FINDINGS
When choosing a destination for their short-term educational mobility programmes (STEMPs), students reported a strong preference for the West over the Asian region.
Moreover, students preferred visiting countries or institutions that are perceived to be "better" than their home institution. Given that Singaporean universities are already highly ranked in Asia and globally, these students felt little incentive to venture to regional universities that have lower or similar rankings.
In short, Singaporean students demonstrated a desire for upward mobility in choosing their STEMP destination.
UPWARDS MOBILITY
FULL QUOTES
I think European countries might be more developed and advanced…I would feel that Singapore is…one of the higher up Asian countries in terms of education and stuff like that. So I would feel that, if I want to learn something, I might as well go to a European country [or] America…
--Audrey, NUS, Year 4, BSci.
…like it or not, when it comes for a stranger, you have to look at rankings, right? You can't go through the prospectus and all of that, and they don't do very well on rankings at all. So, I think for me, that's the main concern.
--Arthur, NTU, Year 3, BA.
…for Southeast Asia...why would I go there to study when Singapore is significantly better? Then for Asia, It's just not as appealing because unless you're a Chinese language major, then you go to China, then that makes sense [because] they are better than us. I'm sure in Japan and Korea, there are some things that they do better than us, but it's very, very rare, and they are very, very, very close [compared to Singapore].
--Chase, NTU, Year 3, BA.
…for the East Asian countries, in terms of the quality of education, it's on par with Singapore. …for the Southeast Asian countries, there are some that may feel lacking in the quality of the education…we do know that a lot of the universities in the Western Hemisphere…specifically Europe...they are known for the quality of education... And even though in Asia, there are the top Korean universities that are really well known, but in terms of Southeast Asia, you don't hear much about there.
--Erin, SMU, Year 3, BA.
…going to Asia, Thailand [for example], the company doesn't pay you, but the [Singapore] government does ...it feels like the government is protecting us rather than the company is actually paying for our services… I do see a lot of ASEAN internships that are unfortunately not paid... So, I think that's a shortfall in the program...especially when you're [trying] to convince yourself to get to another country…you need a higher kind of convincing factor, which can [come in the form of] income.
--Evan, SMU, Year 3, BBM.
...people feel that your ASEAN or Asian [universities] may not have as much resources or may not be “prestigious” …why would we want to go [there]...when the impression that is given most of the time is that [these places are] not as good as Singapore? …I think it's very important [to promote] the specializations of the different universities within the Asian region…assuring the students that if they go to these universities, not only can they have a good time, but also the depth of research or the resources provided in those universities will be able to complement and aid their learning.
--Walter, NTU, Year 1, BA.
…people already don’t take Asian universities seriously… There's always like “Oh, Europe’s always more powerful..." [Singapore], as an Asian destination, I think we are one of the more attractive Asian destinations. So because of the prestige that is accorded to [Singapore universities], but as for the rest of Asian universities, there are not many that can beat Singapore already…no one really wants to make a downgrade to a university that is in Asia.
--Yvonne, NTU, Year 3, BA.
MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD