01-09-2021
31-12-2021
The topic of international student mobility to Portugal is relatively recent on the country's political and research agenda, when compared to other contexts (França et al., 2018; Sin et al., 2017). However, given the increase in the number of international students enrolled in Portuguese higher education institutions in recent decades, research on this topic has been growing, and our team has contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge in this field (Cairns, 2017; França et al., 2018; Malet Calvo, 2018; Nada & Araújo, 2018). However, given the disruptive nature of the Covid-19 pandemic on global mobility patterns (Benton et al., 2021), new challenges have been posed to the field of international student mobility studies, reinforcing the need for innovative research on these migratory dynamics and on the experiences of international students and their future mobility plans. In this context, this project aims to analyse the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the experience of third-country nationals as international higher education students in Portugal, based on the perceptions of the students themselves.
By international students, we mean both students enrolled in 'credit' mobility schemes, who generally stay in Portugal for one or two semesters, as well as 'degree' mobility students, i.e. those enrolled in a degree course at a Portuguese higher education institution. To this end, the following research objectives were defined: to examine the changes in the profiles of international students from third countries who have entered the country since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to investigate how international students from third countries evaluate and give meaning to their experiences during the (post)pandemic period. Furthermore, this study aims to map the new challenges and opportunities that the health crisis has brought to the internationalisation of Portuguese higher education.
Considering the popularisation of new forms of mobility designed for the context of tertiary education, we aim to understand the role that 'virtual mobility' and 'hybrid mobility' can play in Portuguese higher education. In addition to its academic objective, the project seeks to produce policy recommendations based on scientific evidence to support the work of policy makers, institutional stakeholders, experts and professionals in the field of higher education and migration. Aiming for a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon in the Portuguese context, the analyses proposed here will be carried out at national level.
Alto Comissariado para as Migrações, I.P.
Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa (Instituição proponente)
Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto