Universities profit from tripling of foreign students

The appeal of Russian education for foreigners has risen in recent years as the decrease in the value of the ruble compared with foreign currencies has made studying in Russia much more affordable. The government is trying to capitalise on this trend in several ways, writes Alexei Lossan for Russia Beyond the Headlines.

According to data from a study conducted this year by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, the number of foreign students in Russian universities has tripled in the last decade: from 100,900 in the 2004-05 academic year to 282,900 in the 2014-15 academic year. The amount of revenue universities earned from foreign students increased as well – from US$356 million in 2005 to US$1.46 billion in 2015.

Vladimir Zamolodchikov, rector of the Moscow Energy Institute, said that in 2012, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science began examining the internationalisation of Russian universities, including their appeal for foreign students. "In 1946, there were two universities in Moscow that actively attracted foreign students: Moscow State University and the Moscow Power Engineering Institute," Zamolodchikov said. Much has changed since then, although most Russian universities are still new to the concept of teaching foreign students.
Full report on the Russia Beyond the Headlines site