Living Closely Together but in Parallel - Multi-dimensional Challenges to the Integration of International Students in a Danish ‘Muscle’ Town.

Abstract

Esbjerg is located in the Wadden Sea region and is a regional centre with approximately 72,000 inhabitants. Commercially, the city has recently ranked first amongst major Danish cities in the creation of jobs. However, in Denmark, it is mainly other cities that attract younger students, and Esbjerg has some of the same structural problems due to outmigration as Danish rural areas in general. It is, therefore, important for Esbjerg to be able to attract international students so that businesses and institutions in the region can recruit skilled employees. In this book chapter, the authors aim to reanalyse data from 10 semi-structured interviews with international students at higher education institutions in Esbjerg conducted in 2016. The authors position their empirical findings within the literature on international student integration to investigate the obstacles to international student integration into study, business and leisure life in Esbjerg and potential solutions given Esbjerg’s peripheral location. The chapter, thus, aims to improve the understanding of cultural, work-related and everyday life challenges that are present in university town environments where international students study, mainly from the perspective of students.

Citation

Thuesen, A.A. and Mærsk, E. (2021), "Living Closely Together but in Parallel - Multi-dimensional Challenges to the Integration of International Students in a Danish ‘Muscle’ Town.", Shneikat, B., Cobanoglu, C. and Tanova, C. (Ed.) Global Perspectives on Recruiting International Students: Challenges and Opportunities, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 197-213. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-518-720211013