“Bright Futures”: A Comparative Study of Internal and International Mobility of Chinese Higher Education Students (‘Euro-China UPC’)
The migration of Chinese students in search of ‘bright futures’ through education, whether to cities within China or to countries in other regions such as Europe, has brought about profound change in the country. Besides bring a major driver of China’s rapid urbanization, the search for university education has also meant that Chinese students now make up a large proportion of international students. Yet relatively little is known about this phenomenon and the profile of those making the decision to migrate for their studies.
“Bright Futures”: A Comparative Study of Internal and International Mobility of Chinese Higher Education Students (‘Euro-China UPC’) aims to shed further light on this complex process through a comparative study of student migration within China and to Germany and the UK. Through extensive interviews and fieldwork with domestic and international students, as well as their parents, the research will provide a valuable evidence base for governments, students and higher education institutions.
Yasemin Soysal (Principal Investigator, University of Essex)
Hector Cebolla Boado (Associate Professor, UNED, Madrid)
Sophia Woodman (Chancellor’s Fellow, the University of Edinburgh)
University of Essex, UK, Prof. Yasemin Soysal (Principal Investigator)
Tsinghua University, China, Prof. Qiang Li and Prof. Jingming Liu (co-Investigators)
Bielefeld University, Germany, Prof. Thomas Faist (co-Investigator)
Creation of a large-scale representative and comparative survey data on Chinese higher education students who move abroad to Europe (UK and Germany) and who stay domestically in China (at home or move to a different city) for their degrees.
Engagement of key stakeholders through various outreach activities, including conferences in Beijing, Brussels and London.
Series of publications to disseminate findings, including academic journal articles and books, and media briefings and policy-oriented reports summarising research for governments and public sector organisations.