A case study of factors motivating exchange students to choose Singapore as their exchange study destination

• Main Authors: A, Haripriya, Eu, Si Ying, Koh, Kelvin Song Li
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::General::Education
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51411
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Going on an exchange study during the tertiary education stage has become an increasingly popular choice among youths worldwide. However, not all exchange study destinations are equally attractive to exchange students. Singapore is positioned internationally as an education hub for Southeast Asia. Although its reputation is an unparalleled advantage in attracting exchange students to the country, the extent of its influence is unknown. Thus, this study explored the factors which led students to choose Singapore as their preferred exchange study destination. A total of 129 surveys, both physical and online, were collected and analysed for the purposes of this study, leading to the conclusion that global exposure, environmental setting, safety, university reputation, university culture and university courses were the significant factors that influenced the exchange students’ intention to come to Singapore. Such results are useful for the national universities in Singapore to market themselves to exchange students. In addition, it led the researchers to the conclusion that the motivational factors that attracted exchange students to choose Singapore were different as compared to Western countries. This opens up a new area of study that future researchers could delve into so as to gain a clearer understanding on those factors unique to Singapore as an exchange study destination.