Why students, universities and industry are adopting an international approach

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International borders are being eroded almost everywhere you look. The share of small and medium-sized enterprises with international turnover continues to grow rapidly. Today, the value of exported goods around the world is around 25 per cent of global GDP (up from less than 10 per cent in 1870). Higher education is adopting a similarly global outlook, with the number of international students surpassing 6 million in 2021. 

The benefits of globalisation in industry are clear. Cross-border businesses have access to more customers, cheaper resources and well-developed supply chains that stretch across continents. Within this context, it is little surprise that students are seeking an education that is equally international to prepare them for a fruitful and varied career.

Over 80 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are actively seeking employees with international experience – experience that can be gained in students’ personal lives, through internships and, of course, during university studies. Aside from enrolling at an overseas institution, many universities also offer exchange programmes that allow students to complete their studies while taking classes abroad. The EU’s Erasmus+ initiative is a noteworthy example of this approach, with the scheme attracting more than 1 million participants in 2023. It has also contracted more than 230,000 projects and involved almost 170,000 organisations over the last decade, demonstrating the scale of the programme.

There are several reasons why industry is particularly interested in securing graduates with a global perspective. It aligns with the international approach to operations seen in many businesses today. It also enables students to gain diverse, global perspectives, which can create open-minded citizens with finely honed problem-solving skills. Such skills are sure to serve them well in a corporate setting. 

International education can also help develop students’ language skills. Aligned with other resources, such as language-learning apps and formal mentoring, studying abroad can accelerate a student’s language acquisition, allowing them to reach fluency at a much faster rate. These language skills are likely to be increasingly demanded by businesses as a means of strengthening connections with colleagues and customers.

By almost any metric, the world is more international than ever before. International education allows students to connect with a truly diverse community, interacting with their peers, academics and other faculty members from backgrounds that would have largely remained alien to them had they studied domestically.   

Despite protectionism gaining political support in some markets, the globalisation of business and education is unlikely to be reversed. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, with its strict travel restrictions, the volume of international students remained high, with the number of internationally mobile students actually increasing slightly from 6.38 million to 6.39 million between 2020 and 2021.

In seeking to capture new markets and deliver ever-more innovative products, it is natural that businesses are keen to explore international opportunities. It follows that they are seeking employees who can support them in facilitating this. Through international education, students can broaden their horizons, opening their minds to new communities, relationships, languages, ideas, cultures and more. It could ultimately lead to a new career too.

Language proficiency tests, such as the Duolingo English Test, are a crucial asset for students and graduates aiming to build international careers. By providing a clear, standardised measure of linguistic ability, these tests enable individuals to showcase their readiness to work in diverse, multilingual environments. For employers, such certifications signal that a candidate possesses the communication skills needed to collaborate across cultures and engage effectively with global clients and teams. Combined with global education and work experience, strong language proficiency positions graduates as adaptable, culturally aware professionals equipped to succeed in a connected world.

Find out more about the Duolingo English Test.