The experience of Erasmus Plus students on studying in Poland – implications on higher education institutions internationalisation
Authors:   Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Organization and Management, Synowiec Aleksandra 
Published: February 2025

Purpose: Internalization of higher education is one of the key challenges Polish education faces
since the accession to the EU. Although the volume of international students systematically
increases, Poland still lags behind, even in relation to countries in the region. Analysis of the
experiences of foreign students regarding their stay in Poland can provide valuable answers in
the broader context of factors of success of educational migration in a given country or region.
Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the objectives of this paper, the online survey
method was appointed. The questionnaire was delivered to the Erasmus Plus students realizing
the exchange programs in one of the HEI’s in Poland. The research was conducted in December
2023, 30 correctly completed questionnaires were obtained. The presented study is o pilot
nature.
Findings: The results indicate that people visiting Poland within the framework of Erasmus
Plus Programme generally positively evaluate their mobility experience. Students from non-
European countries are more lenient in their assessment. Respondents point to certain
administrative problems, e.g. the need to fully translate the university's system applications into
English or the cancellation of courses due to a lack of participants. According to the
respondents, Poland has great potential and is interesting due to the low cost of living compared
to other European countries, although establishing relationships with Poles is not easy in the
opinion of the survey participants.
Research limitations/implications: The presented study is based on a survey completed by
30 people, however there is a balance between student from EU countries and non-European
countries. No general conclusion can be drawn hence the research sample is small.
Nevertheless, conducted research may contribute to develop hypothesis for more in-depth
analysis devoted to the growing role of internationalization in higher education and the growing
number of foreign students in Poland.
Practical implications: Referring to the educational, institutional and socio-cultural contexts
of the experience of Erasmus Plus students in Poland the paper outlines the implications on the
internationalization of higher education, but also invites for the wider discussion about
considering Poland as a target country for a long-term migration.
Social implications: The study contributes to understanding institutional and social factors
influencing positive experiences of foreigners studying in Poland.
Originality/value: International mobility is one of the important factors for young people in
career planning nowadays. Accordingly, the number of students deciding to demonstrate their ability to work in multicultural environments increases. Due to the growing scale of
globalization of education and business it is important to bring the light on the
internationalization of higher education in countries that only lately started the path to
internationalization as well as analyze the issues related to the adaptation of newcomers in the
host countries.
Keywords: internationalization of higher education institutions, international mobility, cultural
differences.
Category of the paper: research paper.