As reported by Deutsche Welle, analysts of the online platform Study.EU came to this conclusion after analyzing the attractiveness of European countries for international students. The Hamburg-based company offers information on more than seven thousand faculties at European universities. In 2017, it compiled its own ranking for the first time.
The main conclusion reached by the company's experts is that continental Europe will become increasingly popular among international students due to current trends in the United States and because of Brexit. "Two prominent trends will shape the development of the education sector in the coming years. First, the American government under President Donald Trump is creating a situation where international students will reorient from the US mainly to Europe," believes Geritt Bruno Blöss, head of Study.EU. The second event is the launch of the Brexit process, which will also not contribute to the growing attractiveness of educational programs from Albion.
The top 10 attractive countries for international students include France (4th place), Sweden (5th), Russia (6th), Switzerland (7th), Italy (8th), Belgium (9th), Norway (10th). Let us add that Russia received 60 points in the overall ranking.
The attractiveness of a particular country was assessed on a 100-point system. The first 50 points are given for the country's position in international education rankings, the quality of education, and the availability of English-language study programs. 30 points assess the average cost of living and tuition. The lower the cost of educational programs, the more points the country receives in this category. The remaining 20 are assigned depending on the unemployment rate, the percentage of the population that speaks English, and the country's position in the happiness ranking compiled by the UN.
Interestingly, Germany took first place in the first group of indicators, receiving 40.6 points out of a possible 50. In the ranking for the second group of factors, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, and Romania lead. Germany ranks eighth in it with 26 points out of a possible 30.
Recall that first-degree higher education in Germany is free, even for international students. As a rule, students only pay semester fees in the range of 100-300 euros per semester. As for the "happiness factors," Germany lags behind the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, and the Netherlands, but it has 16.5 points out of a possible 20. That is, in all three indicators, Germany made it into the top 10. "Germany will maintain its leading position in the coming years," predicts Geritt Bruno Blöss.
Russia's inclusion in the top 10 was not a big surprise for the compilers of the ranking. "We were a little surprised, but if you look at the specific numbers, it is immediately clear that Russia offers a high level of education, which is reflected in education rankings in recent years, and such an indicator as the growth of English-language programs was important for us," said Geritt Bruno Blöss. In the "quality of education" indicator, Russia took fourth place: 25.7 points out of a possible 50. In the "cost" indicator, Russia was in the middle of the ranking, in 20th place. In the "life and career" indicator, it was at the bottom of the list, in 27th place.
How did it happen that Switzerland is less attractive for international students than Russia? "This is due to how the weight of all three factors is distributed," laughs Geritt Bruno Blöss. "Switzerland is far behind in the 'accessibility (choice) of programs' indicator, because it was important for us that an international student has the opportunity to choose. The second factor is the high cost of living. Here, Switzerland in European comparison is far behind other countries. About 18 thousand euros per year an international student needs to live in this country, in Russia – 13 thousand euros."