AU WANTS MORE STUDENTS TO GO ABROAD – FAIR WILL HELP YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO GO ON EXCHANGE
AU receives more exchange students than the university sends abroad. At the same time, the university experiences that every third student back out after being offered an exchange placement abroad. With this year's Study Abroad Fair, AU wants to prepare students well for exchange abroad – and create a better balance between incoming and outgoing students.
AU STUDY ABROAD FAIR
On Wednesday, 8 October, AU is hosting the Study Abroad Fair, an event where you, as a student, can learn more about all aspects of the exchange stay. This applies to everything from the Education Grant and Loan Scheme in Denmark (SU) to Green Travel and scholarships. It will take place from 2-5 pm in the Main Hall and the Ambulatory.
Source: AU
If you are one of the many students considering going on an exchange during your studies, you can on Wednesday, 8 October, get well prepared for the exchange stay and everything that comes with it at AU's Study Abroad Fair.
There will be a series of presentations on topics including finances and how to apply for an exchange. And from AU's perspective, it is precisely the goal that even more students than before take advantage of the opportunity to go on exchange.
In 2023, 1,553 AU students were on exchange, and last year the number had dropped slightly to 1,387 students, according to a statement from the education strategy secretariat under AU Education.
“We think it is important that more AU students choose to go on exchange,” says Mette Brandenborg, who is the section manager of the International Office at AU Student Administration and Services and is responsible for Mobility and Transnational Education.
More AU students should go on exchange
Already in February, in a column in Omnibus written by Pro-Rector Berit Eika, it was stated that AU wants more AU students to go on exchange.
In the column, the pro-rector points out that in recent years there has been an imbalance regarding exchanges, as AU students earn fewer ECTS credits abroad than international students do at AU. According to the pro-rector, the same pattern is seen across all Danish universities.
“It is unfortunate, especially since we know that studying abroad benefits not only society but also the individual student. Among other things, in the form of improved language skills, strengthened networks, and new academic perspectives,” the pro-rector writes in the column.
Section manager of the International Office, Mette Brandenborg, agrees that a stay abroad offers many advantages for the individual student:
“They gain new skills, a new perspective on their studies, access to courses they might not be able to take at AU, they improve their language abilities, and build a large international network,” she points out
Almost one in three back out
But even though the benefits are many, according to the pro-rector and the section manager, almost one in three students choose to back out in the period between submitting their application and the planned departure. As a result, AU has many exchange placements that remain unused.
“We are investigating what it takes to get more students to study abroad. We also want to reduce dropout rates among the students we assign to an exchange. "Right now, about 30 percent of those who are offered an exchange end up not going,” Mette Brandenborg reports.
Therefore, an investigation has now been launched into the reasons behind these dropouts along the way.
"We hope to gain knowledge about the barriers our students experience during the process and whether there is anything the university can do to help remove them, making it easier and encouraging students to keep their exchange placement," Mette Brandenborg explains about the purpose of the analysis.
“This is also something that we focus on at the Study Abroad Fair – specifically giving our students the tools to make a good decision,” she emphasizes.
No single clear reason for dropout
AU Student Administration and Services has already received the first results from the survey, but there are no clear trends according to Mette Brandenborg.
“We have the feeling that the students keep many paths open, and then they make a decision in the end,” says the section manager and continues:
“And sometimes exchange is chosen against the favour of, for example, elective courses at AU, student jobs or internships.
For some, personal issues may arise, and others withdraw for financial reasons,” reports Mette Brandenborg.
The world is different
Additionally, it should be kept in mind that students apply one to one and a half years before the stay actually takes place. Mette Brandenborg can therefore understand if some students aren’t entirely sure it’s what they want when they submit their application in November.
“The last major round of applications took place in December 2024, and by then, the world still looked somewhat different. A lot has happened geopolitically in one year. “So we are curious to see if there will be an impact on application patterns and the number of applications we receive,” concludes Mette Brandenborg.
The application deadline this year is 1 December for exchange stays in autumn 2026 and spring 2027.
This text was machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen