The Determinants of Student Migration to Poland Based on the Opolskie Voivodeship Study
| Date | 01 October 2016 |
| Published date | 01 October 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12257 |
The Determinants of Student Migration to
Poland Based on the Opolskie Voivodeship
Study
Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzi
nska* and Bogdan Ruszczak*
ABSTRACT
Until recently Poland has been considered a country to emigrate from. However, the situation
is now beginning to change, and Poland is becoming an immigration country. This also refers
to student migration. Polish universities are becoming increasingly attractive to foreign stu-
dents, who are mainly of Ukrainian origin. They only began to promote their services abroad
in 2005 and their foreign student population growth dynamic is one of the highest in the
world. The study was conducted in the Opolskie Voivodeship, the first region in Poland where
systematic action was taken to address depopulation, and the steps to counteract population
decline were included in its strategic policies. One of the objectives of such policies was to
stimulate immigration. For this reason, it was decided that the Opolskie Voivodeship might
serve as a lab to study migration processes, including the inflow of foreign students.
INTRODUCTION
Until recently Poland has been considered a country to emigrate from. It is from Poland that people
would leave for other countries. That situation is now beginning to change, and Poland is becoming
a country to emigrate to. This also refers to student migration. Polish universities are becoming
increasingly attractive to foreign students, who are mainly of Ukrainian origin. A number of cam-
paigns have been carried out to promote Polish universities (for example through the website
“Study in Poland”). In 2005, a group of forty Polish universities launched a nationwide programme
to encourage foreign students to study in Poland and to promote Polish universities worldwide.
Since the programme’s inception, the number of foreign students at Polish universities has
increased by 30% (Siwi
nska, 2009: 12–13). Poland has yet to make the most of the potential
offered by foreign students, as it has one of the lowest percentages in this respect worldwide. In
2012, 24 thousand foreign students studied at Polish universities, which accounted for 1.11 per cent
of the entire student population in Poland. The percentage is much lower than that of the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and even Romania or Bulgaria. According to the OECD,
Poland is last but one in the ranking, with Chile at the very bottom. By comparison, the share of
foreign students in the entire student population in the countries that lead in the ranking of student
immigration ranges from 10 to 15 per cent, and the EU and OECD medians are 7 per cent and 6
per cent, respectively (Foreign students, 2012: 1). The phenomenon of student mobility is all the
more important as it often blazes the trail for the immigration of qualified professionals, who are
becoming an increasingly valuable asset for the receiving countries. In Australia, for example, since
* Opole University of Technology
doi: 10.1111/imig.12257
©2016 The Authors
International Migration ©2016 IOM
International Migration Vol. 54 (5) 2016
ISS N 00 20- 7985 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
To continue reading
Request your trial