At home in Europe: Accommodate international students!

At home in Europe:

Accommodate international students!

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

Introduction

The development of the housing situation for mobile students in Europe is alarming. Due to the widely

acknowledged positive impacts that student mobility has on the higher education sector and society at

large, Europe has seen a rapid increase of student mobility in the past years. The European Union has set

the target of having 20% of all higher education graduates take part in a mobility experience by 2020.

Unfortunately, the infrastructure required to further increase student mobility is often not sufficient.

Already today (2017), finding accommodation has become a major obstacle to student mobility and is a real

challenge for those that decide to study or do a traineeship abroad during their studies.

The HousErasmus+ project aims to map the current housing situation in Europe and offer a platform for

exchanging experience and good practices between stakeholders. With this goal in mind, the Erasmus

Student Network (ESN), the European University Foundation (EUF), the Compostela Group of Universities

(CGU) and the Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) have conducted a wide range

of research activities to create a comprehensive overview of how students, student organisations, higher

education institutions, housing providers and policymakers perceive the situation. The results of this exercise,

which include different surveys, study visits and regional conferences, can be found in the full report:

At home in Europe: Accommodating mobile students.

Co-funded by the

Erasmus+ Programme

of the European Union

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

We have consolidated the research ndings into the 9 most pressing issues to be addressed:

• Lack of awareness amongst stakeholders

There is a clear mismatch of how mobile students perceive the challenges posed by accommodaon and the awareness amongst Higher Educaon Instuons (HEIs), policymakers

and housing providers.

• Need for more cooperaon

All stakeholders involved (HEIs, student organisaons, housing providers, policymakers etc.) expressed the need for more cooperaon to get a beer understanding of the challenges

and to work on a more systemac approach to solving those challenges.

• Lack of quality informaon

Students struggle to nd the necessary informaon on nding accommodaon, leading to problems in nding accommodaon. In many cases, students go abroad without having

permanent accommodaon arranged.

• Quality assurance, discriminaon & fraud

Many students report discriminaon and aempted fraud. Lile is being done in terms of quality assurance for accommodaon and the informaon provided to students.

• Financial burden

The addional nancial burden of taking part in a mobility programme is sll the number one obstacle to student mobility and the costs of accommodaon make up a majority

of these addional costs.

• Insucient student housing

There is a general lack of student housing in many cies. Necessary investments in the student housing market are lacking and mobile students who have to compete with the local

student populaon are at a disadvantage.

• Short-term accommodaon

Short-term mobility oen leads to issues with contractual arrangements for accommodaon, as short-term renng is less aracve (or legally challenging) for housing providers.

• Language barrier and cultural dierences

Dierences in the way of living and lack of cultural awareness, as well as the language barrier amplify other challenges.

• Trainees are facing most challenges

The fact that students that go abroad for a traineeship do not have a receiving Higher Education Institution makes them a particularly vulnerable target group.

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

Based on the research conclusions, you will nd a list of good pracces that dierent stakeholders

developed to tackle these challenges. Addionally, we derived challenge-specic recommendaons for

each of the stakeholders.

As the research shows, the housing situaon for (mobile) students in Europe is highly diverse. We have,

therefore, tried to formulate some general recommendaons that can be applied by as many actors as

possible. We complemented these with very precise and specic recommendaons that make suggesons

for concrete steps to be taken to improve the situaon. In many cases the implementaon of a sub-set of

recommendaons might already lead to the desired results. We hope that by dividing the recommendaons

according to idened problem areas, all stakeholders will nd appropriate soluons for the problem areas

they have idened themselves. As is evident, the lack of general awareness of the challenges, as well as the

lack of cooperaon are amongst the rst issues to be tackled. Stakeholders obviously need to work together

to remedy a somemes dicult situaon and the recommendaons given should be seen as a starng point

for a discussion that needs to take place in every city that wants to welcome mobile students and trainees.

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

Index of problems faced

2. Stakeholders indicate a lack of support and cooperation from other relevant actors involved

3. There is a lack of information available to mobile students regarding accommodation options

4. Quality assurance for student accommodation is often missing.

Cases of discrimination and attempts of fraud are frequently reported by students

1. Mobile student accommodation issues are not high in the priority agenda

5. A need for more student housing due to growing numbers of mobile students

6. Financial burden of the exchange period

7. It is difcult to nd accommodation for shorter periods of time than a full year

8. Trainees suffer most under challenges experienced with accommodation provision

9. Language barrier and cultural differences are an obstacle in the process of acquiring housing

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

1. Problem faced: Mobile student accommodation issues

are not high in the priority agenda

Almost 90% of HEIs state that internaonalisaon is a high priority but only half of them think that the lack of adequate and aordable accommodaon is an obstacle to

internaonalisaon. Eurostudent V research shows that nances are the main obstacle to mobility and that accommodaon is the key expense students have when going abroad.

When looking at why students decide not to go abroad, nancial insecuries are the main barrier, which means that the lack of aordable and adequate housing is a real obstacle to

internaonalisaon and makes student mobility socially selecve.

Good practices

• Many HEIs reserve a certain number of beds/rooms in student dormitories for mobile students to ensure

sufficient access to student accommodation.

• Some HEIs like the University of Aarhus cover the costs for the period when the student dormitories stay

empty throughout summer months, ensuring housing providers do not lose rent due to short-term stays of

mobile students.

• In Aarhus, Denmark, one fourth of all student accommodation built is subsidised by the municipality,

which provides 10% of the building costs.

• The German student service organisation Deutsche Studentenwerke (DSW) has extensive cooperation with

e.g. Poland to be able to foresee and address the needs of a substantial number of Polish students in Germany.

Poland does not have a nation-wide student service provider like DSW, therefore cooperation is carried out

with HEIs or via the Polish Rectors Conference, etc.

Recommendations

It is necessary to raise awareness about the added value of mobility

programmes and obstacles to this experience. Mobility programmes

aim to deepen the understanding of Europe and can lead to beer

intercultural dialogue, language learning and promote crucial academic

and non-academic skills and competences necessary for the future

labour market. The mismatch of perceived obstacles and the awareness

of the real obstrucons/hurdles to mobility need to be addressed.

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• Policy should support HEIs in mapping the current housing situation for (mobile) students.

• In case students are facing housing issues, the relevant policymaker should take on the responsibility to devise policy measures that reme-

dy the identified challenges. In cooperation with HEIs, these challenges can be identified more accurately and solutions should be discussed

jointly with the support of student organisations and housing providers,

• Accommodation needs to be recognised as one of the main obstacles to mobility. This should reflect in a clearer articulation of the issue

in all European communication (e.g. Include information about affordable and satisfactory student accommodation as a structural necessity

in the next communication on the modernisation of higher education in the EU)

• Draw up more precise guidelines on accommodation for students linked to the Erasmus+ programme (e.g. include a more detailed

description of the issue in the Erasmus Charter on Higher Education (ECHE) and all related guidelines/actions)

• Communicate the issue to National Agencies (NA) and include the discussion on accommodation for mobile students in the working

groups of National Agencies (e.g. working group on ECHE and regular National Agency meetings organised by DG EAC).

• Student organisations need to articulate the needs of students and be at the forefront of creating awareness about accommodation as a

major obstacle to mobility by advocating those needs to both HEIs and policymakers.

• HEIs need to recognise that access to affordable and satisfactory accommodation is an integral part of a successful internationalisation

strategy, as it directly impacts the mobility experience of students at their institute.

• HEIs should take stock of the housing situation for mobile students so they can provide sufficient support and adapt their strategic

development (e.g. internationalisation strategy) accordingly.

• In case such mapping exercises result in major discrepancies between the needs and the available housing for mobile students, HEIs

should take the responsibility to create awareness amongst policymakers and advocate more support from the responsible municipality/

ministry.

• Public or semi-public housing providers should support HEIs in their efforts to advocate more support from the responsible municipality/

ministry.

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

and Erasmus+

framework

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

2. Problem faced: Stakeholders indicate a lack of support

and cooperation from other relevant actors involved

In the HousErasmus+ research, each stakeholder reported that they see a chance for other actors to contribute to improving the situaon for mobile students. For example, student

organisaons would expect more involvement from HEIs, while HEIs would wish for more support from policymakers, etc.

• The municipality of Aarhus, Denmark, organises regular meengs (1-2 mes per year) where all involved

stakeholders (representaves of local HEIs, students, student accommodaon providers, student organisa-

ons) are present and discuss the housing situaon. This is the basis for decisions taken on subsidies

provided by the municipality, decisions on how much new student housing needs to be built and also feeds

into the strategic decision-making processes of HEIs and student organisaons.

• In Manchester, England, a common student accommodaon quality label has been developed and

monitored in cooperaon with the municipality and HEIs.

• In countries like Germany and France, naon-wide public or semi-public student service organisaons

have been established to handle student accommodaon with the support of public funds. The Deutsche

Studentenwerke - DSW (Germany) and the Centre national des œuvres universitaires et scolaires - CNOUS

(France) act as umbrella organisaons that organise regular peer-learning and capacity building acvies

amongst their members. Furthermore, they have been cooperang with each other for over 60 years

to exchange ideas and exchange good pracces across naonal borders, contribung further to nding

soluons to the accommodaon issue for mobile students.

• In Zagreb, members of the Erasmus Student Network are doing their traineeship at the university’s

international relation office with the objective of supporting mobile students with accommodation issues

There needs to be more synergies between all relevant stakeholders

to be able to address the challenges in a more systemac and eecve

way. It does not mean shiing responsibility to someone else but coming

together and agreeing on common goals and ways to reach them.

Good practices Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• Policymakers at a national and local level need to map whether there are specific regulations that hinder cooperation between different

stakeholders in the field of student accommodation, e.g. can HEIs cooperate with private housing providers? If such obstacles that

negatively influence the provision of mobile student accommodation are identified, common solutions or alternative strategies in

collaboration with other stakeholders should be aimed at.

• The Erasmus+ framework should provide a platform to bring together key actors like NAs, Ministries, HEIs and student bodies to discuss

accommodation issues for mobile students.

• Creating a working group that would address post-2020 Erasmus+ scenarios could be a first step.

• When addressing internationalisation topics, National Erasmus+ Agencies should make the topic of student housing provision a central

element of their communication and work with HEIs.

• Student organisations should involve themselves in the development of their HEI’s internationalisation strategy.

• Student organisations working on housing issues should showcase their work and the complementarity that a peer-to-peer approach

can have to the services provided by HEIs. This will ultimately lead to more recognition of the organisation’s work by the HEI and therefore

prepare the ground for more structured relations with the international relation office of their HEI.

• Student organisations not working on housing issues should discuss how they can best support their HEI with these matters.

• HEIs are in the best position to bring together a wider range of local cooperation partners such as student organisations, housing

providers and policymakers, as they are central to ensuring equal access to quality education and mobility opportunities.

• HEIs should be open to collaborating closer with both private and public housing providers but need to ensure that information shared

with students by those 3rd party providers is of sufficient quality and affordability of the student housing is safeguarded.

• HEIs should work closely together with student organisations to ensure efficient complementarity of services offered, reaping the

benefits offered through the peer-to-peer approach of student organisations. Having regular meetings and involving them in strategic

development gives a sense of ownership and shows recognition of volunteer work.

• When possible, HEIs should consider creating traineeship positions or student jobs to work on housing issues in the period where the

issue is most pressing (usually just before and at the beginning of the semester, when most students arrive).

• Public or semi-public housing providers, such as student service providers, should organise themselves in umbrella organisations to share

practices and learn from each other’s experiences. Just as the DSW and CNOUS, they should also strive to collaborate with similar organisa-

tions or relevant partners in other countries.

• Private housing providers that work independently of HEIs should strive for closer collaboration and a better understanding of students’

needs. Student accommodation is a new emerging market that offers many business opportunities if those needs are addressed.

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

and Erasmus+

framework

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

3. Problem faced: There is a lack of information available

to mobile students regarding accommodation options

According to our research, almost half of the Erasmus+ students (45%) and 56% of trainees using the Erasmus+ programme framework claim it was dicult to nd accommodaon.

Around 2/3 of all Erasmus+ students have to nd accommodaon by themselves. 1 out of 3 students needs to move at least once during their mobility period. An alarming 1 out of

4 students goes abroad without having permanent accommodaon arranged.

• Buddy systems, where mobile students are paired with local students, can be a good way to receive

support from a peer before arriving in the host country.

• Erasmus fairs, where (potenal) outgoing students can meet with current mobile students at their home

instuon, can be very ecient ways to create a space where students can exchange experiences and ask

quesons.

• HEIs collecng student reports and making them available to (potenal) mobile students can help

acquiring a beer understanding of the accommodaon situaon at other HEIs. Combined with previously

menoned pracces, they can be an eecve way to turn past experience into concrete individual support

for (potenal) mobile students.

• Lists of local landlords (oen provided by student organisaons) is a very ecient way of nding accommodaon.

• Welcome kits sent to students before their arrival and explaining the local housing market in detail.

The Erasmus+ App provides top tips to students with a category on accommodation, allowing peer-to-peer

support for students.

There is a need for more systemic ways to provide exchange students

with useful and reliable informaon that helps them prepare for their

mobility. Erasmus+ App has already been launched and more digital

innovaons are underway. Therefore, now is the me to prototype

innovave soluons that help inform students so that they can factor

in accommodaon availability as early as possible in the decision making

process.

Good practices Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• Initiatives such as “Study in XYZ” (often organised by national agencies responsible for higher education) should include information on

the general culture and way of life and possibly link this to reliable and up-to-date information on accommodation for students.

• The initiative Study in Europe, which aims at attracting talent from outside Europe, should include information the general culture and way

of life and potentially connect to the nation-wide provision of information on accommodation.

• If capacity allows, student organisations should support HEIs in providing lists of e.g. local private landlords and facilitate communication

between mobile students and landlords. Quality assurance mechanisms should be included in this approach.

• Student organisations should (possibly in cooperation with HEIs) survey mobile students about their experiences and provide useful

information to future mobile students.

• Our research shows that HEIs are the most relied on and most efficient channel for finding accommodation. They should therefore take

full responsibility for ensuring access to up-to-date and reliable information on affordable and suitable housing opportunities. When

outsourcing information provision, the HEI should still monitor the quality of the information provided.

• Information about the general housing market, as well as about specific offers on affordable and satisfactory housing should be offered as

early as possible, so that students can use the information in their decision-making process and plan their mobility period well in advance.

• Sending HEIs should share responsibility by providing the necessary information e.g. by sharing previous students’ experience with

(potential) mobile students, by providing general information on living in different countries/cultures and by monitoring the quality of their

cooperation with other HEIs and potentially intervening when repeated issues with provision of accommodation occur with one of their

partner HEIs.

• HEIs should provide a support infrastructure to Erasmus+ trainees, e.g. by centralising information on accommodation in initiatives such

as “Study in city XYZ”. Trainees are a particularly vulnerable target group, as they do not have a receiving Higher Education Institution and

therefore often lack the necessary information.

• Student service organisations should identify the specific needs of mobile students and adapt the information provided about accommoda-

tion offers accordingly (e.g. information about areas in the city, way of life, etc.).

• Private accommodation providers should seek closer collaboration with Higher Education Institutions and ascertain that the information

shared about accommodation is of a sufficient quality.

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

and Erasmus+

framework

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

4. Problem faced: Quality assurance for student accommodation

is often missing. Cases of discrimination and attempts of fraud

are frequently reported by students

According to our research, the success rates in nding accommodaon by using key informaon sources other than HEIs’ accommodaon services are relavely low: using social

media and general housing websites oen seems to be disappoinng, as they lead signicantly less oen to actually nding accommodaon, even though they are widely used. In

addion, almost one h of all Erasmus+ programme students and trainees report that they experienced some sort of discriminaon while trying to nd accommodaon and around

12% of the mobile students and 18% of mobile trainees have experienced aempted fraud.

• Some HEIs carry out surveys as oen as every semester to make sure the accommodaon search and

services provided live up to standards.

• The use of 3rd party online plaorms that provide quality assurance mechanisms (such as visits to apartments)

substanally lower the risk of fraud and ensure that students get a full picture of the accommodaon they are

booking without having to visit it themselves. However, when oered by private providers, such services usually

come at a cost for the student.

• The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has created a handbook for practitioners managing

accommodation for international students. It was compiled in cooperation with HEIs and student unions and

covers a wide variety of topics, namely, things that should be taken into consideration before departure, how

to welcome mobile students, what their needs are, support mechanisms available for students and especially

for those from disadvantaged groups etc.

The European landscape of student accommodaon needs to change

in order to take into account new quality assurance mechanisms, such

as student reviews, and create accessible and high-quality informaon

on accommodaon. Furthermore, mobile students having to arrange

their accommodaon online rather than during site-visits makes

them particularly prone to attempted fraud. Creating awareness

of the possibility of such aempts and providing reliable informaon

sources are necessary to avoid such issues.

Good practices Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• Map potential discrimination cases and invest in awareness creation and prevention.

• Have detailed regulations against discrimination, as well as clear protection mechanisms for tenants and landlords, as the lack of such

infrastructure does not encourage renting.

• Create awareness about the benefits of attracting international talent and the benefits they bring to local society.

• Establish mechanisms that allow mobile students to report attempted fraud and take responsibility to take legal action or support

students in doing so in cases where fraud is experienced.

• Tax vacant locations/accommodation as an incentive to use space.

• Existing European-wide tools such as the Erasmus+ App could be used as a platform to streamline the provision of information on accommoda-

tion, create peer review systems and offer general information on the legal and cultural differences concerning accommodation in each country.

• Discussions should be organised among stakeholders in order to negotiate certain quality assurance benchmarks together.

• The Erasmus+ programme offers Organisational Support (OS) to Higher Education Institutions to manage the framework in which student

mobility can take place. The provision of OS funding should be linked to the provision of quality information and support with student

accommodation, e.g. by including elements regarding the provision of accommodation in the respective chapter on organisational support in the

Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

• National agencies should be encouraged to monitor the implementation of mobility processes by Higher Education Institutions. By committing

to provide quality mobility as outlined in the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE), HEIs bear the responsibility and should be held

accountable. Accommodation should be the focus of the monitoring process by national agencies as established with the introduction of Erasmus+.

• Student organisations can support mobile students before their arrival by visiting apartments.

• Student organisations should take on the co-responsibility to inform students of potential fraud, legal infrastructure, cultural differences,

specificities of searching for accommodation, etc.

• Providing buddies with training on the aforementioned issues could further improve the peer-to-peer services offered by student organisations.

• Securing up-to-date, detailed and reliable provision of information is of the utmost importance for HEIs as this is the channel of information

students rely on the most.

• In cases where HEIs outsource the provision of accommodation, regular monitoring of the information provided is necessary.

• Assistance with legal issues for the particularly vulnerable group of mobile students, as well as support in cases of attempted fraud and

discrimination should be part of every HEI’s services.

• Only 17% of all surveyed housing providers offer student reviews. Especially for 3rd party providers establishing a reliable feedback

mechanism can allow mobile students to make better informed decisions.

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

EU and Erasmus+

framework

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

5. Problem faced: A need for more student housing due

to growing numbers of mobile students

Benchmarks for ET2020 foresee a general growth in the student populaon, as well as an increase in the mobile student body. The establishment of degree programmes in com-

monly spoken languages increases the number of mobile students within the European Higher Educaon Area, as well as the number of students coming to Europe from non-EHEA

countries. This will create addional pressure on the oen overburdened accommodaon market for students.

• In some countries, the municipality oers subsidies for building new student accommodaon (e.g. Aarhus,

Denmark) to cope with the increasing number of (mobile) students.

• HEIs and student organisaons are nding addional student accommodaon by providing innovave

soluons such as living with elderly in exchange for free or highly reduced accommodaon costs (e.g.

CONVIVE programme in Spain).

• Provision of temporary accommodaon at the beginning of the semester (e.g. living in containers in

Stavanger).

• Incenves for Erasmus+ students to choose less popular desnaons, as otherwise the big ows to popular

desnaons puts an addional strain on the housing market for students (e.g. in Denmark students are

encouraged to choose places other than Copenhagen or Aarhus).

• In Bergen, rooms that were tradionally designed for single occupaon were split into a room where two

students can be accommodated. The resulng decrease in price was received very well by students and it

created much needed addional beds (inially 60 beds, now 120).

• In Brussels, Belgium, an old military district that is no longer in use is being transformed into student

accommodaon.

Financial support mechanisms targeng the provision of student

accommodaon is a necessary investment for a beer HE landscape

and helps to avoid social selecvity in access to educaon and mobility.

In many cies private investment would nd new business opportuni-

es if the housing market for mobile students were understood and

cooperaon between stakeholders worked more eciently.

Good practices Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• Public investment in the creation of public or semi-public student service organisations, such as in the cases of France (CNOUS) and

Germany (DSW) can lead to good results.

• Subsidies and tax incentives for investments to create accommodation for students should be considered as an option to support the

internationalisation efforts of HEIs and to reap the full benefit of the acknowledged advantages the local community gains from hosting

mobile students and trainees.

• If agreements are made with the private sector to increase the provision of student housing, the affordability of student accommodation

should be safeguarded.

• Consider measures to balance mobility follows and encourage mobility to less popular destinations. This could help to overcome the

already overburdened housing markets in some of the most popular host cities.

• Extend European funding opportunities and priorities, so that housing issues can be tackled (e.g. include priority on student housing in

Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership and European Structural Funds) and communicate the possibility to the Higher Education sector.

• As in the example of Helsinki, student organisations can partner up to create non-profit foundations managing accommodation themselves

to provide tailor-made services and quality as well as affordable accommodation to students.

• HEIs should look for European funding opportunities (e.g. Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnerships) to test innovative solutions to tackling

the housing issue.

• HEIs should cooperate with the municipality to find unused public spaces that could be transformed into student accommodation. This

can also be done in collaboration with other stakeholders.

• Student accommodation is potentially a profitable market and should therefore be considered as a possible market for investment. It is

countercyclical, meaning that during economically difficult times the best strategic decision for young people during the crisis most often

is to (continue to) study.

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

and Erasmus+

framework

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

6. Problem faced: Financial burden of the exchange period

Exchange studies are socially selecve as highlighted by dierent research projects. Uncertainty about the addional nancial burden when going abroad as well as the potenal

loss of a job at home are the main obstacles menoned by those who have completed their credit mobility period or are just planning it, according to the Eurostudent V research. It

also shows that students spend a high percentage of their disposable income on accommodaon. In addion, 40% of the mobile students in our sample state that they faced higher

accommodaon costs than expected and most need to turn to family assistance or use personal funds to cover the extra costs.

• Spends oered to students, such as the Caisse des Allocations Familiales (CAF) in France, can help students

cover their accommodaon costs.

• The EU co-funded #europehome and #empl-oi projects have piloted iniaves where studies and

traineeships abroad can be combined and thus allow students to have an addional income during their

mobility period.

• Specically created scholarships for internaonal/foreign students, such as the Stipendium Hungaricum

in Hungary have been created to aract internaonal talent. Many countries have created such iniaves,

oen also focussing on specic academic disciplines.

• Portability of naonal public student support in the form of grants or loans. Unfortunately, it is not a com-

mon pracce in all European countries to enable mobile students to take their usual support mechanisms

with them while abroad, although some already have regulated this support infrastructure in a way that

encourages the mobility experience.

• Top-ups to the Erasmus+ grant from naonal sources. In line with the Erasmus+ Programme Guide mobile

students, in addion to the Erasmus+ grant, can also receive “regional, naonal or any other type of grant,

managed by another organisaon than the naonal agency (e.g. ministry or regional authories)” and it is

also a pracce widespread across countries, although it is hard to map this diverse addional support in

order to get a clearer overview of the status quo of nancial support available as well as idenfying whether

there are any systemic problems.

To solve the obstacle to mobility related to insucient funding availa-

ble to students to cover accommodaon costs, a mind-shi in terms of

public investment into student mobility is necessary.

Good practices Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• National policymakers should ensure the portability of national student support grants and loans for students.

• Providing public funding and subsidising student accommodation should be combined with rent caps. Such housing could be reserved for

students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

• The current calculation of Erasmus+ grants based on living costs does not take into account the real costs of students (e.g. same grant

allocation for students studying in Portugal and Luxembourg). We suggest that Erasmus+ grants are calculated based on regional costs

rather than national costs. Existing statistics e.g. from Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques (NUTS) could be used to make such

calculations.

• Include support for finding satisfactory accommodation as one of the main aspects for the Erasmus+ Organisational Support in the Erasmus+

programme guide and all related documents.

• Potentially increase Erasmus+ organisational support if a certain share is earmarked to deal with accommodation.

• Implement a scheme in the Erasmus+ programme that allows students to combine academic studies with traineeships abroad, thus

allowing for additional income.

• Provide student support e.g. through student guides (publications sent to incoming students before the beginning of the semester) that

offer recommendations for students on how to save funding on services other than accommodation (e.g. discounts on food, transport, etc.).

• Support students in finding additional sources of income (e.g. student jobs).

• Sending institutions should see themselves as responsible for providing precise information about the portability of local/regional/

national grants.

• The use of the Operational Support (OS) received from the Erasmus+ programme to organise mobility should be used to guarantee

access to satisfactory and affordable housing for all Erasmus+ students. Decisions on the exact use of this funding should be based on

a mapping the current housing situation of mobile students.

• Adapt curricula to allow students to combine studies and a paid traineeship. This would allow students who would otherwise not go

on mobility because of losing their student job at home to take part in a mobility experience.

• The private housing market could provide low-cost student accommodation as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to

improve the accessibility to mobility for students from a lower socio-economic background.

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

and Erasmus+

framework

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

2. Problem faced: Stakeholders indicate a lack of support and cooperation from other relevant actors involved

7. Problem faced: It is difficult to find accommodation for

shorter periods of time than a full year

Rental periods of less than a full year are not common pracce and thus can prove a real obstacle for mobile students. A majority of Erasmus+ students go abroad for one semester

(usually 5-6 months) and among trainees a substanal share go abroad just for 3 months. A majority of students goes abroad during the rst semester of the academic year, which

leads to bigger demand for accommodaon by mobile students in this period.

• Some HEIs like the University of Aarhus cover the costs for accommodaon for the whole year and

therefore also for the months where the accommodaon is not occupied. This allows students to rent it for

shorter periods of me.

• Student organisations owning and managing student accommodation (such as in Helsinki) are prime

examples of how accommodation is adapted to students’ needs and can take into consideration the

particular profile of mobile students.

Changes in both legal frameworks, as well as the organisaon of mobility are necessary to resolve the issue.

Good practices

Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• Revise sub-letting regulations for student accommodation to allow a more flexible sub-letting environment.

• Create tax-incentives for renting to (mobile) students.

• Offer additional incentives for students wanting to study for 2 semesters. The benefits of having longer term mobility experience are

widely acknowledged.

• No recommendations to be given.

• HEIs need to be more flexible in the design of curricula to enable mobility experience. The introduction and broadening of mobility

windows would allow students to study for a full year abroad. This has widely acknowledged benefits and therefore should be encouraged.

• Renting student accommodation for the whole year and making it available to mobile students is a good option to avoid short-term

contracts. To avoid additional costs during summer months, the organisation of summer schools or summer language courses should be

encouraged and could lead to almost full occupation throughout the whole year.

• Encourage Erasmus+ traineeships in summer months, where accommodation is usually more affordable and available.

• Maintain the student status of graduates going on an Erasmus+ traineeship.

• Create partnerships with HEIs to guarantee long-term rents despite the fact that mobile students stay only for a short period of time.

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

and Erasmus+

framework

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

8. Problem faced: Trainees suffer most under challenges

experienced with accommodation provision

According to our survey, half of trainees state that costs were higher than expected (in comparison 39% for mobile students studying abroad). Furthermore, 64% of trainees state that

it was hard to nance their stay abroad (49% for mobile students studying abroad). Trainees generally report more challenges when looking for aordable and sasfactory housing,

despite the fact that according to the current Erasmus+ Programme Guide they can receive higher grants. This highlights the important role that receiving HEIs play in welcoming

students that include a mobility period for their studies. Such support is usually not available to students going abroad on a traineeship.

• Companies/Organisaons providing accommodaon for incoming trainees or providing quality informaon

(e.g. peer reviews and contacts of previous trainees).

Trainees do deserve special aenon and more support in overcoming the challenges they are faced with

in their search for accommodaon. Young people going on European Voluntary Service (EVS) have their

accommodaon guaranteed. A compromise soluon should be looked into at a European policy level.

Companies should be encouraged to provide similar support to trainees as Higher Educaon Instuons.

Good practices

Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• Additional support mechanisms for students that chose to do a traineeship abroad should be considered, taking into account the great

added value it can bring to the local community and labour market.

• We recommend closer cooperation between DG EAC and DG EMPL to improve traineeship status and support Erasmus+ trainees with

additional resources. Additionally, discussions should be held on how to create a framework for finding accommodation abroad for trainees,

possibly building on the existing infrastructure.

• HEIs need to look for ways to share the infrastructure available to students with trainees as well. That could mean providing a platform

with the relevant information online and possibly collaboration between stakeholders to create awareness of such platform.

• Students should be given more flexibility to give them the chance to do study and traineeship periods abroad simultaneously.

• The sending institution should collect experience reports of previous students and trainees going to the relevant country/city and

make them available to outgoing trainees.

• No recommendations to be given.

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

and Erasmus+

framework

• Look for solutions on how to contact and provide services to trainees coming to the city where the student organisation is located.

Student

Organisations

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

At home in Europe: Accomodate international students!

9. Problem faced: Language barrier and cultural differences

are an obstacle in the process of acquiring housing

The language barrier for mobile students is menoned as one of the key problems, next to the lack of informaon and nancial constraints. Also, intercultural (mis)communicaon is

highlighted as a challenge to interacon with accommodaon providers as well as peers regarding student accommodaon.

• Some public housing providers (such as Deutsche Studentenwerke) have specially assigned persons in

dormitories to facilitate intercultural dialogue, to be there for counselling and to support students with their

everyday challenges while abroad.

• In Italy, one housing provider oers language courses as part of their student accommodaon oer.

• During the regional conference in Paris, a parcipant reported of mobile students giving language course

to families and in return, the families hosng them during their stay.

Language learning as well as intercultural communicaon are key to a successful mobility experience,

therefore both sending and receiving instuons should oer support and guidance with these aspects.

To successfully overcome housing issues, it is crucial to provide such services suciently in advance of the

mobility period.

Good practices

Recommendations

Recommendation & Good Practice Booklet

• The language learning process needs to start before the mobility period and also the fostering of intercultural skills. The Erasmus+ framework

should encourage learning languages and taking part in intercultural skills courses and encourage these as early as possible.

• (Co-)organise intercultural training for outgoing students and facilitate cultural exchanges between potential local mobile students and current

mobile students at the HEI.

• Encourage local students planning to go abroad to take part in language cafés/language tandem learning organised by the student organisations.

• (Co-)organise intercultural training for outgoing students and facilitate cultural exchanges between potential local mobile students and

current mobile students at the HEI. (Not to forget the importance of such activities on return.)

• Provide information in widely spoken language and adapt information according to the needs of mobile students (e.g. they might need

additional information as they are not familiar with the local culture and customs).

• Provide information in widely spoken language and adapt information according to the needs of mobile students (e.g. they might need

additional information as they are not familiar with the local culture and customs).

Student

Organisations

Higher Education

Institutions

Housing

Providers

and Erasmus+

framework

• Provide templates for contracts in different languages and make documentation in widely spoken languages acceptable for legal documents.

Local/regional/

national

policymakers

This booklet is based on the full research report:

At home in Europe: Accommodate international students!

Find out more at houserasmus.eu

This Recommendaon & Good Pracce Booklet has been developed in the framework of the

EU co-funded HousErasmus+ project. The recommendaons and good pracces you will nd in

this booklet are aimed at following stakeholders concerned with European accommodaon for

internaonal students:

• Student Organisaons

• Higher Educaon Instuons

• Housing Providers

• Local/regional/naonal policymakers

• EU and Erasmus+ framework