PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Virtual mobility programs have gained popularity in higher education institutions. It can be a viable complement to physical mobility. There is a lack of research on international mobility students’ perceptions and experiences of virtual mobility programs, particularly during the transition from physical to online/virtual mobility amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores students’ perceptions and experiences within short-term virtual mobility programs. The participants of the short-term virtual mobility programs are from Southeast Asia. The findings of this study demonstrated that students have a positive perception of short-term virtual mobility programs’ effectiveness via a descriptive analysis. Students’ experiences were analyzed by thematic analysis, and positive and negative experiences toward short-term virtual mobility programs were found. This study suggests that virtual mobility programs should not be abandoned in the post-pandemic era. Higher education institutions may consider incorporating intercultural virtual mobility into academic programs to achieve the internationalization agenda.

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