Government plans to attract foreign postgraduates

The Russian government is considering creating conditions to persuade foreign students, including postgraduates, to continue their education in the country.

Implementation of the plans is expected to occur through the adoption of a number of legislative acts including a federal law, “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation”, which was recently approved by the Russian parliament.

The measures also include abolishing the existing system of quotas for admitting foreign students to Russian universities, providing employment assistance, eliminating administrative barriers associated with employing foreigners, and increasing the number of scholarships, whose amounts are currently below the living wage.

Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said creating conditions for attracting foreign students and postgraduates would allow Russia to increase their numbers in domestic universities from the current 2% of the student population to 7%.

Foreign students in Russia’s universities currently number some 250,000, of whom about 20,000 are postgraduates, which is significantly lower than during the Soviet period.

The collapse of the USSR resulted in a substantial drop in the number of foreign students, with many students from the former socialist republics opting to study at American and European universities.

But since the beginning of the 2000s the situation has started to improve and, along with recovery in the Russian economy, the flow of foreign students and postgraduates – especially from emerging nations – has significantly increased.

The Ministry of Education says the average age of foreign students in Russian universities is 22.8 years while among postgraduates it is 29. Of these, 69% are male.

About half of all foreign students pay tuition fees from their own resources or with the help of sponsors. Students from Western Europe, the US and Canada usually study in the country’s most prestigious universities, paying their own tuition fees.

Most foreign students from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America study in Russia on the basis of inter-institutional agreements, and in numerous scientific cooperation programmes. The Russian government contributes at least 22% of the total cost under inter-university exchange, with the rest paid by the students’ home country governments.

Among the most popular specialities for foreigners are medicine (19% of students), followed by economics, finance and management (17%). Third place is occupied by the humanities and social sciences (16%). Engineering specialities, as well as natural and physical sciences including mathematics, are also in high demand among foreigners.

Statistics compiled by the education ministry reveal that 40% of all foreign students, including postgraduates, find a job in Russia after graduation, while more than 50% – mainly from Africa and other developing countries – return to their homeland.

The remaining 10% find work in Europe or the US after confirmation of their Russian diplomas and passing of additional exams to prove their qualifications. The reputation of many Russian universities in Western countries remains poor.

Data released by Dmitry Livanov, Russia’s Minister of Education, indicate that the number of foreign graduates and postgraduates from Russian and Soviet universities working abroad amounts to more than a million people.

Optimism over new initiatives

Russian analysts believe the new state initiatives may result in a significant increase in foreign students and postgraduates, particularly from emerging nations, in the coming years.

Rigoberto Santos Hilario is Deputy Minister of Construction in the Dominican Republic and a graduate of the Russian University of Friendship of Peoples, named after Patrice Lumumba – one of Russia’s largest higher education institutions in terms of foreign student numbers.

Commenting on the popularity of Russian universities in Latin America, Hilario said: “One reason for this rich tradition of studying in the USSR and later in Russia is the high quality of education offered by local universities, especially in the fields of science, mathematics and technology.

“Today, Latin America is home to thousands of highly qualified specialists who graduated from Soviet and Russian higher education institutions and who participated in the implementation of the largest research, construction and other major projects in the region."

Representatives of Russia’s leading universities have also welcomed the state initiatives, announcing plans to expand the number of foreign students and become more competitive in the international arena.

Victor Sadovnichy, head of Moscow State University – which has more than 7,000 foreign students enrolled – welcomed the state plans and said international students comprised some 20% of the total at his institution. “We would like even more, up to 30%, but 20% is a good result for us,” Sadovnichy said.

Despite such optimism, local analysts doubt that many conservative Russian rectors want to attract foreign students, especially postgraduates.

Alexei Sitnikov, vice-president of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, a private research university, said many Russian universities were not interested in attracting foreign graduate students and professors because the institutions lacked international ambition and were unwilling to enter into university rankings.