Interview
In an interview with Open Citizenship, Siru Korkala talks about the increased internationalization of education in Finland through use of short- and long-term mobility programmes. Dr. Korkala is Research Manager in CIMO’s Information Services. She works on the study, evaluation and analysis on the internationalization of basic education, vocational education and training, and adult education.
Open Citizenship: Before we start, could you talk a little bit about the Centre for International Mobility, where you work?
Korkala: The Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) provides specialist services to facilitate international interaction in education, work and culture and among youth. Working under the Ministry of Education, CIMO administers and implements various exchange, practical training and scholarship programmes. CIMO is the national agency for European Union education, training and youth programmes and the information centre for the EU programmes Culture and Europe for Citizens. CIMO also supports the teaching of Finnish language and culture at universities outside Finland. Finally, CIMO gathers, processes and distributes relevant information to serve its many different customers.
How do you define international mobility? What role does it play in educational development?
International mobility means physical movement of students, teachers and other staff between countries. Virtual mobility has not been included in mobility statistics. International mobility refers to study or work abroad by students or staff of educational institutions. In higher education, mobility includes student exchange and traineeships as part of a degree. Short-term mobility (periods under 3 months) has increased constantly in higher education. Furthermore the target is to increase co-operation with working life and mobility outside EU. In vocational education and training (VET), the students have taken part in student exchange or have familiarised themselves with working life through on-the-job learning or traineeships.
International mobility has an important role in educational development especially in higher education but also increasingly in vocational education and training. Mobility always requires international co-operation between sending and hosting organisations and therefore it improves the content of curriculum and spreads out the best practices between countries. Another important aspect is personal development of students and teachers. This in turn ensures our competitiveness in the markets when we have competent and intercultural labour coming out of the education system.
Internationalisation has been promoted as a key area in Finland’s Government Development Plan for Education and Research 2007-2012. The aim is to increase annual mobility in vocational education and training by 30 percent during the plan period to take part in more countries outside the EU. What kind of progress has been achieved to date?
Overall vocational education and training (VET) mobility has progressed and met targets defined in the plan. Especially long-term (at least two weeks) mobility has grown constantly every year. Mobility in VET is still very Europe-centric but international networking is a central tool for expanding international contacts also outside the EU. Many Finnish VET organisations (about 40 percent) belong to networks supporting the internationalisation of VET. Some of these networks are operating with partners outside the EU, for example in Asia.
How does the Centre for International mobility (CIMO) assess the level of activity in international mobility?
CIMO collects annual statistics on international mobility of students, teachers and other staff in vocational education and training and in higher education. Based on this statistical data CIMO scrutinizes perspectives and trends on mobility: such as how the level of outgoing and incoming mobility varies yearly. These statistics are distributed to the educational institutions, so that they can observe their own mobility trends as well.
In your report ‘FAKTAA, Facts and Figures’, which highlights trends in international mobility of students, you state that female students are more mobile than their male counterparts. What are the reasons behind this difference?
The fact that female students are more active in international mobility is universal phenomenon, so it is not only a Finnish feature. CIMO has not made any studies of its own about this, but several other studies indicate that women are in general more positive about internationalisation than are men.
What are the top destinations for Finnish students when moving abroad and the main reasons behind their selection?
In vocational education and training the mobility of students is very Eurocentric. In long-term mobility (at least two weeks) the most popular destinations are Spain and Germany. The destination varies by the field of education, especially students in social services, health and sport and tourism as well as catering and domestic services prefer Spain. One reason for this could be that there are more opportunities for on-the-job learning positions in Spain thanks to its strong tourist appeal. In turn, Germany attracts students from the fields of technology, communication and transport. In short-term mobility (less than two weeks) the most popular destination countries are Estonia and Sweden. It is natural that those students prefer nearby countries when the time spent abroad is limited.
There are a number of EU programs that fund student mobility, such as Leonardo da Vinci. How successful have these been in promoting student mobility across Europe?
EU programs that CIMO administers have a very important role in promoting Finnish student mobility. In higher education, 50 percent of outgoing and 75 percent of incoming student mobility was arranged by the ERASMUS programme. In VET 40 percent of outgoing and 49 percent of incoming student mobility was funded from the Leonardo da Vinci programme in 2010.
Tags: Interview