Towards a ‘care-sharing’ model? Multilateral adjustment strategies for post-pandemic students’ mobility in Europe

Abstract

The article draws on findings from two surveys on the practices of the Coimbra Group network universities in response to the COVID-19 crisis. We first develop a theoretical framework and raise a few questions connecting the short-term reaction to the out-break to the dimension of long-term cooperation in protecting and improving academic mobility among universities. After analyzing the variance across universities in terms of student mobility decline during the first wave of the pandemic, the article assesses the capacity of the network to prevent demotivation and mistrust by combining the benefits from ex-ante instruments of mobility protection with the implementation of ad hoc tools of crisis resolution. Thearticle’s final section elaborates an interpretation based on the multidimensional and multifunctional notion of ‘care-sharing’. We argue that multilateral actions may enhance a comprehensive and pre-emptive adjustment strategy. Such a broad and responsible strategy will concur to return soon to high rates of mobility, activating at the same time inclusive and innovative practices and disseminating the values of social and environmental sustainability within our community of learners.