Short exchange periods increasingly popular with higher education students

In 2024, a total of 10,600 higher education students went on a mobility period abroad as part of their studies. This is approx. 600 more than in the previous year. The figure includes both longer exchange periods and shorter periods of less than three months. All of the present increase comes from short-term mobility periods of less than three months, which have increased in popularity since the pandemic. In total, 4,020 of such short periods were completed in 2024. 

As in previous years, the trends of higher education students’ mobility are different in UASs and universities. University students mostly spend longer periods of over three months abroad, while UAS students are more likely to have shorter periods. If we look at the number of mobility periods in relation to students who started their studies in the relevant year, those who went on mobility periods abroad account for 19% of new students at universities and 11% at UASs. The decrease in mobility rates has been particularly significant at universities of applied sciences. In 2019, these rates were 23% in universities and 22% in UASs. 

UAS students in the health and wellness field, in particular, complete a high number of short mobility periods, whereas short periods are clearly less common at universities. The average duration of short periods is less than one month. 

Higher education students completed 6,600 longer mobility periods of at least three months, a figure that has changed little from the previous two years. 

“While long mobility periods remain an important channel for internationalisation for higher education students, their number has dropped far below the pre-pandemic levels, particularly at universities of applied sciences, and no growing trend seems to be in sight. At universities, the pre-pandemic level of 2019 has almost been reached already. At best, more than 10,000 higher education students went on a mobility period abroad for more than three months,” reports Irma Garam, Senior Specialist.

Young women more likely to go abroad

Female students are more likely to go on a mobility period abroad than men. Of all students going on these periods 62% are women, whereas women account for 56% of all higher education students. Women's proportion is even higher if we look at short periods, which may be due to such reasons as the large number of short mobility periods completed in the female-dominated health care and social services sector. 

More than a half (53%) of the students going abroad are aged under 25 years. A larger share of older students also go on short periods of less than three months. 
In universities of applied sciences, the greatest numbers of students who opt for mobility are found in large fields, such as business administration as well as health and wellness. In proportion to the number of new students, those in the field of education, arts and culture as well as in the services sector are the most active participants in mobility periods abroad. 

Students of business administration and technical fields also account for the largest numbers of students going on mobility periods in universities. In proportion to the number of students, the most active mobility participants in universities are students of business administration, arts and culture as well as the social sector. In universities, mobility periods of more than three months are more popular than short ones in all fields. 

“The aim is to increase the international mobility of all students, enabling a larger number of higher education students to acquire international competence as part of their studies. A precondition for this is higher education institutions’ commitment to integrating learner mobility into study programmes and systematic encouragement and counselling of students,” explains Anni Kallio, Programme Manager. 

Europe’s attraction for incoming exchange students has grown

In 2024, a total of 11,070 foreign exchange students arrived in Finland, which slightly exceeds the number of outgoing students. The number of incoming students has changed little from the previous year. The emphasis has also increasingly shifted to short-term mobility periods among those arriving in Finland, even if long periods still clearly dominate: 8,160 students came for long mobility periods and 2,910 students for short ones. 

Europe has increased its attraction for exchange students. In 2024, 74% of students heading for long exchange periods opted for Europe, while 16% chose Asia. In 2019, Europe accounted for 68% and Asia for 17%. The largest destination countries for learner mobility were Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands.

The share of European students arriving in Finland for mobility periods has remained unchanged. In 2024, Europeans accounted for 79% of students coming for long exchange periods, with Germany, Spain, France and Italy as the largest countries of origin.

While the most popular destination countries and countries of origin have remained largely unchanged, the global situation is also reflected in learner mobility.  The most obvious changes include China having lost ground as a destination country and country of origin compared to the pre-pandemic period. Russia’s disappearance from both lists of countries is also a major change.

Virtual mobility is becoming more common while international traineeships decline

Including a virtual component in international mobility periods has become more common in recent years. Twelve per cent of all outgoing mobility periods from Finland included a virtual period, which is 320 periods more than in the previous year. 

In practice, virtual periods are always part of short mobility periods. The most common way of doing this is participating in blended intensive programmes funded by Erasmus+. Most of these virtual components are implemented at universities of applied sciences.
The majority of the periods abroad (84%, 9,000 periods) comprise student mobility, which means that a student studies at a foreign higher education institution. In 2024, 1,600 students went on an international traineeship. The number of international traineeships and their share of periods abroad have decreased from the previous year.  

Among the mobility periods of outgoing students from Finland, 68% of long-term periods and 64% of short-term periods were completed through and funded by the Erasmus+ programme. The share of incoming students who came through Erasmus + was 76% for long and 61% for short mobility periods. Erasmus+ has increased its share, especially when it comes to short-term mobility.  

Further information

Anni Kallio
Programme Manager (International Higher Education Coordination)
+358 295 338 696
anni.kallio [at] oph.fi (anni[dot]kallio[at]oph[dot]fi)

Irma Garam
Senior Specialist (statistics)
+358 295 338 549
irma.garam [at] oph.fi (irma[dot]garam[at]oph[dot]fi)