The key numbers speak volumes: Among the BRICS countries, Russia has the by far highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the number of foreign students from Russia at German third level education institutions increased significantly since 1999 to over 10,400 in 2012. The Russian Federation, as a direct eastern neighbour to the European Union with over 6 million matriculated university students, offers a huge potential of highly qualified and motivated young people, many of which wish to complement their academic or professional career with study time abroad. The trend of German third level education institutions of recent years to extend their marketing into the Russian Federation seems therefore perfectly justified. These positive parameters should, however, not blind us against some of the challenges faced by third level education in Russia.weiterlesen