Foreign-exchange programs have long-lasting positive impact on students' lives: study

Foreign-exchange programs have a long-lasting and significant positive impact on students’ lives, researchers at ResearchNed concluded after studying the impact of the Erasmus+ program. Five years after their internship or study abroad, 97 percent of people who participated in this program said it still positively impacts their personal lives, and 89 percent said the same about their professional lives. The researchers describe it as an “enhanced coming of age experience.”

Every year, almost 15,000 higher professional education and university students travel abroad for an internship or study exchange. ResearchNed spoke to 566 students about their experiences with the Erasmus+ exchange program five years after the fact.

Almost all (97%) reported a positive or very positive influence on their personal lives. “The Erasmus+ experience has given me a lot of insight into who I am and what I can do. It introduced me to other ways of studying, working, and living. And made me happier and more independent,” one former student said.

Former participants gave the program an 8.4 on the impact scale for the general impact of their experience abroad on their personal lives. 84 percent said it influenced their personal development, 80 percent said it improved their independence, 65 percent said it gave them more flexibility in new situations, and 64 percent said it improved their social skills.

Regarding the impact on their careers, former students gave Erasmus+ a 7.5 on the impact scale. Many of the acquired skills they mentioned for their personal lives also positively impact their professional lives, the former students said. Many also mentioned communication and collaboration skills in an international context (56 percent) and an open and interested attitude (46 percent).

Students also said their international contacts enrich their lives and further their careers. “You become more open to other cultures. It makes you understanding and tolerant of people with a different background. It makes it easy for me to collaborate with foreign colleagues in my current job at an international research institute,” a former student said.