Threat to status quo or opportunity?

Despite the generally disheartening situation, in one area the Bologna Process has proven to be a success: student mobility. The existence of comparable curricula, the ECTS, and various exchange programs, has led to a rise in student exchanges, prompting the coining of the term "Erasmus Generation" for the new generation of European students with broad international experience. Although Ukraine recently joined the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperations Window, through the European Neighborhood Partnership Instrument, it has yet to reap benefits.

Foreign-funded scholarships continue to be a rarity for Ukrainian students. Ukrainian students benefited from 135 Erasmus-type scholarships across all categories, while Turkish students received in excess of 7,000. As international experience is a significant factor in the spread of new ideas and values, the importance of this aspect should not be underestimated. Key problems mentioned by students include difficulties with transferring credits, mainly due to recognition issues, administrative hurdles, and the poor portability of loans and grants.

In a sense, Ukraine's HEIs benefit from the visa restrictions imposed upon Ukrainian citizens, as well as from a variety of factors – historical, linguistic, financial, cultural and so on – that have led to the isolation of Ukrainian students. Indeed, should these hurdles be removed, HEIs in Ukraine will face much higher levels of competition and corruption will likely wither. Top students will vote with their feet. This is a serious threat for Ukraine, from both a social and commercial point-of-view. Those top students are the ones most likely to be potential drivers of growth and public figures. Educated abroad, meager perspectives back home mean they are likely to stay away. Considering Ukraine's demographic crisis, such a situation is quite unsustainable and could eventually lead to a collapse of higher education in Ukraine.

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