Our rollercoaster week in Gothenburg
Behind the 120+ meetings at EAIE 2025: momentum, recognition, and the growing voice of free mover students
Andrea Pellini – Co-founder&CEO at wearefreemovers | September 18, 2025
After San Diego for NAFSA, our team jumped straight into another whirlwind: EAIE 2025 in Gothenburg!
For those who don’t know, EAIE is the biggest European conference for international education, where universities, institutions, and platforms from all over the world gather to share ideas, build partnerships, and push mobility forward.
The moment you enter the venue, you feel the scale of it: thousands of professionals moving between sessions, booths from every continent, and an energy that fills every hallway.
Days start early, end late, and somewhere in between you realize that your average sleep is closer to a nap than a full night’s rest. Coffee becomes less of a choice and more of a survival strategy, the fuel that keeps conversations sharp and calendars running. 😅
And yet, this mix of adrenaline and tiredness is part of what makes events like EAIE unforgettable. When you’re sleep-deprived but still buzzing with energy, you know you’re in the right place, where every meeting, every handshake, every laugh is worth the long hours.
For wearefreemovers, this was the chance to bring the free mover perspective into the spotlight. We came with full schedules, a clear message, and the same drive that powers everything we do: showing that studying abroad can be easier, faster, and more accessible for students everywhere. 🚀
Table of contents
1. The numbers that matter
Turning meetings into movement
In just a few days, our team managed to squeeze in more than 120 meetings!
And no, that’s not a typo.
From early morning to late evening, every slot on our calendars was filled. The days blurred together in a rush of names, faces, and ideas, but each conversation carried its own spark and left us with something new to think about.
Some conversations were with our partner universities, where the focus was on students: how to open up new courses, streamline applications, and build collaborations that make the study abroad journey smoother from start to finish.
Others were with top institutions, shifting the discussion to recognition and legitimacy, proving once again that the free mover path deserves its place in the global education landscape.
And then there were the exchanges with other platforms, curious about what we’re building and intrigued by the energy behind our approach.
When you look at the raw number: 120+ meetings, it’s easy to treat it as just a metric, a number to highlight in a report, but the truth is different. What matters isn’t the figure itself, it’s the momentum it represents. Each handshake, each question, each follow-up email is another step forward.
Together, they form a clear message: free mover mobility is no longer a footnote, it’s becoming a visible, established, and genuinely exciting way to study abroad.
2. The vibe of the event
Buzzing days, surprising encounters, unforgettable vibe
Numbers aside, the atmosphere was something else entirely. The conference center in Gothenburg was buzzing from the very first coffee of the morning to the last reception at night. Everywhere you turned there were people in motion: dashing to the next session, swapping business cards, or catching up with old colleagues they hadn’t seen since last year’s EAIE.
Our calendars were so packed that we almost ended up hosting a meeting at the luna park next door. One more email and we might have been on a rollercoaster while talking about credit mobility. And honestly, it wouldn’t have felt that out of place, because the pace of EAIE is already a rollercoaster in itself. 😅
What makes it unique is the mix of intensity and spontaneity. You can go from a structured meeting about curriculum design to a casual hallway chat that unexpectedly opens new doors. You sit down exhausted, thinking you’ll just listen quietly, and five minutes later you’re sketching ideas on the back of a notebook with someone you’ve just met. That kind of energy doesn’t show up in reports or numbers, but it’s what makes EAIE unforgettable.
It’s this blend, serious discussions, surprising encounters, and the occasional laugh in between, that reminds us why we do what we do.
Events like this are about feeling part of a bigger movement in international education. And in Gothenburg, that feeling was everywhere.
3. Why this matters for free movers
Free movers take the stage
For students, all this has a very concrete meaning. Every idea exchanged in Gothenburg translates into real opportunities: more universities opening their doors, clearer information about courses and processes, and a smoother path to finally live the study abroad experience you dream of.
The free mover has often been seen as the “underdog” of international mobility, the option you turn to only when Erasmus isn’t available. But that image is changing fast.
Institutions are starting to recognize that free movers bring diversity, initiative, and ambition into their classrooms. They see students who aren’t just waiting for the perfect exchange spot to open up, but are taking the lead in shaping their own academic journeys.
What we felt in Gothenburg was that this recognition is no longer just a whisper. It’s becoming part of the conversation at the highest levels. When universities and institutions discuss credit recognition, support services, and mobility programs, the free mover option is on the table, and it’s being taken seriously.
For us, this shift is exactly why wearefreemovers exists. Because studying abroad shouldn’t depend on luck, quotas, or waiting for someone else to decide your destination. It should be a choice you can make with confidence, backed by universities ready to welcome you.
4. Looking ahead
Building the future of study abroad
Each event we attend reinforces what we already know deep down: the world is ready for free mover mobility. The conversations in Gothenburg weren’t about “if” this model works, but about “how” to make it grow. That shift, from doubt to action, is the clearest sign that things are moving in the right direction.
Our role is to make sure this momentum doesn’t fade.
For students, that means turning complex processes into something simple, removing barriers, and keeping the excitement alive from the very first search to the first day on campus abroad.
For universities, it means creating bridges that welcome motivated, ambitious students who want to take their education into their own hands.
We left Gothenburg tired, caffeinated, and carrying notebooks filled with ideas. But more than anything, we left convinced that the free mover story is only just beginning. There are still countless destinations to unlock, students to inspire, and partnerships to build, and we’re ready for all of it.
And on a personal note, we often see ourselves in the enthusiasm of those students who want to study abroad at all costs, just like we once did. Back then, there was no platform like wearefreemovers to make things easier. That’s why we’re proud of what we’re building today: a place where their journey can start with clarity, confidence, and excitement.
So, see you at the next stop on this journey. Whether it’s across continents, online, or in person, one thing is certain: free mover mobility is no longer a dream, it’s a movement, and it’s only getting stronger. 🌍🚀
