Integration of international students: challenges and solutions!

Integration of international students: challenges and solutions!

A current survey at the Technical University of Berlin invites international students and alumni to share their experiences. This survey runs until July 31, 2025 and aims to gain insights into the realities of international students' lives in Germany. The focus is on topics such as life, studying, work and the transition to the job market. The resulting results will be incorporated into a micro-study to be published in autumn 2025. This study aims to identify new ways to achieve fair migration and ethical recruitment tu.berlin reported.

In addition to the local initiatives, a comprehensive survey was conducted among more than 7,000 international students. According to the results, 83 percent of those surveyed see learning the German language as the most important step towards integration. Over half of the students have already made German friends, while 56 percent have become familiar with German culture and traditions. These social networks and support formats provided by the universities have been identified as essential anchor points in the integration process Donors' Association highlights.

Challenges in integration

Nevertheless, international students struggle with various challenges. Almost 60 percent report difficulties due to insufficient knowledge of German, and 40 percent miss important information in English. Other barriers to integration include bureaucratic and existential problems, such as a lack of advice and inadequate financial support programs. This highlights the need for universities, companies and politicians to develop internationalization strategies that focus on the social integration and retention of international graduates.

Reducing language barriers is considered essential. Long-term support for language acquisition and the expansion of social networks are necessary to ease the transition into the labor market. Universities should also cooperate closely with companies, organize events and invest more in cost of living support programs to improve conditions for international students.

Demographic developments and future goals

In the 2014/2015 winter semester, 319,283 foreign students were enrolled in Germany, which corresponds to around 12 percent of all 2.7 million students. The majority of these students are enrolled at universities (67.8 percent), followed by technical colleges (28.8 percent). In terms of the origin of these international students, 35.4 percent come from Asia and 27.4 percent from Eastern Europe. What is particularly noteworthy is that Chinese students represent the largest group of foreign students in Germany, with a share of 12 percent bpb documented.

The German federal government is pursuing the goal of increasing the number of foreign students to 350,000 by 2020, which underlines the increasing importance of international education. The legal framework is also under discussion: International students are allowed to work up to 120 full or 240 half days per year during their studies, and the deadline for looking for work after completing their studies has been extended from 12 to 18 months. All of these measures and findings show that the integration of international students in Germany is not only desirable, but must also be strategically promoted.