About 5% of the world’s 7.3 million international students are enrolled in Germany. That figure is about five times greater than Germany’s proportional share of the world’s population, and corresponds to more than double its share of global economic output.
The notable success of Germany’s international education sector has attracted significant attention – and will of course be the focus of the inaugural The PIE Live Germany conference later this week.
While five years ago the conversation centred on the “big four” of international study destinations – all of which were English-speaking (the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK) – this group has since expanded and diversified.
Germany has established itself among the most important destinations for international students – described by ICEF as the “big 14” – alongside other emerging markets such as Ireland, France or Malaysia.
Educating international students brings enormous added value to Germany, as it does to other recipient countries. Recent academic analyses show that international students make a net positive contribution to Europe’s largest economy.
According to a study by the German Economic Institute and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Germany’s international class of 2022 alone is expected to generate around €15.5 billion in added value over their working lifetime.
This figure could easily be extrapolated to the other annual cohorts. Against the backdrop of a shortage of skilled workers and the impending baby boomer retirement tsunami, this should be a key consideration.
However, it would be too narrow a view to focus solely on the economic effects. As an established centre of scientific research and education, Germany is naturally a major player in the worldwide competition for talent and knowledge. Like in other recipient countries, international education is an important component of Germany’s “soft power” as a middling power and a pillar of its foreign cultural policy.
Last but not least, the over 400,000 international students living here serve as economic, political, and cultural bridge-builders between Germany and their home countries, which are often located in the world’s fastest-growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, and Africa.
How should German policy and economic decision makers approach this increasingly critical economic sector? How can Germany as a whole better assert itself in the globally competitive arena of talent acquisition and recruitment of skilled workers? What can be done to further increase and, in the medium to long term, secure Germany’s appeal as a desirable place to study and work? How can young people be better guided, supported, and protected as they make the decision to come to Germany? Specifically, three immediate recommendations for action could be made.
First: name the problem
The recent DAAD study Ankommen, Studieren, Bleiben surveyed over 20,000 international students and found that the majority are satisfied with their decision to come to Germany and their experiences there. According to the study, areas for improvement include the speed of the visa issuance and communication with local authorities, as well as ensuring education agents provide accurate and truthful pre-departure advice.
International initiatives such as the “London Statement” show that clear standards of conduct and voluntary commitments can help reduce shortcomings in this area. For example, institutions could be required to work only with recruitment partners who have undergone rigorous compliance training and who have committed to ethical recruitment of international students to Germany.
Universities and colleges would need to transform themselves into true service providers. Services such as well-equipped career centres tailored to the needs of international students, mandatory language courses, and internships integrated into the curriculum should be the standard, not the exception, of the international student experience in Germany.
Second: improved coordination
Improved integration of all stakeholders in Germany’s diverse international education ecosystem would further enhance the experience of international students. Transparent and predictable guidelines, on the one hand, and compliance with binding quality standards, on the other, are crucial in this regard.
Here, too, international models such as the UK’s Basic Compliance Assessment or the important work of Australia’s Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency serve as valuable examples.
They demonstrate how defined criteria and expectations can be monitored and enforced. A truly effective and sustainable international education policy in Germany would require stronger coordination and quality enforcement mechanisms among the various government agencies responsible for higher education, migration, and foreign policy, as well as with all educational institutions that serve international students.
Third: A genuine Willkommen
Even if the term jars with a growing number of people in Germany, a true Willkommenskultur (or ‘culture of welcoming’) remains an unfulfilled aspiration in many parts of the education sector – as it does in the rest of the country.
Quite apart from the symbolic implications of the recent election outcomes, international students (as well as other newcomers) are still too often expected to possess a very high level of prior knowledge, cultural adaptability, and immediate independence.
A genuine sense of being welcome is the foundation for successful integration, social participation, and long-term commitment
However, a genuine sense of being welcome is the foundation for successful integration, social participation, and long-term commitment. Given the economic value added by international students and their central importance for future economic development, it would be good to see this regularly reaffirmed by the country’s senior leaders.
Universities and colleges have a particular responsibility when it comes to fostering a welcoming culture. In addition to imparting knowledge and values, they should specifically promote social and practical skills and, if necessary, expand their guidance and support services.
For example, much more could be done to help international students engage with their local community, whether in the Kiez around their campus or in the actual areas where they live.
Due to the dire housing situation in Germany’s university towns and cities, some international students have been forced to the outer edges of commuter belts – in extreme cases as much as 150 kilometres away from campus. As surveys consistently show, many would like to have more contact with Germans, including across generations.
Grassroots initiatives that bring together international students and locals around shared activities such as neighbourhood clean ups, human library projects or over sharing food and culture, often organized informally and sporadically by religious communities, are good examples of what could be done and could be scaled up for effect.
The presence of international students is a significant asset for Germany; economically, geopolitically, socially, and culturally. Given the hundreds of thousands of unfilled skilled-labour positions, it is urgent that Germany can attract a good number of them once qualified in those roles to stay, at least for a while.
Their original decision to study in Germany represents a unique opportunity to shape a shared future together, to secure the country as a hub for talent, and to reaffirm Germany’s global reputation.
Germany should make full use of this opportunity for the benefit of the international students living, researching, and studying here, but also in the strategic interest of Germany and Europe in an increasingly challenging world.
