Glowing reviews for Karolinska Institutet in International Student Barometer
Karolinska Institutet carried out its second annual International Student Barometer (ISB) survey among its international student body in late 2011. The survey included 238 universities in 16 countries, of which 13 were Swedish universities, and received responses from almost 210 000 students in total. The ISB ranks the views of international students studying at the university in four different areas - 'Learning', 'Living', 'Support' and 'Arrival'.
Clear improvements in this year's survey
The 2010 ISB, the first time the survey was conducted at Karolinska Institutet, had a disappointing result for the university. It did, however, also give an indication as to which areas were important to improve - and were already being improved after the introduction of tuition fees for non EU/EES students in 2011.
In 2011, Karolinska Institutet decided to also include exchange students and not only the Global Master's Programme students among the survey recipients. The response rate was almost 50%, and the majority of the respondents were Global Master's Programme students. The results for the 2011 ISB show clear improvements in virtually all areas for Karolinska Institutet.
The students place Karolinska Institutet at a leading position in several categories, its strongest field being 'Learning', in which the university is at a number one both nationally and internationally. The Student Health Centre and the university library also place at the very top, both in Sweden and the world at large. Additionally, from not having offered any formal introduction at all for newly admitted international master's students, Karolinska Insitutet positioned itself as the best university in Sweden in the 'Formal welcome' category.
What next?
There is still room for improvement in several areas, and the responses again give a clear indication as to where to focus efforts in the coming year. The student unions, social activities and IT support are areas where the expectations of many students weren't met to a satisfying degree at Karolinska Institutet. Furthermore, students request more scholarship and part-time work opportunities as well higher quality housing from their university. Worth noting, however, is that Karolinska Institutet has improved its performance from last year even in these highlighted fields.
Karolinska Institutet intends to annually conduct this survey to strategically work to improve information and services to students. Striving for world-leading quality in all the four areas of the ISB, 'Learning', 'Living', 'Support' and 'Arrival', will benefit all students - both international and domestic.
