Number of international students at University Palacký grows each year

Currently, there are over 4,400 international students from 108 countries studying at Palacký University Olomouc. The number of international students at the university has been growing every year, increasing by more than a hundred percent over the past decade.

Palacký University in the city of Olomouc is a modern educational institution with a wide range of study programmes and scientific activities. The university now has more than 20,000 students enrolled at one of its eight faculties, and the number of those coming from abroad is increasing year after year.

In 2019, 4497 foreign students from 108 countries studied at University Palacký, which was 452 more students that in the previous year. If the numbers of foreign students are compared with 2008, there are 2355 more today. Within a decade, the number of foreign students at the university has therefore increased by more than hundred percent.

“The increase in the number of foreign students corresponds to the current strategy of our university. The key to success in the global world of quality university education is targeted, purposeful internationalization,” said Martin Kudláček, Vice-Rector for International Relations. In fact, University Palacký received the prestigious European Association for International Education (EIAE) 2019 Institutional Award for its successful international strategy.

According to the head of the Foreign Relations Department, Dalibor Mikuláš, in comparison to 2018, there are currently more students from Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, Poland, France, Italy, Israel, Germany, Japan, China, Turkey, and Kazakhstan studying at the Olomouc’s university.

“In the last three years, we have actively participated in major international educational trade fairs in Europe, Asia, and North and South Americas. We are successful in the Erasmus+ KA 103 and Erasmus+ KA 107 programmes, so these programmes are responsible for the increased numbers of students from countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey,” explained Mikuláš.

Foreign students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Palacký University are most interested in studying medicine. In the last two years, there has also been a huge interest in international development studies, and the demand for psychology has increased. In terms of exchange stays at University Palacký, the most popular fields are all philology programmes often in conjunction with history, all kinds of education including special education, law, political science, geography, physical education and sports, and more.

 Source: www.upol.cz