This paper deals with doctoral candidates in STEM fields from Asia residing in Germany.
In the Consequences of Modernity, Anthony Giddens defines globalization as “the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa” (1990: 64).
Globalization is lately part of German universities as the number of students from abroad and especially from non-EU countries has increased. For instance, since 2006, the number of Indian students in Germany has almost quadrupled, so that with 60,000 students, China and India now occupy the top two places in the ranking of foreign students in Germany (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, 2020). According to DAAD (2019) 10,6% of the international students (Bildungsausländer) are enrolled in PhD programmes in Germany, i.e. around 40 000. Moreover, most of them study in a field of STEM. This paper focusses on STEM, a field with relatively little information on both students’ and expectations when applying for doctoral positions in Germany and their academic choices.
In general, international mobility is associated with positive benefits for both the sending and receiving country (Jöns 2007) and for individuals (Teichler, 2017).
This paper will address issues of international mobility from a life course perspective and its impact on doctoral students’ community, family and career choices.
Central questions are:
- How do international PhD candidates perceive their transition into the German academic environment and what are their motives to enroll at a German university?
- What are PhD candidates’ life projects, their professional choices and trajectories in education and training?