EUROSTUDENT 8 collects cross‑national data on the social and economic conditions of students in Europe. It covers, among other topics, access to higher education, social background, demographic characteristics, study characteristics, time use and employment, income and expenses, forms of accommodation and international mobility.
The project operates via a decentralised network: national surveys are carried out locally by researchers and administrative staff and are financed from national funds.
In EUROSTUDENT 8 the consortium comprises five partners: DZHW (project coordinator), the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS, Austria), ResearchNed (Netherlands), PRAXIS (Estonia), the Malta Further and Higher Education Agency (MFHEA, Malta) and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Twenty‑five countries of the European Higher Education Area participate in the project, collect national data and provide them to the project: Austria; Azerbaijan; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Latvia; Lithuania; Malta; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland.
Comparability is ensured through common conventions, such as a core questionnaire and handbooks for data collection, processing and analysis; national datasets are combined into a European aggregate. The objectives are to provide an evidence base for cross‑country comparisons, to build national monitoring capacities for the social dimension of higher education and to use international findings to improve higher education policy.
