Qualitative analysis of MOB GAE Blog stories 2014
This report is the result of an analysis of 112 stories published during the 1st year of the project, on the MOB GAE Blog (www.mobgae.eu).
The analysis has been done according to the main perspectives regarding the impact of mobility on 3 levels, although the border between those perspectives is sometimes permeable:
– Personal,
– Professional,
– European citizenship.
What did mobility bring to their personal lives?
It appears that personal growth was a main key factor arising from the time participants spent abroad. Most of them cited that mobility changes their life: they feel they become stronger when compared to before going abroad, by acquiring over-all character building attributes.
Recurring responses underlined independence, open-mindedness, self confidence, autonomy and the ability to adapt to new environments and situations which not only served them in their personal life but changed their lives altogether on a whole.
Some mention that mobility allowed them to explore the creative talents that one has, some individuals cited this as one of their strong points: experience creates opportunity for creative thinking and true individual brilliance.
Improvement of organisational skills by being on their own was also mentioned frequently.
It is interesting to point out that by being more confident participants also felt more ambitious, outgoing and enthusiastic.
Being on their own created an atmosphere where they were able to learn and grow very fast while being aware of those attributes most of the time.
What did mobility bring to their professional lives?
On the professional side of things participants were not so comfortable in identifying the added value of mobility.
They easily identified the linguistic improvements as the major value of the mobility experience.
Therefore, getting such professional experience opened up many doors for networking and opened them up to other more interesting job prospects.
It has also given way to exposure on a whole other level, which allows the individual to operate autonomously and with ease in a work environment.
Frequently, work experience gave them an edge in their future job hunt as according to them, working abroad enables the individual to get an invaluable acquisition of knowledge and sometimes “savoir-faire” not available in one’s home country.
It is important to mention here that the acquired personal skills mentioned previously provided them with the tools necessary to succeed in the job market a part form the work experience, practical hands-on knowledge they easily mentioned.
What did mobility bring regarding European citizenship?
Regarding the question of EU citizenship and feeling European, participants have stated that they now know “what Europe really is” and have a new found connection with Europe.
Some of those who participated in mobility programs stated that they felt very integrated and “European” given the fact that they were able to be fully immersed in a work or study environment (not as a tourist) taking advantage of the richness founded on the hosting country and their own richness.
Some individuals have said that they have now become aware of the power of the EU and that cultural exchange indeed means being and feeling European in its finest form.
Some individuals have even stipulated that mobility is all about feeling European as one is able to travel freely and come into contact with very different walks of life.
It very interesting to point out that according to testimonies, being European is an experience more than an ideology or a political position: it simply means being able to feel at home, in a comfort zone, no matter your location on the European continent.
This can be seen as the result of more than 50 years of European construction.