ABSTRACT
This study focuses on the Swedish outbound exchange students and discusses what can be expected post-COVID-19 with regards to studying abroad. International student mobility has become important in post-secondary education in recent times. Historically, the students studying in another country to get a post-secondary education have grown significantly since the 1970s. However, some studies recognize that students’ participation in exchange programs in the Nordic countries has not reached the expected level even when “study abroad opportunities” exist within their study programs. There are other ways to have an international experience than studying in a foreign country like integrating on campus with international staff and/or students, and/or interacting via information and communication technology (ICT) with peers around the world without travelling. In these troubled and uncertain times, we are living in with COVID-19 and other crises hampering worldwide travel, it is difficult to predict where this will lead to in the future or its long-term effects on mobility. The current COVID-19 pandemic may result in other ways of travelling the world to receive an international experience. This will certainly affect the willingness of international students to travel abroad for post-secondary education. Will the growth of youth travel continue or change after COVID-19? Will it expand the social space interacting with international peers through ICT? It appears that COVID-19 is reshaping the concept of studying abroad and will open up new possibilities for virtual Cross-border education and this development will help the non-mobile students to receive an international experience during their studies and further enrich the understanding between students around the world. This study uses Swedish national statistics to support the arguments. The data describes the basic features of tertiary education.
