Globalization in the world economy has led to a trend towards “internationalization” in the educational world as well. The basis for a change in employment and the country is most often the education obtained, the professional qualification that can be recognized not only at home but is verified worldwide (verifiabledegree.com). It is not surprising that today a mass of people all over the world aspire to receive such education and such qualification. “International mobility” in education has long been a global standard. In the USA more than 570 thousand foreign students study, in Great Britain – more than 300 thousand, in Australia – about 150 thousand. By 2020, according to the forecast of the British Council, the association Universities UK, and IDP Australia, about 6 million people will study in higher educational institutions, not in their native countries.
Typically, universities have greater freedom to define their educational policy and content (hence the huge variety of specialties and specializations offered by the best Western universities). One cannot ignore the close ties between universities and the business community (many professors are active consultants) and their ability to keep their hand on the pulse of modern life. In other words, they teach something that will definitely come in handy in future work.
In the walls of the same university today it is possible to study at two faculties at the same time, for example, along with information technologies to study economics or law. Every year the number of faculties where the so-called multidisciplinary approach is practiced is increasing, within the framework of which students are trained in a variety of ways, and “on the way out” it provides specialists capable of finding their application in the most promising branches of economy.
Experience of a joint study with students from other countries leads to an understanding of the peculiarities of other people’s thinking, brings a broad perception, provides better contact with foreign partners in the future. This is especially important for specialists in foreign trade, international law, and export industries. It is also important for this category of specialists that studying abroad (at least during a year) allows them to finally and irrevocably learn a foreign language. This in itself is an important career advantage.
Inviting foreign students to study abroad, universities do a lot to make them feel comfortable here. Each of them has an international student support service, whose staff provides them with all kinds of assistance, from advice on academic progress to assist in finding accommodation and solving household problems. Almost every university offers first-year international students a special orientation program, allowing them to adapt to new living and studying conditions with the least effort.
A friendly atmosphere of cooperation, typical for Western universities, helps to cope with academic workloads. Professors in them are open to dialogue, ready to argue patiently with students without losing their mentor tone. As a rule, they have special hours for consultations on educational material. In Anglo-Saxon countries, there is a common system of tutoring, where each junior student is assigned an academic mentor from among senior students and teachers.