Every fifth Slovak university student studies abroad. Since 2017, the number of students studying abroad has remained roughly the same at around 32,000. About 70 percent of students who go abroad study in the Czech Republic. Last year, almost 21,000 Slovaks attended universities there. This was reported by the Institute for Educational Policy (IVP). Among high school graduates, a higher proportion of grammar school and bilingual programme graduates go abroad. The Czech Republic has long been the most popular destination for Slovak students abroad. "Preferences for fields of study in the Czech Republic change over time. Law, political science and civics have become less popular. The number of Slovaks studying technology, production and construction has also decreased, but it remains very popular," the IVP said.
In recent years, information and communication technology, management and administration, and economics have become increasingly popular. The study of medicine also remains popular, with 2,700 Slovaks expected to study it in 2022. Since 2001, almost 5,000 Slovaks have graduated in medicine in the Czech Republic. Austria and Germany have been attracting fewer students over time. "In Austria, the number of Slovak students has fallen by more than half since 2003. In Germany, more than 1,600 Slovak students attended universities at the peak of their popularity, but since 2017 there have never been more than 1, 000," the IVP added.
The Netherlands is becoming increasingly popular. From 2006 to 2021, the number of Slovak students has increased more than tenfold, from around 100 to 1,100. Denmark is also growing in popularity, with the number of Slovaks almost quadrupling between 2013 and 2017. A decline in popularity is also observed by IVP analysts in the case of the UK. "In the case of Slovak students, we see a decline in the total number of students by around 23 per cent year-on-year - from 2,100 to 1,620." IVP added.
Source: TASR
