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The purpose of the survey is to get students to begin to reflect on their studies,
specialisation, need for development, opportunities for exchange, future career
choices, etc., which can be used as a basis for a guidance meeting at a later date.
The student also benefits from these reflections in their continued study planning.

Scheduled guidance that includes discussions about student
exchanges
Offer scheduled guidance sessions during the student’s first semester of studies.
Use the tools that students require for their studies as a basis and highlight mobil-
ity as an opportunity. It is important that guidance sessions have a clear objective.
This could be that the student knows about the programme’s intended learning
outcomes, understands what is required to achieve them and has reflected on
whether and, if so, how, mobility could contribute to achieving them. Also provide
clear information about the application process and how foreign mobility is con-
ducted, the advice and guidance that is available and what funding the HEI offers.

This type of guidance session can be important for an individual student, par-
ticularly at the start of their studies and especially for students from education-
ally disadvantaged backgrounds. A report from a British project, which aimed to
increase mobility in under-represented groups, stated that it is especially impor-
tant to offer coordinated guidance and support that links exchanges to their pro-
gramme and future profession to make people from these groups interested in
mobility. 21

Guidance sessions can be conducted in various forms for different courses (in
plenum, in a group and individually). Responses to student surveys (see above)
about what students want from their studies can be used as a basis for discus-
sion. They could include elements such as knowledge of a scholarly field, praxis
for teaching and studies, information about issues of legal certainty and study
regulations (e.g. qualifications ordinance, examination rules), opportunities for
language classes prior to the exchange, funding the exchange, academic writing
and information about how students can make their own plans for reflection and
study planning (see appendices 3, 4, 18 and 19).

Plan for reflection and study planning
Drawing up a plan for reflection and study planning can help a student to think
more broadly and in a more long-term manner about the format of their studies,
choice of courses, specialisation and studies abroad. The student is encouraged to
consider, take more responsibility for their education, reflect on their studies and
what their education will be used for. The plan is a useful basis for the student’s
discussion with a study guidance counsellor and can be used as a tool to clarify
where in the programme an exchange could take place.

21 E.g. UHR, Cimo, SIU, Living and learning – Exchange studies abroad, 2013 and
Hussein, Yasmin & Mörck, Hanna: Många vill – få kommer till skott, Varför studerar inte
fler utomlands?, Uppsala studentkår, 2013.

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