International students between two labour markets: professional identity, work conditions and career planning
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Abstract
Market-orientation of universities and implementation of the concept of work-integrated learning have led to increased participation of the meso-level economic actors in the functioning of higher education. Companies, small and mid-size enterprises become partners of scientific-research organisations, primarily in implementing work practice for students, and also in securing specific additional jobs and long-term professional engagements after the studies. For international students, such circumstances in a great number of cases lead to contacts with actors coming from more than one labour market. Such a situation may result in acquiring specific dual work experience for these students, and accordingly, spark comparison and consideration of the conditions for and position of their own profession in different work environments. The topic of this paper are these very work experiences by international students abroad and effects of such experiences on their professional identity, perception of work conditions and planning of their career after finishing their studies. The presented findings have been based on the integrated quantitative and qualitative results acquired by means of focus group interviews, surveys and in-depth qualitative interviews with foreign students in Serbia, Serbian students studying abroad and student returnees from both these categories.
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