The Role of the City in Higher Education Internationalization: French and Russian Regional Context

The competition for international students is growing among both different countries and universities within one country. Regional universities in Russia, meaning those outside Moscow and Saint Petersburg, try to use internationalization in order to contribute to the development of their regions. However, a high level of academic mobility is usually ensured by comfortable living conditions that both the university and the city the university is situated in provide. The article covers the role of the city as the factor that may contribute to higher education internationalization. The research is based on the perception of certain university cities that international students living there have. Taking into account the ideas of Machlup, Florida, and Castells, the authors consider universities the key actors of university cities development in Siberia. Thus, two Siberian university cities included in the QS Best Student Cities ranking, namely, Tomsk and Novosibirsk, were considered in the research. To evaluate their role in international students’ choice for their universities, international students in Tomsk and Novosibirsk universities were interviewed during 2018-2020. To compare the results with the international dimension of higher education internationalization, Russian students studying in France were also interviewed. As a result, the criteria of the university choice were determined that are connected with the university city characteristics. The latter include security considerations, cultural diversity and social environment tolerance, aesthetic attractiveness of the city and its sightseeing opportunities, developed transportation system, high concentration of international students, open and accessible communicative environment. However, the criteria international students chose Siberian university cities for included lower prices for education and lower living costs. The main disadvantage is the lack of comfortable communication zones that do not depend on climate. The priorities of international students in large and small university cities turned out to differ: the latter tend to value the quality of university and the city’s historical values as well as personified relations with the locals more. Comparing the opinion of Russian and international students on significant criteria of university cities, the authors found out that international students were less critical to such characteristics of Tomsk and Novosibirsk as security, tolerance and accessibility for disabled people. However, international students were more critical to the number of students in the city. Thus, the creation of comfortable and attractive conditions for international students is the common responsibility of the university, the city and the region.

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