The cost of living, the university prestige and the evaluation processes are always the starting point of the International Day (IDay) held at Técnico annually. This year’s edition brought together 38 exhibition stands – 27 international universities and 11 national universities. China, Germany, Armenia, Hungary, Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands were some participating countries in the 12th edition of IDay.

The Biotechnology MSc students Beatriz Leitão and Diogo Estrela were surprised by the dimension of the event. “I think this event is a great opportunity to learn more about the mobility programmes and discover which suits us better, and also to clarify our doubts”, says Diogo Estrela. Beatriz Leitão is searching for mobility programmes in the Netherlands and in Belgium: “Talking with people help us to have a clear idea of certain things, because online information is sometimes insufficient, so this is undoubtedly a very important event”.

“Participating in mobility programmes is always a way of valuing ourselves”, says the Aerospace Engineering student João Moura, who is interested to participate in a mobility programme in France or Barcelona. His colleague Simão Caeiro prefers to study in Italy. “In my opinion, university prestige really important, but the curricular offer and the way of living also matters”, shares Simão Caeiro. “Participating in mobility programmes is great because it allows us to visit new countries and know different cultures and, at the same time, we contact with other teaching programmes”, stresses Simão Caeiro.

The IDay is also a unique opportunity for universities to disseminate their mobility programmes and attract new students. Du Xueling represents the Dalian University of Technology (China): “This event is a great opportunity to promote our mobility programmes and to improve the visibility of our universities. And more important than that, this is a way of building bridges and strengthen ties.”