Factors of pre-war educational migration: an investigation of polish medical and dental students in Ukraine

Abstract

BackgroundLow admission rates at Polish medical universities led many students to study abroad. Ukraine provided an appealing option for years. The purpose of the study is to investigate the most important factors that motived Polish students enrolled at I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University in Ukraine to pursue medical and dentistry studies in lower middle-income countries, just before the outbreak of the war. It has become incredibly important to determine crucial economic and non-economic factors.MethodsThe paper draws on a quantitative survey (N = 94) conducted among medical and dental students from Poland who had studied at I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University in Ukraine using a semi-structured questionnaire. To test whether there was a relationship between the importance of the motives, Pearson’s chi-square independence test was employed.ResultsThe study found the key economic and non-economic factors for pursuing Ukrainian studies were rejection from Polish tuition-free programs, lower Ukrainian tuition and living costs compared to Poland and to other European Union countries. Determining reasons for choosing Ternopil University were recruiter and friend recommendations and its prestige among Ukrainian medical schools. Gender influenced the ranking of motives.ConclusionThe article examines the unique pre-war educational migration from Poland to Ukraine – occurring counter to typical flows from lower to higher a lower income country. The study showed that universities should strengthen recruiting efforts and highlight competitive tuition and living costs to attract international students, especially from relatively more developed nations.