In the context of global internationalization in all spheres of social life the export of services has become the most perspective direction of Ukrainian education development. The main motivation of such kind of export is considered to be both the need for further integration into the world educational space and attractive opportunity of obtaining funds, the rapid economic development.

According to information provided in a research note of the National Institute for strategic studies (Ukraine in the world market of higher education services) international higher education market is about 100 billion dollars. In the world market of educational services there are higher education institutions from over 140 countries, in accordance with UNESCO. In the USA higher education is the fifth in monetary terms for exports to the American economy, which sometimes exceeds the income from arms exports. In Australia, the educational sector is the third largest source of fiscal revenue in the national economy.

Thus, the prospects of export of educational services are beyond doubt, which in turn causes a constant increase of competition among its participants. To be objective about competitive advantages or disadvantages of Ukrainian education, it is necessary to analyze the requirements of the global market. Monitoring of student preferences shows that business education is the most valuable in the international market. Almost 20% of students study technical sciences and engineering, where information technologies take leading positions. Approximately the same amount of students chooses natural sciences. Medicine comes at the end of the list (4‑5%). Whereas in Ukraine 25 % (more than 16 thousand) of foreign students master medical specialty. 20 % (more than 13 thousand) study engineering. Humanitarian and economic departments of Ukrainian universities are less popular among foreigners.

As the latest geography data shows, in Ukraine foreign students are mainly (50%) from Asia: Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, China, Russian Federation, India, Iraq, Iran and so on. More than 4 thousand of foreign students are of European countries. The reason of Ukrainian universities being not very popular among students from developed countries is that their quotes are not high enough in international rankings which actually determine the level of education.

 

Information source:

http://www.niss.gov.ua/articles/1695/