Higher education institutions as key actors in the global competition for engineering talent-Germany in international comparison -

Abstract

In order to prevent the forecasted shortage of highly qualified labour in technical professions, Germany and other industrialized nations show increasing interest in strategies of controlled immigration, one being the recruitment of foreign students: Many European countries are seizing the opportunity to attract international students to enter their workforces after graduating from their universities [1]. Those students are assumed by employers to have gained knowledge about culture and language of their host country. Therefore, the above mentioned strategy appears to be valuable for OECD countries in general [2]. In Germany, the legal conditions for working in the country as foreigners have become more relaxed during the last decade. This is especially true for workers in engineering professions from the new EU-member states. In case of third country international students, the law is generally in favour of those who have obtained a degree in Germany [3]. In fact, according to OECD reports, the largest share of highly qualified immigrants who come to Germany nowadays is due to academic migration and the implementation of international study programs [4]. Since the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the introduction of Bachelor and Master degrees throughout the European Union via the Bologna Process, the recognition of foreign degrees has become much easier. Due to the good reputation of its academic system and no or rather low tuition fees, Germany?s higher education institutions already belong to the most attractive worldwide for foreign students [5]. By offering international study programs in technical subjects and natural sciences, German universities are trying to attract international students who have already obtained a bachelor?s degree in their home country and who might decide to stay in Germany after graduating. This paper describes the political and economic influence on the higher education system and legal developments regarding foreign students in Germany. With a special focus on academic migration in engineering education and the STEM fields, it aims to analyse the position of Germany within the global movements of educational mobility. It deals with the implementation of international study programs in technical disciplines and considers the perspectives of international students who are enrolled in such programs in Germany.