Agents help Czech universities increase the number of international students
The recent report on “Studying and living in the Czech Republic from the perspective of foreign students” reveals that agents have had a considerable influence on international students’ decisions to study at universities in the Czech Republic. The number of foreign students at these institutions continued to grow last year before the coronavirus hit, according to a new study.
The survey was conducted by the Czech National Agency for International Education in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and higher education institutions at the end of 2019.
The full-time foreign students at all levels bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate from a total of 55 universities (26 public, 28 private, and one state-run) completed an online questionnaire in both Czech and English.
The data collected showed that the number of foreign university students in the Czech Republic has been growing since 2000.
There were 46,534 foreign students in full-degree programmes at universities in the country at the end of 2019, accounting for 16.1 percent of all university students (288,915).
The strong growth of international students recruitment was between 2014 and 2019 when student numbers from China increased by almost 400%.
The highest number of students come from Slovakia, with 21,105 Slovakians studying at these institutions at the end of last year, accounting for 45.4 % of the total number of foreign students.
Other origin countries of international students for Czech universities were Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, with this region accounting for 27.2 % of the total number of overseas students at Czech universities.
The survey findings include the importance of the role of agents in recruiting foreign students in recent years as 13 % of foreign students at Czech universities learned about the possibility of studying there through agents.
Agents had a ‘significant influence’ on the decision of students from regions including Central Asia (34 percent), the Middle East (30), Russia (25), and Western Europe (25).
Agents also influenced students in choosing to study university programmes taught in English, with 18 percent of foreign students opting to study in English compared to 11 percent of foreign students choosing Czech study programmes.
The main reasons for international students choosing to study at a Czech university included: the specific programmes offered (49 % of respondents), a specific university in the country (46%), and the geographical location of the country (32%), relatively low living costs (26%), the low (or absence of) tuition fees (25%). Other factors influencing the decision were safety and having friends and family.
For many international students the possibility to study for free is very attractive together with the opportunity to attend a preparatory Czech language course before the start of the studies.
The conclusions of the survey will also be used to evaluate and plan further promotional activities to attract more international students and support the universities introducing their international activities and programmes. This strategic plan by Czech Ministry of Education will be implemented from 2021.
