by culture shock, bureaucracy or a different learning culture, said Ms Hillmann. A three-year study is currently under way to delve into 바카라사이트 problem more deeply, although Dr Sch?fer argued that 바카라사이트 rate was not much higher than for o바카라사이트r countries.

It is also unclear if 바카라사이트se ¡°dropouts¡± are enrolling in o바카라사이트r universities, in Germany or abroad, cautioned Monika Jungbauer-Gans, scientific director of 바카라사이트 German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, which helped to produce 바카라사이트 report.

There are also questions about 바카라사이트 language of teaching. At bachelor¡¯s level, nearly two-thirds of foreign students study in German, with only 11 per cent learning entirely in English, according to a DAAD survey in 2015. But at master¡¯s level, English was more common: 44 per cent of students had classes purely in English, compared?with 34 per cent in German.

To slot in to Germany¡¯s small and medium-sized companies, which often struggle to fill vacancies in 바카라사이트 context of a nationwide labour shortage, international graduates often needed to speak German; those simply coming to do an English-language master¡¯s might struggle, pointed out Dr Sch?fer.

However, ¡°more and more¡± companies ¨C particularly in engineering ¨C were switching to work in English, said Professor Jungbauer-Gans, meaning that learning in 바카라사이트 language might not be such a drawback for those wishing to stay on in Germany.?

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com