Think Tank – The future of studying in Germany for international students
DeGiS is not only about creating a network for international students in Germany, but also about taking an active role in shaping the future of studying for international students in Germany. Therefore, DeGiS has established the Think Tank, that performs research on all the relevant topics around international students in Germany.
A special focus is laid on Entrepreneurship studies to foster an environment that encourages also international students to be able to found their own startup.
During the past month a lot of qualitative and quantitative data has been gathered in two extensive surveys with more than 3,000 participants. The answers received will be published in Whitepapers in the further course of 2020.
Preliminary Whitepaper titles
- The Future of German Universities in the Lights of Covid-19 (in cooperation with Steinbeis-University Berlin)
- The future of studying in Germany for international students (in cooperation with Minverva University at KGI)
- The pathway of studying in Germany: financial and procedural challenges – and how digital solutions facilitate the process (in cooperation with Expatrio)
- Societal challenges of international students in Germany – from racism to successful integration (seeking for a partner)
- Entrepreneurship studies for international students in Germany – a conceptual approach (seeking for a partner)
Further research will be performed in the course of 2021 and published accordingly.
Survey questions among international students
Questions addressed in the first two surveys were the following (extract):
- What was your main source of information while preparing your relocation to Germany?
- Which information website did you use?
- Did you have any other countries on your list before finally choosing Germany?
- Which factor finally convinced you to go to Germany?
- What do you plan to do after finishing your current activity (university studies, language course, etc.)?
- From where do your get financial support during your stay in Germany? (please select all that apply)
- During the visa process, what was the biggest challenge you had to deal with?
- Did you apply for your (first) visa to Germany in your home country?
- How long did you have to wait until your visa appointment?
- How long did it take between your visa appointment and collecting your visa?
- What was the biggest challenge after arriving in Germany?
- If you had unpleasant experiences with German bureaucracy, please describe them below.
- Where did you first live when arriving in Germany?
- Where do you live now?
- How satisfied are you with the city you are living in now in general?
- What is your accommodation type?
- The monthly living expense is set to €853 by the German government. According to your life in Germany, do you think €853 per month is enough to finance your living expenses in Germany?
- How much is your monthly living expense in Germany, approximately? (in EUR)
- How much do you spend on groceries every month, approximately? (in EUR)
- How much do you spend on the rent every month, approximately? (in EUR)
- Based on your experience, how inclusive is German society towards international students / expats?
- What would make it easier for you to be included/accepted by the German society?
- How important it is for you to be a part of an international community in Germany? (student association, DeGiS, InterNations, etc.)
- Have you ever felt like you want to go back to your home country?
- What made you feel like you want to go back to your home country?
- What can Germany improve?
- In what country do you live?
- How old are you?
- What is your current study level?
- How do you perceive German education in comparison to education in other European countries?
- How do you perceive German education in comparison to education in the U.S.?
- How would you rate a German Engineering / Technology study compared to the rest of the world?
- How would you rate a German Business/Management study compared to the rest of world?
- Would you consider to study 100% online?
- What degrees are you pursuing?
- What kind of study do you intend to do /are you currently enrolled in?
- How attractive would it be, if you could enrich your Business/ Management studies with Engineering/Technology topics like Industry 4.0, IOT, Smart Mobility, Smart Cities, Smart Manufacturing or else? And in which proportion?
- How attractive would it be, if you could enrich your studies with Business/ Management topics like Innovation Management, Leadership, Design Thinking, or else? And in which proportion?
- How important do you rate the topic of Entrepreneurship (business modelling, idea to product, starting own start-up, etc.) as part of your curriculum?
- Assuming you could customize your studies, how much online, how much offline would you like to study?
- Would you rather like to have one physical campus at a certain place, or study centers around the world where you study online, but you have the chance to exchange with other students?
- Assuming you could also chose between synchronous/live or asynchronous/pre-recorded content, what would you rather like to have?
- How attractive would it be to learn with snackable, bite-sized online contents that fit in your daily routines (e.g. 5 min video or 20 min audio contents on your study topics)?
- How attractive would it be to modify the study length depending on your personal situation (e.g. full time/ short duration vs. part-time/ longer duration)?
- Would you prefer to have video or audio content in smaller chunks?
- Are you satisfied with the actuality of existing university curriculums (meaning: do you find actual topics you are interested in study offerings)?
- Which topics would you like to study in a German university that are currently not part of your curriculum?
- Since Covid-19, have your study plans changed?
- How would you rate a start online and resume offline study in the context of Covid-19?
- What are your main drivers to study at a German university?
