On July 8 at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Moscow venue of the Valdai Club will host a discussion entitled “Russia’s Role in International Educational Mobility”.
Despite geopolitical upheavals, the world continues to move towards greater internationalisation of higher education. Universities are still striving to enter the global education market and strengthen their positions within it, particularly at the level of postgraduate education. Competition for international applicants is becoming ever more intense, both between countries and among individual universities. This trend is further reinforced by international rankings, in which universities compete for higher positions. International educational mobility is a direct consequence of these processes.
Russia has accumulated unique experience in developing international educational cooperation. The country inherited the Soviet Union’s extensive traditions of educating international students, as well as its approach to adapting academic disciplines and educational programmes to the specific requirements of labour markets in different countries and macro-regions. During the Soviet period, many thousands of international students studied in the USSR. Alumni communities of Soviet and Russian universities have since become influential public organisations in many countries.
Contemporary Russia is likewise an active participant in the international education market, and its role in facilitating international educational mobility continues to grow year by year. On several indicators, Russia has already surpassed Soviet-era figures for attracting international students. A particularly significant aspect of this is Russia’s role in educating students from the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as from other post-Soviet countries.
One of Russia’s key competitive advantages is the provision of dedicated study quotas through Rossotrudnichestvo. The President of Russia has set the ambitious medium-term goal of increasing the number of international students studying in Russia to 500,000.
What are the main tools available to achieve this objective? How can Russian universities maintain their appeal to international applicants amid the geopolitical fragmentation of the world? How can engagement with Russian university alumni communities in other countries be strengthened? Participants in the Valdai Club discussion will seek to answer these and other questions.
Speakers:
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Alla Shelyapina, Executive Secretary of the Expert Council of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization (ANO) Center for the Promotion of Voluntary Resettlement “The Way Home”;
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Anastasia Makarenko, Head of International Programs at the Eurasian Studies Institute, MGIMO University;
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Michael Philaniotis, President of the Cyprus-Russia Friendship Society (Republic of Cyprus);
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Pavel Shevtsov, Rossotrudnichestvo, Deputy Head of the Agency;
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Yulia Prokhorova, Director, Centre for International Cooperation, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE.
Moderator:
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Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.
Working languages: Russian, English
Information for the media: In order to get accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our website. If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763.
Links to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VK, Telegram and Dzen.
