Recruiting of foreign students to remote regions with severe climatic conditions

Abstract

Introduction. Universities are looking for effective ways to recruit foreign citizens, but many factors influence the choice of university. The climatic conditions and geographic location of the region in which distant universities have to work and which they cannot change usually not considered as a significant factor. The purpose of the study is to identify the positive and negative aspects of studying in a remote university located in a region with difficult climatic conditions and the most effective methods of recruitment of foreign students. Materials and methods. The results of a survey of foreign students of the M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University were used as materials for the study. The survey involved 335 students enrolled in main professional educational programs, exchange programs, students of preparatory courses and courses of the Russian language. Results. The majority of respondents named the quality of education (21%), attitude towards foreigners (18%), the work of teachers (16%) and the infrastructure of the university (13%) as the advantages of studying. Most of the respondents (53%) did not indicate any disadvantages of studying at the university, 11% mentioned the geographical location of NEFU and 8% pointed climatic conditions of the region. The respondents first learned about the university from friends (25%), from the internet (23%) and Rossotrudnichestvo offices in the countries (14%). The results of the survey showed that 35% of students plan to return home or leave for another country. The dispersion of this answer across countries showed that representatives of almost every country are planning to go home or to another country, regardless of the period of study passed. 29% of the respondents would like to stay here and work in Yakutia after graduation. The poll showed that both representatives of the CIS countries and non-CIS countries wish to stay in Yakutia to work. Conclusion. Increasing university awareness through social media and partnerships with educational organizations, using various recruiting methods and involving students themselves in this process are key ways to increase the number of students.