The European Universities Initiative and international student mobility: policy and student perspectives on an increasingly complex and uneven terrain

A key objective of the European Commission’s flagship European Universities Initiative (EUI) is the enhancement of international student mobility through the formation of transnational alliances between universities within Europe. Since its establishment, universities participating in EUI alliances have increased and broadened the scope of student mobility opportunities, transforming the existing mobility landscape and stretching the concept of mobility to cover a wide array of practices from virtual short courses to full degrees. Yet, the qualitative range of experiences, how they are taken up by students within EUI alliances, and their impact on students’ futures is not well understood. This study examines the emerging mobility landscape presented in students’ own accounts, asking how selective participation in intra-alliance mobility opportunities informs an increasingly stratified landscape for student mobility in Europe. Its findings align with a growing body of scholarship which finds both qualitative and quantitative differences in mobility participation by socioeconomic backgrounds, calling for policies sensitive to equitable access to quality mobility opportunities for all.