4. Diseño
4.2 Capa de presentación
This section first discusses structural factors from sending and receiving countries that contribute to Chinese students’ migration in Finland and Germany. Then it analyzes the drivers of Chinese students’ mobility through the theoretical framework of the migration industry and identifies the reasons why Chinese students are increasingly relying on the migration industry instead of other sources of assistance (such as their social network).
From a receiving country perspective, the findings show that one of the structural factors that drives Chinese student migration to both Finland and Germany is the non-existent or low tuition fees (or semester fees) for higher education in those countries. Many of the Chinese students interviewed emphasized the importance of free or low tuition fees when considering possible destinations at which to study. At least at the time of the interviews, moving to study in Finland or Germany was an economicaly rationale option for many. Before 2017, Finnish higher education was free of charge even for non-EU/EEA citizens, with abundant programs at all levels of studies offered through the medium of English. The situation is similar in many of the states in Germany. While more study programs are taught in German, many German universities only charge semester fees of a few hundred euros per semester, which is still quite affordable for middle-class Chinese students. Thus it is not surprising that most of the Chinese students moving to study in Finland or Germany
71
are from middle-class families with enough savings to support their children’s studies abroad but unable to easily afford to go to more expensive destinations such as the U.S.A. or the U.K.
Both Finland and Germany offer some major subjects that are considered of high quality and competitive worldwide and continuously attract international students to come to study. For instance, many international students move to study subjects related to mechanical engineering or automobile related subjects in Germany. In addition, a lot of students choose to study computer science or game studies in Finland because Finland has established its competitiveness in those fields.
The findings of this dissertation indicate that student mobility to both Finland and Germany is influenced by transnational institutional factors, such as transnational collaborative partnerships between Chinese and Finnish or German universities, transnational education agencies, and partnerships between overseas universities and the Chinese education migration industry. Many of the students interviewed explained that their mobility to Finland or Germany was facilitated by the existing bilateral collaboration between Chinese and Finnish or German universities. Exchange study experiences in the destination country often strengthened the students’ wish to pursue further degree programs in the host country. In addition, degree programs have been established between Chinese and Finnish or German universities that allow students to first finish part of their degree studies in China, and then continue to complete their studies in Finland or Germany. Further, transnational education agencies such as CIMO in Finland and the DAAD in Germany have established branches in China and actively promote scholarships and various study opportunities to encourage more talented Chinese students to study in these two countries. There are also cases in which the Finnish universities or universities of applied sciences have partnerships with the Chinese education migration industry to attract more students to study in Finland. This form of collaboration is already more evident in the U.K. and Australia, while is still burgeoning in Finland and Germany.
From the sending country perspective, the fierce competition for higher education opportunities in China has compeled many students to choose to go abroad for higher education. Since the 1980s the Chinese government has lifted the restrictions on studying abroad, and ever since then the policy has been encouraging studies abroad while also aiming to attract return migration of overseas graduates. A diploma from a second or third tier university from China is certainly not as valued as a diploma from abroad (Xiang & Shen, 2009). Thus many of the interviewees taking bachelor’s studies in Finnish UASs revealed that they either did not do well
in the university entrance exam in China, or they wanted to avoid the fierce competition for university in China.
The findings emphasize the importance of the migration industry in facilitating and channeling Chinese student migration. The migration industry comprises constituents of a dynamic set of actors in the process of causing, facilitating and sustaining student mobility across borders. Whereas past research has often examined different types of actors and different roles played by the migration industry in humanitarian migration or labor migration, this research shifted the angle to focus on education migration industry that serves a more priviledged group of migrants, i.e. international students, and mobilize their social capital pursuing economic interest through assisting students’ pursuit of higher education abroad. Although the intermediaries of international student migration have existed for a very long time, the neoliberalization trend of global tertiary education (Beech, 2018) and rising middle class families’ need for high quality overseas education indeveloping countries like China, have enabled the exponential growth of a prosperous education migration industry.
This research mainly examined the implications of the migration industry from the perspectives of Chinese students themselves. The findings show that the development of the migration industry can render four probable consequences. First, the education migration industry has not only facilitated but also channeled student migration. Economic interest driven by continuing demand from the market has led to the appearance of thousands of big or small study abroad agencies in China, specialized in different study destinations. This has resulted in a diversification of migration destinations, as exemplified by Chinese students’ mobility to non-Anglophone countries like Finland and Germany. Second, although the education migration industry may be complementary in relation to the students’ social networks, it is increasingly replacing them. Third, the break in the exchange and reciprocity relationship leads to the individualization of migration. The findings show that, in addition to a wider choice of migration destinations, successful migrants no longer have the obligation to help potential migrants in their home communities as a reciprocity of services rendered. Fourth, the development of the education migration industry enhances inequality, since students with sufficient financial capital can enjoy easier access and faster processes to overseas higher education. They can also hire professionals to polish their application packages to make them more competitive. On the other hand, those with limited financial capital have fewer advantages in the competition for scarce resources, such as prestigious overseas higher education.
73