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Partnering up in Spain - Eduespaña puts students and institutions in touch
Thinking of studying, living or working in Spain? Chances are you’ve come across Eduespaña – if not, you soon will. Eduespaña is the organization dedicated to making student life as easy and enjoyable as possible. Ann Graham talks to Eduespaña’s deputy director Pedro Carreras.
Eduespaña as an organization was founded in 1996 with the purpose of promoting Spanish education at an international level. Its members are tertiary education institutions and other types of Spanish educational institutions, all of which collaborate closely with the Instituto Español de Comercio exterior (the Spanish government institution designed to promote Spanish products, services and companies overseas).
Boosting internationalization
“It was born because of the need to build a platform to help and encourage Spanish companies and institutions in their internationalization process,” explains Pedro Carreras, deputy director of Eduespaña. “At the beginning, the principal aim was to boost the internationalization through positive aspects of teaching the Spanish language to international students. Once that was achieved, Eduespaña started on the internationalization of the Spanish education services.”
"Our services focus on providing information about education in Spain, and promoting the variety of education on offer within the country"
Eduespaña’s key role is to put Spanish institutions in direct contact with students. “We do this through our participation in activities and events related to the international recruitment of students,” Carreras says. “We don’t offer direct services to students, but we are thinking about the possibility of starting to do so by way of scholarships. At the moment, our services focus on providing information about education in Spain, and promoting the variety of education on offer.”
As of 31 March 2008 there were 40,000 international students in Spain studying programs longer than three months. Carreras says that Spain is gradually starting to recruit international students. “With no doubt, this will continue to be one of the topics on the agenda for the 21st century,” he says.
Language and work opportunities
The majority of international students studying in Spain come from the USA, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Peru. For those considering postgrad study in Spain there are a few universities that offer Masters programs in English and more will be on offer soon. “There are more and more universities offering their programs in English,” Carreras says. “The international students can not only get a Masters program taught in English plus the knowledge of a foreign language, all for the price of a Masters.”
Another attraction for international students studying abroad is the opportunity to work in the country. However, unlike the UK, Spain does not have a Highly Skilled Migrant Visa program and the student visa is very different to that of the working visa, making it complicated, legally, for students outside the EU to acquire the desired working visa.
Carreras and Eduespaña are aware of the value international students bring to Spain and the country’s postgrad education sector. “In a globalized world it is a must to be able to understand a global society,” Carreras says. “International students can get this understanding from experiencing a new culture and a different way of life as well as getting in touch with Spanish society.”
“Without a doubt, when an international student returns to his or her country of origin after being overseas they are a totally different person and the society who received him or her has also been transformed.”
