Abstract:

Introduction:
Student mobility program allow students from a secondary school or university to study abroad at one of a partner institution. Foreign exchange programs exist to provide practical training and employment and the sharing of history, culture, and traditions of the participants' home country. Student exchange offers broad based benefits and outcomes for students keen to undertake on this international experience. The Erasmus programme encompasses exchanges between European universities, and bilateral exchanges involve exchanges between European and non-European institutions. Universitat Internacional de Catalunya Faculty of Dentistry (Sant Cugat del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain) was established in 1997, and since the 2004-05 academic year its students had the opportunity to participate in exchanges in 4th and 5thgrade.

Aim:
To describe student mobility from a young Spanish Faculty of Dentistry over the last decade.

Material and Methods:
Data from the last 10 years were collected and analysed by the authors of the study. The following variables were taken into consideration: Number of students per year that come to the UIC and their origin (students “IN”); Number of students per year that went abroad and their destination (students “OUT”), number of inter-university agreements, and duration of the exchange programs.

Results:
The total number of “IN” students was 96, whereas the total amount of “OUT” students was 45. A positive trend over the years was observed in both the number of IN and OUT students. The 2013-14 academic year had the highest number of “IN” and “OUT” students (22 and 11 respectively). At present, UIC Faculty of Dentistry has a total of 16 inter-university exchange agreements.

Conclusions:
Although the UIC is a young university with only 10-years’ experience in student exchange programs, there is an increasing growth in the number of Spanish students going abroad and in the foreign students coming to the UIC over the years. The next step should be to increase the number of students participating in mobility programs by promoting more inter-university agreements and by motivating participation.

Keywords:

Student mobility program, exchange program, erasmus.