Which specialties and universities are the most popular among foreign students, how many invitations for study have been registered, from which countries do the most students come to study at Ukrainian universities – all this was discussed during the opening of the Third Ukrainian International Education Forum.
“We are very pleased to note the rapid growth in the number of foreign students since 2011. This is the result of our joint work with you. And, I hope, by 2025 we will be able to reach the figure of more than 100 thousand” – noted the director of the Center Olena Shapovalova.
Olena Shapovalova noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the termination of invitations of foreign citizens for study or internship in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science from March 16, 2020 № 406 for almost 5 months, last year there was a slight decrease in the number of foreign students in Ukraine. But thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in July, amendments were made to the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science №1541, which extended the terms of enrollment until December 15, 2020 and April 15, 2021 and returned the possibility of distance learning for foreigners.
Most students come from countries like India, Morocco, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, China, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Uzbekistan.
The large number of students from India and Turkmenistan, as Olena Shapovalova explains, is due to the ease of receiving a visa.
Among the specialties chosen by foreign students, the most popular ones are medical – almost 50%:
1. medicine (36,81%)
2. dentistry (6,46 %)
3. medical practice (4,02%)
4. management (4,04%)
5. pharmacy, industrial pharmacy (4,00%)
6. secondary education (2,32%)
7. law (2,01%)
8. architecture and construction (1,72%)
9. finance, banking and insurance (1,7%)
10. economics (1,60%)
The most popular higher education institutions among foreign students in Ukraine are:
1. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
2. Kharkiv National Medical University
3. Bogomolets National Medical University
4. Odesa National Medical University
5. Zaporizhzhia State Medical University
6. National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsia
7. Dnipro State Medical University
8. I.Horbachevsky Ternopil State Medical University
9. HSEE of Ukraine “Bukovinian State Medical University”
10. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
“What unites these universities is that they have a medical faculty. After all, the most popular specialties among foreign students – which is almost 50% – are medical” – explains Olena Shapovalova.
The regions that lead in the number of foreign students are Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odesa, which is due to the most popular educational institutions being located in them.
Olena Shapovalova noted the positive growth in the number of registered invitations for study for foreign applicants. Thus, since 2015, their number has increased by almost 2 times – from 19 647 to 37 523 persons.
The leaders among the universities that registered the largest number of invitations as of 2020 are:
1. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University – 1737
2. Kharkiv National Medical University – 1287
3. International European University – 1283
4. Limited Liability Company “Dnipro Medical Institute of Traditional and Nontraditional Medicine” – 1194
5. Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics – 1121
6. National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” – 867
7. Zaporizhzhia State Medical University – 866
8. Dnipro State Medical University – 801
9. Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University – 777
10. State Higher Education Institution “Uzhhorod National University” – 771
“Despite the challenges of this difficult year, we have more than 35,000 registered invitations for study. This means that all of us together – Ministry of Education and Science, “Study in Ukraine”, universities – have made great efforts and done everything possible to make Ukrainian higher education interesting and accessible to foreign entrants this year ” – summed up Olena Shapovalova.