International student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized world

Abstract The internationalization of higher education is often seen as a strategy that better prepares students for employment in the increasingly globalized labor market. This paper empirically investigates whether business graduates who participate in International Student Mobility (ISM) programs...

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Main Authors: Laetitia Pozniak, Loredana Cultrera, Guillaume Vermeylen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-08-01
Series:Discover Global Society
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-025-00228-y
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author Laetitia Pozniak
Loredana Cultrera
Guillaume Vermeylen
author_facet Laetitia Pozniak
Loredana Cultrera
Guillaume Vermeylen
author_sort Laetitia Pozniak
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The internationalization of higher education is often seen as a strategy that better prepares students for employment in the increasingly globalized labor market. This paper empirically investigates whether business graduates who participate in International Student Mobility (ISM) programs experience a faster transition into the labor market after graduation. Using a unique database of 10 cohorts of business graduates from Belgium, our results show that students' participation in exchange programs such as Erasmus + significantly decrease the average number of months required to get a job after graduation. Our findings highlight the strategic value of ISM in disciplines like economics and management, where international experience is closely tied to career trajectories. They also underscore the added benefits for French-speaking students navigating multilingual environments, and for regions like Wallonia facing structural employment challenges. These insights support the continued promotion of mobility programs as tools for enhancing graduate employability in a globalized labor market.
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spelling doaj-art-835ea9dde3dd4b9fb06de1edddd809d62025-08-24T11:15:48ZengSpringerDiscover Global Society2731-96872025-08-013111410.1007/s44282-025-00228-yInternational student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized worldLaetitia Pozniak0Loredana Cultrera1Guillaume Vermeylen2University of MonsUniversity of MonsUniversity of MonsAbstract The internationalization of higher education is often seen as a strategy that better prepares students for employment in the increasingly globalized labor market. This paper empirically investigates whether business graduates who participate in International Student Mobility (ISM) programs experience a faster transition into the labor market after graduation. Using a unique database of 10 cohorts of business graduates from Belgium, our results show that students' participation in exchange programs such as Erasmus + significantly decrease the average number of months required to get a job after graduation. Our findings highlight the strategic value of ISM in disciplines like economics and management, where international experience is closely tied to career trajectories. They also underscore the added benefits for French-speaking students navigating multilingual environments, and for regions like Wallonia facing structural employment challenges. These insights support the continued promotion of mobility programs as tools for enhancing graduate employability in a globalized labor market.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-025-00228-y
spellingShingle Laetitia Pozniak
Loredana Cultrera
Guillaume Vermeylen
International student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized world
Discover Global Society
title International student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized world
title_full International student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized world
title_fullStr International student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized world
title_full_unstemmed International student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized world
title_short International student mobility: the key to securing the first job in a globalized world
title_sort international student mobility the key to securing the first job in a globalized world
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-025-00228-y
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