The Economic Role of the Region's Geobrand in Strengthening the Educational Trend of Foreign Youth Migration

Abstract

The article considers the influence of the geobrand of Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk oblast with regards to attracting foreign students to the universities in the region. It provides the statistics on the positive economic impact of the geobrand on the educational trend of foreign youth migration. What attracts foreign students is not only the university, but also the region itself. In case of Yekaterinburg, it is a well-known geobrand created historically purposefully or spontaneously. Large-scale international events held in the region contribute a lot to the worldwide recognition of the geobrand. It attracts additional resources and determines the competitive position of the area both locally and globally. With the development of digital culture, information society and the media space, it is possible to increase the region’s competitiveness and investment attractiveness. It is essential for improving its image and for its positive perception internally and externally. Since 2017 Yekaterinburg has been positioned mainly as a cultural and sports capital. Its image is transforming from that of an industrial territory to the image of a developing region. There are 39 higher education institutions located in Yekaterinburg, many of which occupy high positions in the Russian university ranking. Full-time contracts and part-time contracts with foreign students allowed the universities to receive income from the export of educational services. These universities managed to increase their total return on export of their services, which proves the interest of foreign students to studying in Ural universities. The main criteria for choosing the universities were recognition of the university diploma in their home country, interest in the region where the university is located and tuition fee. The sources of information from which they learned about the university were: Internet, World Cup and the university representatives visiting their country.