Student mobility in Europe

Hundreds of students annually leave Ukraine to study abroad. The Ministry of Science and Education does not have accurate statistics, but the firms that arrange for such studies claim that their numbers are up to 10 percent this year. What attracts our students are the affordable prices, which have not increased even in time of crisis, along with actual employment opportunities and higher salaries. Also, the system of education is different. This particular issue was on the agenda of the AEGEE, or Association des Etats Generaux des etudiants de l’Europe (known as European Students’ Forum in English), hosted for the first time by Kyiv on Oct. 22 — 25, 2009, with the support of the European Commission. More on this in the following interview with the AEGEE program coordinator, Olesia STOROZHUK.

Ms. Storozhuk, what are the Student Forum’s main objectives and what does it mean to Ukraine?

“AEGEE is Europe’s largest youth organization with a membership of 17,000 students from 43 European countries. It was founded in 1985, in Paris, as a non-governmental and nonpartisan European organization. This particular forum represented universities in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Estonia. The program included academic sessions concerning the educational processes in Germany, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Poland, and Spain. Thus, the Hungarian university is using the US educational model, with all lectures and classes in English. When founded, it was meant for students from post-Soviet and Central European countries. Its graduates can continue to study at other European institutions of higher learning. The students who attended the forum were thus able to receive information about the possibilities of studying abroad within a day and under the same roof, so to say.”

What possibilities of receiving education abroad do Ukrainian students have?

“One ought to bear in mind the difference between free and tuition-based education. Tuition is for those who can afford it, while free education is for pro-active students who are competitive in the intellectual sphere. Most programs are geared to help students who are seeking ways to realize their potential and are working hard toward this end — for example, those who are into extracurricular activities.

“It is only natural that most Ukrainians want to major in law, journalism, or economics. More often than not, they are attracted by the interactive methods of instruction, practical trends, the possibility of gaining experience of living abroad and meeting with other people. Our students are aided by university scholarships or by independent foundations. There are separate European Commission programs that pay for tuition abroad and programs that cover all expenses, including accommodation and tuition. Other programs only take care of tuition.

“Even though they have no immediate advantages on the Ukrainian job market, people who have studied abroad have received an experience that will eventually come in handy. On the other hand, this student exodus leaves Ukraine at a disadvantage in terms of labor force and researchers, considering that not all of these graduates are willing to return home. In some cases, it is difficult to integrate into the life of another country; in other cases, many travel abroad to study for the sole purpose of receiving the permanent resident status.”

Ukraine has been trying to implement the Bologna Process for a number of years to bring this country closer to the European standards.

“We have adopted only the formal aspect of this system, yet its academic mobility — when a student can, for example, spend a semester in other countries under the exchange programs, when the student can influence the academic process and its quality — has been implemented here on a low level.”

Still, quite a few foreigners prefer to study in Ukraine. Why?

“Most of these students are from developing or post-Soviet countries; they are attracted by Ukraine’s lower tuition costs. They also trust the quality of our education. Some view Ukraine as a more comfortable, peaceful country to live in. Those who come from Eastern Europe or the United States are interested in the eastern regions of Europe; they want to do research for their universities.”