The Bridge INTELLECTUAL RESULT IO 16 (8) | Page 38

3.12
Student Exchanges and their Role in Global Education
Rosalía Sánchez- Spain
“The world is a book, and those who do
not travel only read a page.” – St.
Augustine
The world has started a new phase. Overseas trade, economic activities
of international scope as well as cross-border migration have dramatically
increased in the last decades. In this context, education institutions need to
integrate international and intercultural dimensions in their mission and
functions.
Schools all over Europe strive to keep ongoing student exchanges,
whether fostered by European programmes or created by individuals. Exchange
programmes allow students to practice foreign languages, visit historical
monuments and landmarks, make friends with peers from other countries as well
as experience everything that a different country and culture encompasses:
habits, cuisine, art, manners, ways of thinking, etc. Moreover, all families can
now afford the life-changing experience of a journey abroad which, in the past,
was only available to wealthy elites.
Student mobility started in the very beginning with the first universities.
From the 12 th century, European Christian universities used a common language,
Latin, and shared the same curriculum and standardized tests. This allowed
students to move freely between universities of different countries. For instance,
an individual might start his studies in a local university and finish them in a
foreign one. When he went back to his home country he could spread amongst
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