International educational tourism and professional development of students

Abstract

International educational tourism, realized through the Erasmus Programme, opens up the possibility of travelling abroad to study or to get some practice, promotes educational and professional mobility of students. It belongs with such human activities which are of great importance to the development of personality, self-education, getting to know oneself better in an international, culturally diversified environment. It is an element of self-creative activity of students concerning the professional aspect of their lives.

Considering the above-mentioned assumptions, the aim of the study presented in this article was to diagnose the benefits for the personal and professional development of the youth, ranging from acquiring and extending their professional knowledge to honing their personal, professional and language skills as well as their personality traits. In the examination of the role and significance of the international educational tourism in the self-creative activity of students concerning their professional lives, the diagnostic poll method was adopted and carried out with the use of the survey technique, in which the research tool was an own survey questionnaire.

From the analysis of the findings it follows that the vast majority of the respondents derived plenty of benefits for their professional development regarding a general better start in their professional career―the possibility of taking up their first job in the country or abroad. The interviewees commented positively on the practical training they were provided with by the universities abroad, the practical knowledge of the lecturers, the fact that they were open-minded and could realize the curriculum without any limitations. Additional important benefits for the scholarship students were the ability of personal and professional development, of shaping their personality and improving the skills which could be appreciated on the job market and useful in their personal life. The participants in the international educational tourism take deep satisfaction from the fact that they could participate in the Erasmus Programme which, in their opinion, has increased their value on the job market and has been an important element of their self-creative activity.