Priority areas to ensure sustainable development of educational exports of Russian universities in the context of digital transformation (regional aspect)

¹ Ural State University of Economics, 8 Marta/Narodnoy Voli St. 62/45, 620144 Ekaterinburg, Russia

Abstract

The article considers digital technologies used to attract foreign students to regional universities. Forced distance learning during the pandemic COVID-19 revealed the weaknesses in the educational process when the need for intensive use of the existing digital technologies increased. This served as the basis for the active transformations of the priority areas in developing the digital environment in universities and the active use of online technologies to preserve the sustainable development of educational exports. With distant learning, the global competition for foreign students between universities only intensified making it necessary to create a high-quality digital environment. Russian universities used to compete with universities in other countries. But nowadays students can choose a university without leaving their homes. The main factors for their choice are the quality of education and reliability of the virtual infrastructure [1]. For the sustainable development of educational services exports, regional universities need to engage all the available digital tools to attract foreign applicants. They must position themselves as modern, internationally recognized educational institutions providing high quality education.