This report examines the rapidly growing presence of Chinese students in Dutch higher education and analyses their motivations, experiences, academic performance, and post-graduation trajectories. Chinese students have become a structural component of the internationalisation of the Dutch higher education sector and represent the second-largest group of international students in the Netherlands.
Authors
- Tianmu Hong is an anthropologist and media specialist. For the Leiden Asia Centre she conducted research over the past year and a half on Chinese companies and Chinese students in the Netherlands.
- Frank Pieke is anthropologist and professor Modern China Studies at Leiden University and
executive director of the Leiden Asia Centre. Recently, his book “Knowing China” was published
by Cambridge University Press and the Dutch version “China, een gids voor de 21ste eeuw” by
Amsterdam University Press. - Laurens Steenhouder is a Research Master student social sciences at the University of
Amsterdam and specializes in the relation between spatial mobility and social inequality. For
this publication he contributed to the research on Chinese students in the Netherlands. - Ju Lin van Veldhuijzen studies Organization, change and management (MA) at the University
of Utrecht. She is a board member of the Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School. For this
publication she performed research on Chinese students in the Netherlands.
Background and context
Over the past decade the number of Chinese students enrolled in Dutch higher education has increased dramatically. From fewer than 200 students in 2000, enrolments rose to over 4,000 by 2012, and by 2014 Chinese BA and MA students numbered 4,638. Chinese students now account for a significant share of the international student population.
This growth should be understood against the backdrop of the globalisation of higher education, intensified international competition for talent, demographic decline among domestic students, and China’s rapid economic and social transformation. For the Dutch government and higher education institutions, international students are seen as contributing to educational quality, economic growth, and the future supply of highly skilled labour.
Access to the report
The full report, including methodology, analysis, conclusions, and policy recommendations, is available as a PDF.
