The meeting was hosted by the Federal Migration Service (FMS) of the Russian Federation and gathered representatives of eight states – Armenia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Portugal Russia and Turkey - as well as the EU Delegation in Moscow, IOM, various higher education institutions (HEI) and external experts.
The meeting was opened by the Director of the FMS, Mr. Konstantin Romodanovsky, who underlined that while most states are eager to facilitate incoming student migration, misuse and abuse thereof has to be countered efficiently. In Russia, where the demand for foreign specialists is substantial, students presently account for two percent of the overall immigration. The country has recently not only introduced reforms in order to enhance their labour market integration and naturalization, but also extended its cooperation with HEI across the country.
The number of scholarships provided to incoming foreign students by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been increased significantly from 10.000 to 15.000 per year and shall soon be topped up to 20.000. This shall contribute to the competitiveness of the Russian higher education system, which represents a foreign policy objective. Moreover, the provision of Russian language and culture courses has been improved and examination thereof systemized and optimized. According to Mr. Romodanovsky, all these measures could serve as examples of good practices within the Pilot Project 6 (PP6). Meanwhile, further measures to counter brain drain and brain waste while enhancing brain circulation would still need to be identified.
After short interventions by the PP6 Leading States – the Czech Republic and Hungary – who expressed their appreciation of the possibility to explore the Russian experience in depth during these two days, Mr. Sven-Olov Carlsson, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Russia, underlined the important contribution of the Prague Process activities to both the EU-Russia dialogue on migration and implementation of the EU’s Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (GAMM). Over the past ten years some 10.000 Russian students have been welcomed across the EU, turning Russia into the second most important source country for foreign students to the EU after India. Another 2.000 students from Russia are expected to take part in the ‘Erasmus+ Programme’ in the near future.
The Prague Process Secretariat then presented a short summary of the answers provided by the participating states to the PP6 questionnaire. The latter answers along with the various interventions by experts during the PP6 activities should serve as the basis for the elaboration of the envisaged PP6 Handbook, the draft structure of which was introduced by Hungary. The ambitious endeavor was well received by the participants. While some suggested also looking into the issue of vocational education, others recommended focusing on fewer aspects due to the limited time of the project. The consideration of multilateral agreements and co-called Copenhagen Process were also suggested.
The presentation of the Research Paper on international student mobility to Germany was followed by interventions on behalf of Armenia and Turkey who both provided a comprehensive overview of their national situation and policies in the same area. The following tour de table granted all participants the opportunity to state their experiences and present priorities on the topic.
The second session was dedicated to student mobility from and to Russia, discussed within three presentations on behalf of the Centre for Sociological Research under the Ministry of Education, Rossatrudnichestvo (Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and international Humanitarian Cooperation) and the FMS’ Department for Work with Foreigners. The three experts provided with detailed inputs regarding the volume of incoming and outgoing students, the related tendencies observed, the main policy approaches and legislation on visas, residence and work.
The third session was reserved for HEI such as the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration and the Peoples’ Friendship University who presented the numbers of foreign students, programmes offered to them and practical measures for managing these flows. The important cooperation with the FMS was underlined by both institutions. Finally, IOM gave a general overview of student mobility flows at the global level and the participating countries in particular. The main student receiving countries were then also introduced as policy examples when it comes to important aspects such as the granting of visas and residence permits, labour market access or family reunification.
The two-day meeting was rounded of by a study visit to the Higher School of Economics (HSE). Participants were welcomed by the International Department, which - after a general introduction of the institution – provided with a detailed account of the admission procedures for international students, the manifold services granted to the latter and main challenges encountered in terms of fulfilling the legal requirements for studies in Russia.
Participants had the chance to receive a deeper insight into the general trends and tendencies within the Russian higher education system and some relevant sociological aspects, presented by Ms. Zhanna Zayonchovskaya from the Institute for Economic Forecasting at the Russian Academy of Science. Her intervention was complemented by the presentation of a recent study by the Institute for Demography at the HSE. The meeting was concluded by final statements on behalf of the FMS and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
