Fee-paying students will not boost long-term mobility — internationalisation at home is needed

Finnish higher educational institutions are undergoing significant shifts in internationalisation. Institutions are welcoming increasing numbers of international degree students (Vipunen 2025) and expanding global partnerships. At the same time, traditional long-term student mobility has declined across the country (Karvi 2025). All institutions have seen a decline in the number of students going on long term exchange over recent years.

Although there is no direct correlation between these developments, it is important to examine whether the growing new group of international students could help the declining number in overall mobility rates in the future or possibly have the opposite effect.

The exchange rate of fee-paying degree students at Haaga-Helia

Haaga-Helia has in comparison with many other Universities of Applied Sciences in Finland somewhat recovered from the corona years when all long-term exchanges dropped significantly. Currently Haaga-Helia is in the lead when it comes to long term exchanges (Karvi 2025). However, the increased number of fee-paying students cannot be seen as the reason for this.

Since 2016, students outside the EU and EAA have paid tuition fees at Haaga-Helia. From this point onward the semester-long exchange among fee-paying students remains notably lower than among their non-fee-paying peers.

Over the past eight years (2017-2025), only about 7 % of all fee-paying students at Haaga-Helia during this time have gone on a semester exchange. Per year the amount is notably small. In 2024 about 19 % of new students at Haaga-Helia went on exchange. Of this group only five where fee-paying students making the percentage 0.02 % of the cohort of 257 students. (Haaga-Helia 2025.)

Why fee-paying students participate less in long term exchanges

The decision to go on exchange is highly personal. Still, the results of the International Student Barometer from 2023 (ISB 2023) offer insights that help explain the low participation rates.

Financial and academic considerations

Fee-paying students often experience greater financial pressure. A semester abroad can bring additional costs, and many ISB respondents highlighted the importance of part-time work to cover tuition fees and living expenses in Finland – work that would be difficult or impossible to continue during an exchange.

Some fee-paying students also focus on progressing quickly in their studies to qualify for tuition fee discounts. For students who have moved to Finland with their families, the financial burden is even heavier, making long-term mobility less feasible.

Already living an exchange experience

For many fee-paying students, coming to Finland is already a major international move. As a result, the perceived need for an exchange abroad may be lower. ISB data also indicate that Finland scores below the global average in terms of social integration. Students who already find settling in Finland challenging, may be hesitant to repeat the process in yet another country.

Focus on integration and career goals

Remaining in Finland can support academic, social, and professional integration. Many fee-paying students prioritise building local networks and gaining relevant work experience as well as improving their Finnish language skills. These priorities also align with both Haaga-Helia’s and Finland’s national goals of supporting international students’ long-term integration.

A meaningful international experience for all students

Though many international degree students already do mention moving to Finland as an international experience, this may no longer be enough in a global world. To better support the needs of fee-paying students not going for a long-term exchange, Haaga-Helia could for example strengthen the promotion of Blended Intensive Programmes. These BIPs are short, intensive courses that combine virtual components with a short on-site mobility period and offered through our European University Ulysseus, (Ulysseus 2025) or other intensive courses abroad. Also, virtual courses and COILs (Collaborative Online International Learning) are opportunities for internationalisation from home through online collaboration with students abroad. These alternatives offer international exposure without the financial and time commitment of a full semester abroad.

In addition, internationalisation within the curriculum plays a key role. Strengthening the international dimensions of curriculum design, course content, and learning outcomes ensures that all students, regardless of mobility choices, gain relevant global competencies (EAIE 2021).

Strengthening of internationalisation at home is the way forward

Finnish students participate less in semester-long exchanges and an increased amount of international degree students will most likely not increase these numbers, as only a very small percentage of them take part in a long-term exchange. This should be considered when evaluating future mobility statistics, as Haaga-Helia aims to increase the number of fee-paying students.

As more students move away from the traditional way of getting an international experience, there might be a need to instead expand short-term and flexible short mobility options. This strengthens internationalisation at home, and ensures that the curriculum and learning outcomes reflect global competencies. Combined these approaches help guarantee that all students, fee paying or not, can benefit from high-quality international learning, whether they travel abroad or remain in Finland.

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