Academic mobility refers to students, teachers and researchers in higher education moving to another institution inside or outside of their own country to study or teach for a limited time.
According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the mobility of international students has significantly increased in the past four decades, from 250,000 in 1965 to approximately 3.7 million in 2011.
[2][3] These statistics show the academic mobility of international students that aim for a degree rather than short-term "study abroad" education.
The female mobile students, especially who are in older in age, are tied to a specific spatial context by private responsibilities.
[11] Some findings from qualitative interviews with researchers from Bulgaria and Poland confirmed the great significance of personal and family relationships for female's academic mobility, either as a barrier or as an incentive.
[10][11] Researchers are employed on casualised temporary contracts in some universities, which force them to relocate around every three years when funding streams change, typically to another country.