The role of Russian-language and English-language university educational programs for foreign students in expanding the opportunities of Russian education export

Abstract

The study aims to identify ways to improve the Russian education export strategy by choosing the most optimal language model for the implementation of university educational programs for foreign students. The paper analyzes two main ways of education export in the form of English-language and Russian-language university educational programs for foreign youth. In particular, the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of these language models were identified both from the perspective of universities and foreign students enrolled in Russian universities. In addition, options for the likely medium-term and long-term impact of the two language models on the education sector, Russia’s migration and economic policy as a whole were considered. As a result of examining various parameters of university programs for foreigners in Russian and English, it was proved that the model of Russian-language university education for foreign students allows for the most complete implementation of the Russian education export strategy in terms of the formation of a widely recognized and highly demanded brand of Russian higher education abroad, as well as in attracting a large contingent of foreign youth and creating favorable conditions for the training of foreign students in Russian universities. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in substantiating the need for priority implementation of the Russian-language model of higher education for foreign students in Russia in order to significantly expand the opportunities of Russian education export. In addition, the paper shows that the effective implementation of the Russian education export strategy based on the specified language model of educational programs requires the creation of mass pre-university training courses for foreign youth in Russian as a foreign language in the most promising countries for attracting applicants.