Mobility Student Community Barcelona: Characteristics and a Cosmopolitan Transformation
Author
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2018
Submitted on
2018-09-11
Pages
112
Abstract
This project explores the existence of a mobility student community in the specific case study of Barcelona, Spain. It focuses on providing further insight into the study area of international educational tourism. It combines theoretical angles of cosmopolitanism, community studies, experience economy and transformation economy, and explores how these are manifested in a mobility student community in Barcelona. Integrating the data collection with relevant academic research, this project draws the conclusion that a mobility student community is formed in Barcelona due to great social engagement between the mobility students. These social interactions provide the mobility students with intercultural communication skills and transform the mobility students into becoming more cosmopolitan. From such a transformation, the mobility students gain better international educational tourism experiences, as they are, arguably, better prepared for a cosmopolitan working environment in the future. Private companies help generate such a transformation by providing social spaces where mobility students socially engage with each other. However, this also results in a critique of how private companies and educational institutions do not take enough advantage of such a transformation to guide it and educate the mobility students about global citizenship. There exists great potential for facilitating better international educational tourism experiences for the mobility students within a mobility student community outside of university campuses. This project suggests conducting further research within this area in order to outline this potential.
Keywords
Mobility Student Community ; Barcelona ; Characteristics ; Cosmopolitanism ; Experience Economy ; Transformation Economy ; International Educational Tourism ; Private Companies ; Ethnic Groups and Boundaries ; Neo-tribes ; Anomaly ; Co-creation ; Educational Tourism ; International Education ; Social Engagement ; Constructivism
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