The number of Indian students at Russian universities increased by almost 60 per cent to 450 in 2012, up from 280 in 2011. A majority take medical or paramedical courses, but this may be diversifying.
“While medicine is an area that attracts a large number of students, we are also seeing interest for other courses such as engineering, foreign relations and humanities,” Timur Akhmetov, of Kazan State Medical University said at the Russian Education Fair 2013 last month, which toured some of India’s biggest cities.
Indian students at Russian universities increased by almost 60 per cent to 450 in 2012
Indian students account for 15-20 per cent of the total number of international students in Russia. Akhmetov said Indians were attracted by the cost of education in Russia, which is lower than the in the UK and US.
The Russian education system is also well recognised around the world and aligned with the Bologna process. Russian universities also recognise qualifications achieved in Indian high schools.
Choice may be another factor: Russia has more than 600 state higher education universities offering courses in over 500 specialities.
“We have seen a rise in the number of international students coming to Russia for higher education. With the Russian universities are fast expanding its contacts into countries like India, we hope that the number will soon witness a rise in the days to come,” he said.
There are about 100,000 international students from more than 200 countries studying in Russia. Representatives of ten universities including Vyatka State University and Volgograd State Medical University took part in the Russian Education Fair in the hope of recruiting 300-400 more Indians for the coming academic year.
