Difficulties to get residence permits is a major obstacle for foreign students
20.05.2011
A “Study in Estonia” analysis commissioned by the Archimedes Foundation revealed that the interest of foreign students to study in Estonia does not depend only on the quality of education here, but size and efficiency of the Estonian consular network is also a major factor.
“The highest proportion of foreign students – about 40 per cent – comes to Estonia from Finland,” said Mariann Lugus, Communications Manager for Higher Education Marketing at Archimedes, “It is a good sign given the quality of education available in Finland. However, it is essential to attract students from other countries as well in order to increase the quality and diversity of international student body of Estonian universities.”
Results of the study indicate that coming to Estonia is difficult for young people from outside the European Union because consular services are not available in all countries. “For example, there has been a lot of enquiries from Indian students interested in our master’s or doctoral programs in IT, but in the end they give up because of the bureaucratic difficulties,” explained Lugus. She emphasized that Estonian higher education is considered desirable, but complicated and time-consuming visa and residence permit procedures steer candidates to other countries.
The study contains a number of recommendations for improving the quality of higher education, particularly that of programmes in English. It also points out that information on the curriculum in English should be easily accessible to young people all over the world.
The third section lays out principles for effective marketing in key destination countries. More detailed analysis is offered on the prospects to attract candidates from Finland, Russia, Latvia, China, Turkey, USA, Georgia, India and Ukraine.
As higher education and research are global in nature, internationalization is an important strategic goal for Estonian universities. Attracting foreign students to Estonia will help raise the quality of the local higher education and enrich the learning process with different opinions and world views.
The study was conducted by Thijs van Vugt IE&D Solutions BV and Tim Rogers of Higher Education Consultants UK Agency, LTD.
Presentation of the report will take place today starting 14.00 at Tallinn University of Technology (Ehitajate tee 5, room X-311).
Additional Information:
Mariann Lugus
Communications Manager for Higher Education Marketing, Archimedes Foundation
Tel + 372 5082 334
Märt Miljan
Head of Communications, Archimedes Foundation
Tel +372 521 5767