On 26 April, STINT and the Swedish Institute jointly organised a seminar on student recruitment from China. Chinese students constitute the largest group of foreign students at Swedish universities, and Sweden receives around 2 500 students from China annually. These students are a source of income for universities, but also provide an opportunity for students and teachers to gain knowledge of the Chinese education system and culture.
During the seminar, representatives from Lund University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the Swedish Institute presented their experiences, including challenges and opportunities related to student recruitment from China. This was followed by a panel discussion that included the question whether Swedish higher education institutions desire to recruit more Chinese students. This does not seem to be the case at several of the larger higher education institutions that instead want to focus on increasing student quality. The panel also discussed how Sweden is regarded as a study destination from a Chinese perspective.
The STINT report Student recruitment from China: Opportunities and Challenges by Johan Gunnarsson, Lund University, was presented at the seminar.
The seminar formed part of STINT’s China initiative that aims to provide information to Swedish higher education institutions on different aspects related to China’s development in the areas of research and education.