Research Snapshot: The Global Student Experience 2025
The Global Student Experience 2025 – Regional insights from Europe
Publication date: 21 May 2025
The International Student Survey (ISB) is the largest global survey of currently enrolled students that helps higher education institutions and national education bodies understand factors influencing student choice, satisfaction and recommendation. The annual survey is open from September to mid-December. It takes approximately 12-14 minutes and uses routing logic. The quantitative data is enhanced by qualitative student comments.The ISB covers the entire student journey from what makes students choose an institution to how satisfied they are with the learning, living and support services offered. The ISB also surveys students on mental health, the impact of AI, future plans and employability. Global, regional and national benchmarks help to understand the value of the findings in comparison to other institutions/regions.
If you are keen to understand the student voice, this is the largest research (>100K) of currently enrolled international students with a global benchmark. Who would not be excited?
Nannette Ripmeester
Nannette Ripmeester is Director at Expertise in Labour Mobility (ELM) and founder of CareerProfessor.works. She serves as Director Performance Benchmarking, leading the International Student Barometer (ISB) for Etio in Europe and North America. Nannette is driven by the motto "making mobility work," working with higher education, corporate, and government on skills development and employability to make graduates internationally employable, building on 30 years of experience after her passion for international mobility was ignited at the European Commission.
Key findings of the research:
- Europe emerges as a top destination for international students, with a high overall satisfaction score of 90%.
- 80% of currently enrolled international students in Europe indicate they would recommend their Higher Education Institution (HEI), ranking Europe first globally for this key indicator.
- While Europe leads in wellbeing, safety, and inclusivity, it falls short in a few other critical areas that shape students’ learning satisfaction. In fact, Europe underperforms in "Employability". An area requiring urgent attention is Europe’s performance in dimensions related to "Future career impact"—the single most influential factor in international students’ choice of study destination, identified by 96% as a key priority.
