Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg are currently touring India together in order to attract international students to Gothenburg.
- Many Indian students want to study abroad, but they may not know that you can study in English in Sweden. We can also offer a high standard and a calm and safe study environment, says Cecilia Hillman, who works with international recruitment at Chalmers, to GP.
Tuition fees will be introduced in Sweden in the autumn of 2011. And international students from countries outside of the EEA area will have to pay between 100,000 and 230,000 kronor per academic year.
- It is a new situation for us, we have never before had to market ourselves to the students, says Cecilia Hillman to GP. Competition is tough, but here in India we have an advantage in that we are a technological university, as many of the students here are engineers. And many know of Swedish companies even though they don't know so much about Sweden.
Representatives from several Swedish universities, as well as the Swedish Institute are visiting student fairs in India and the United Arab Emirates. Chalmers will also visit student expos in China.
Next year, Chalmers will intensify its marketing efforts through social media and advertising campaigns. And the university is also collaborating with former students to expand its network. Another plan is to try to extend its collaborations with other universities and with Swedish companies that have operations abroad.
All master programs at Chalmers are in English. 30 percent of all students at Chalmers are from a country outside of Sweden, and most come from non-EEA countries.
Currently, Chalmers has around 1000 international students per year. After the introduction of tuition fees, Chalmers' goal for 2015 is a total of 500 international students per year, with 50 percent from non-EU countries.
A significant drop in international students could have consequences for the university's economy and program offer. It is also important for Chalmers to be able to offer a global environment where the students are prepared for an international labour market.
