“Eurostudent” is a large-scale international research studying social-economic and living conditions of students in European Higher Education. The project has been regularly carried out in over twenty European countries since the 90s. The main goal of the international project is to collect comparative data on the social dimension of European higher education, more precisely, to collect information about students’ social-economic conditions, living conditions, international mobility, etc. Moreover, “Eurostudent” aims to create European higher education’s structured and standardized monitoring system that would enable an effective structured measuring instrument for specific groups of students; One of the main objectives of the research is to highlight the issues and barriers in the higher education system’s functionality through comparative data of the current situation in different European countries.
The main aim of the subprogram - “The Eurostudent National Project” is to collect and analyze comparable data on socio-economic and living conditions, study conditions, and international mobility of students in the Georgian higher education system. Large-scale research within the “Eurostudent” project is being conducted to achieve the main objective of the program. Results of Georgia will be analyzed next to the results of students from European countries. The results of Georgia will enter the international comparative data-analysis report.
Georgia participated in Eurostudent V in 2014 as a pilot country. From 2016-2018 our country was fully involved in the sixth wave of the “Eurostudent” project. The seventh wave of the project, with a total of 26 participant countries, started in 2018 and lasted until 2021. The eighth wave, with a total of 27 participant countries, started at the end of 2021 and is designed to be finished in 2024. The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia provides financial and technical support for the project.
The results of the project will dim light on the socio-economic challenges and special needs of the students. Also, the project will provide a clear picture of gender, age, and region-specific issues. A comparative analysis of socio-economic situation and living conditions of students in public and private higher education institutions will be carried out. The study will offer data on the socio-economic situation, living conditions, and specific needs of international students in Georgia. Herewith, in the current (8th) wave of the “Eurostudent” project, positive or negative impact of the pandemic on the students’ study and living conditions will be measured.
The project will allow the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia to analyze mobility parameters, better understand existing issues and challenges in European countries and learn about European students’ experiences in regard to their socio-economic and living conditions.
To sum up-the project will enable the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia to implement adequate policies and programs for local and international students in Georgia.
For additional information about the “Eurostudent” program, please visit www.eurostudent.eu