Promising Areas for the Development of Ukrainian Higher Education Exports
- Ukrainian universities can offer international students, including young Europeans, fundamental courses in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. Since medical education is very expensive worldwide, Ukraine can increase the number of medical students by offering low tuition fees, a high-quality academic environment, and a sufficiently high level of knowledge at leading universities.
- Attention should be paid to developing exclusive educational programs that are equivalent in quality to their Western counterparts but offer price advantages. These could include, for example, large-scale training programs for highly qualified IT specialists (a goal facilitated by the successful collaboration between leading Ukrainian universities and well-known high-tech companies, including IBM, Intel, Motorola, Festo, Microsoft, and others).
- A promising avenue for expanding the number of international students in Ukraine is the use of distance learning technologies.
- Potential markets for the export of educational services include the CIS countries, Asia, and Africa. Representative offices of the Ukrainian State Center for International Education should be opened in these regions to promote study at Ukrainian universities.
- Ukraine must more actively develop educational relations with countries that are the main sources of students for domestic universities; these universities should focus on training specialists for specific countries and in specific fields (it is projected that the market for foreign applicants will become segmented in the coming years). Special cooperation agreements must be concluded with such countries. Turkmenistan and Brazil have already expressed their willingness to facilitate the targeted placement of their citizens to pursue education at Ukrainian universities. Recommendations: To represent the country’s interests in the international education market and successfully tap into it, a state policy is needed that is based on an understanding of global market demands and the combined efforts of the state and universities.
Strengthening Ukraine’s position in the international market for higher education services requires a series of measures. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should bring the legal status of foreign students into line with the practices of developed democratic countries, in particular, by amending Law of Ukraine No. 1382-IV “On Freedom of Movement and Free Choice of Residence” dated December 11, 2003, to extend the established 10-day registration period for foreign citizens who have received an education in Ukraine and wish to continue their studies at higher levels. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should improve the mechanism for coordination among government agencies whose activities are related to international educational cooperation (the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the State Migration Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and other relevant ministries and agencies), to establish an Interagency Coordination Center to promptly resolve issues faced by foreign applicants and students, ranging from facilitating visa acquisition to assisting with matters involving the State Migration Service or the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine shall develop and submit, in accordance with established procedures, a draft amendment to Resolution No. 1019 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On the Licensing of Educational Services” dated August 8, 2007, specifying the requirements for Ukrainian higher education institutions regarding the licensing of programs for training foreign citizens in accredited fields of study and specializations. When preparing the draft, the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” No. 1556-VII dated July 1, 2014, shall be taken into account, in particular, Section V, Article 18, “Powers of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance,” which authorizes the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance “to conduct licensing reviews and prepare expert opinions on the feasibility of issuing licenses for educational activities.” As part of Ukraine’s participation in the Bologna Process, specifically to implement the provision regarding the recognition of prior learning, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine shall amend the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine “Certain Issues Concerning the Organization of Enrollment and Training (internships) of Foreigners and Stateless Persons” No. 1541 dated November 1, 2013, to provide for the admission of foreign citizens based on academic achievements obtained in other countries. With the aim of developing distance education in Ukraine and enabling domestic higher education institutions to enter the international market for distance learning services, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should amend Resolution No. 136 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated February 26, 1993, “On the Education of Foreign Citizens,” to provide for the right of foreign citizens pursuing higher education at Ukrainian higher education institutions to study through distance learning. 6. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine shall develop a Program for the Development of the System for Exporting Higher Education Services, which shall include the following key areas for implementing the policy of expanding the export of educational services: establishing a network of overseas information and recruitment centers; concluding international cooperation agreements in the field of education, primarily with countries interested in training qualified personnel at Ukrainian higher education institutions; ensuring quality control over the admission and training of foreign students; strengthening the research component in the educational process; expanding the practice of teaching foreign students in English at Ukrainian universities; introducing postgraduate education programs for foreign citizens; the inclusion of Ukrainian universities in international educational consortia; the development of educational and residential infrastructure for international students; and the development of a state incentive system for universities based on their success in attracting international students and the amount of funding received.
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