ADAPTATION OF FOREIGN STUDENTS IN LEADING RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES AS A SOFT POWER TOOL

Abstract

Purpose. Identification and evaluation of specific measures of adaptation of foreign students in leading Russian universities, as well as the role of student self-government in the process of adaptation of foreign students. Methods. The study involved a group of methods by which objective results were obtained. The method of the system approach allowed analyzing a number of directions to which universities adhere in the process of adaptation of foreign students to the academic and cultural environment. The method of historical analysis allowed us to consider how the concept development of the soft power phenomenon in foreign and domestic literature took place. The study involved the data obtained by the author in the course of content analysis, which helped to collect the empirical data for this research (analysis of the text array on the official websites of the University; legal framework) Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that in this study, the organizational, functional, event-based direction of adaptation of foreign students in Russian universities are subject to systematic consideration. The authors introduced the results of the research of real applied examples. They allow assessing the effectiveness of three leading universities (Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Kazan Federal University and Far Eastern Federal University) and formulating appropriate recommendations to improve the performance in this area. Results. The analysis of activity on adaptation of foreign students of the considered universities allowed drawing a conclusion that for successful adaptation of foreign students in University the corresponding departments both at the level of administrative and at the level of student's self-government have to be provided. In addition, higher education institutions should provide scientific and methodological support for the adaptation process: the purpose and objectives of the adaptation program, its mission, as well as an action plan with the possibility of receiving feedback from participants.