How Studying or Working Abroad Makes professionally more successful

you may also come back from your time in another country with an ability to think more complexly and creatively—and you may be professionally more successful as a result.

These are the conclusions of a growing body of research on the effects of study- and work-abroad experiences. For example: A study led by William Maddux, an associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD, found that among students enrolled in an international MBA program, their “multicultural engagement”—the extent to which they adapted to and learned about new cultures—predicted how “integratively complex” their thinking became.

That is, students who adopted an open and adaptive attitude toward foreign cultures became more able to make connections among disparate ideas. The students’ multicultural engagement also predicted the number of job offers they received after the program ended.

More generally, writes Maddux, “People who have international experience or identify with more than one nationality are better problem solvers and display more creativity, our research suggests. What’s more, we found that people with this international experience are more likely to create new businesses and products and to be promoted.”

Angela Leung, an associate professor of psychology at Singapore Management University, is another researcher who has investigated the psychological effects of living abroad. She reports that people with more experiences of different cultures are better able to generate creative ideas and make unexpected links among concepts.

Like Maddux, Leung found that the advantages of living abroad accrue to those who are willing to adapt themselves to the ways of their host country: “The serendipitous creative benefits resulting from multicultural experiences,” she writes, “may depend on the extent to which individuals open themselves to foreign cultures.” This openness, she adds, includes a tolerance for ambiguity and open-endedness, a lack of closure and firm answers.

Could it be that people who choose to study or work in other countries are already more inclined to be complex and creative thinkers? David Therriault, associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Florida, anticipated this possibility. He and his coauthors administered creative thinking tasks to three groups of undergraduates: students who had studied abroad, students who were planning to study abroad, and students who had not and did not plan to study abroad. The students who had actually studied abroad outperformed the two other groups in creative thinking.

Studying or working in another country can make us better thinkers—more flexible, creative, and complex—if we’re willing to adapt and learn from other cultures. As the title of an article by William Maddux advises: “When in Rome . . . Learn Why the Romans Do What They Do.”

Brilliant readers, what do you think? Have you studied or worked abroad, and did it change the way you think? Please share your thoughts below.

Ferrari Manufacturing Factory Tour Italy

Fiat Manufacturing Unit Italy

New rules to attract non-EU students, researchers and interns to the EU

Harmonised EU entry and residence rules to make it easier and more attractive for people from third countries to study or do research at EU universities were approved by Parliament on Monday. The new rules clarify and improve conditions for non-EU interns, volunteers, school pupils and au pairs.

The new rules merge two existing directives (one on students and one on researchers) to ensure that:

• - students and researchers may stay at least nine months after finishing their studies or research in order to look for a job or to set up a business, which should also ensure that Europe benefits from their skills,

• - students and researchers may move more easily within the EU during their stay. In future, they will not need to file a new visa application, but only to notify the member state to which they are moving, for example to do a one-semester exchange. Researchers will also be able to move for longer periods than those currently allowed,

• - researchers have the right to bring their family members with them and these family members are entitled to work during their stay in Europe, and

• - students have the right to work at least 15 hours a week.

"I am glad that the EU recognizes the value of attracting highly skilled people to come here and to entice them to stay by creating a harmonized European system applicable in all member states, said Sainath Golla Director of Videsh Consultz.

"This undoubtedly means that European universities will be able to strengthen their competitiveness on the global arena and become more attractive than ever to ambitious and highly-educated people from other countries, thanks to considerably improved conditions in the EU", he added.

The new directive also provides for uniform entry conditions and better protection for interns and volunteers under the European Volunteer Scheme during their stay. Optional provisions are foreseen for other volunteers, school pupils and third-country au pairs, who will be covered for the first time by an EU law.

For any details reg

Study in Italy, constact Videsh Consultz on 9676502888, 040-40030088

Videsh Consultz: G14 & 15, KuberaTowers, Narayanguda, Hyd-029, TG, India

EU vote harmonises and eases visa rules for non-EU students, Videsh Consultz

Short on time? Here are the highlights:

• New visa rules passed this month will open up expanded post-study work and residency options for non-EU students in Europe
• The new Visa Directive also seeks to harmonise visa regulations across EU member states, and to improve mobility within Europe for non-EU students and researchers
• Non-EU nationals will now be permitted to work at least 15 hours per week during the studies and to remain in Europe for at least nine months after their studies

The European Parliament has adopted new regulations designed to make study and research in the European Union more attractive for those coming from outside the EU. Members of Parliament approved amendments to the EU’s Visa Directive on 11 May 2016. The changes effectively merge two previously separate directives – one for students and another for researchers – in a bid to harmonise entry and residence rules.

Under the new Visa Directive:

• Non-EU nationals can now stay for at least nine months after concluding their studies or research in order to look for a job or set up a business;
• Non-EU students and researchers can move more easily within the EU, and no longer need to file a new visa application when moving from one EU country to another (rather, they need only to notify the country to which they are moving);
• Researchers are entitled to bring their family members with them, and those family members are allowed to work during their time in Europe (this provision does not apply to students, however);
• Non-EU students are entitled to work at least 15 hours per week during their studies.

A related item in the China Daily notes that there are more than 200,000 Chinese studentscurrently enrolled in higher education in the EU. Roughly half of these students are in the UK, including Li Siyu, a finance major at Leicester University. “I am very happy to hear about [the new rules] as now I am seeking to apply for my second masters degree in London and this will allow me more chances to stay longer in UK after my graduation in 2017…I am crossing my fingers to see if the UK still stays in the EU after the referendum next month and as an EU member, it should observe the new rules.”

Leaving aside the question of the Brexit referendum for a moment, Li Siyu’s comments highlight both the attractiveness of the new regulations for students as well as the fact that the current policies of member states are uneven in terms of work rights during and after studies.

The European Students’ Union (ESU), meanwhile, has welcomed the new Visa Directive but points out that the long amending process from 2013 saw a number of revisions that weakened the final amendments. The ESU highlights in particular that the right to stay after studies was reduced by half (the European Parliament had proposed an 18-month post-study residency period, as opposed to the nine-month period approved this month). Similarly, the employment entitlement had been reduced to 15 hours per week from a proposed 20 hours per week, and students – unlike researchers – are not able to bring family members with them during their studies.

“The final document represents half of what we would have loved to see, as the proposals from the European Parliament were way more advanced in rights for non-EU students,” said ESU Chair Fernando Galan. “We hope that this Directive is only a first step in ensuring that Europe attracts more non-EU students to its campuses and in encouraging and increasing internationalisation.”

The Visa Directive (formally “Directive 2004/114”) is the legislative instrument that sets out the conditions under which non-EU nationals can enter the European Union to study, conduct research, volunteer, or take up internships or au-pair assignments.

The process of crafting the amendments passed this month dates back to 2013. It has been driven by a recognition that visa regulations have been implemented unevenly across the EU – thus the need to streamline and harmonise regulations among member states – but also by a need for Europe to more effectively compete for talent. “The aging of the EU population and a shortage of skills, coupled with competition from other attractive destinations for the talented and the highly skilled, have created a need for more effective EU policies in this area,” says an accompanying briefing note for this month’s parliamentary vote.

“I am glad that the EU recognises the value of attracting highly skilled people to come here and to entice them to stay by creating a harmonised European system applicable in all member states,” added Member of Parliament Cecilia Wikström. “This undoubtedly means that European universities will be able to strengthen their competitiveness on the global arena and become more attractive than ever to ambitious and highly-educated people from other countries.”

The adopted text for the new Visa Directive will come into force immediately upon its publication in the European Official Journal. From that point, EU member states will then have two years to adopt the new provisions in their corresponding national legislation.

For any details reg

Study in Italy, constact Videsh Consultz on 9676502888, 040-40030088

Videsh Consultz: G14 & 15, KuberaTowers, Narayanguda, Hyd-029, TG, India