A Portrait of an International Employee of a Russian Higher Education Institution

Abstract

Alisa Melikyan, M.Sc., Head of the Academic Mobility Department, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: amelikyan@hse.ru 

Boris Zhelezov, Ph.D. in Political Science, Head of the International Academic Mobility Department, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: bzhelezov@hse.ru 

The authors have studied activities of international employees in the NRU HSE, both foreign citizens and Russian scientists who have worked abroad for a long time, using online questionnaires and interviews with scientists themselves, international managers and heads of relevant departments.

The paper contains statistics on the proportions of foreign academicians among researchers and teachers in colleges and universities of different countries. A brief overview of foreign studies on motivation and adaptation of foreign employees is given.

Changes in numbers of international experts in the NRU HSE over the last five years are presented. The authors analyze professional and personal characteristics of international NRU HSE employees, determine criteria of their choice of a foreign HE institution, explore their attitudes to work and co-workers and the challenges they encounter while adapting to business, cultural and social environment, communicating with their co-workers, or achieving professional self-fulfillment. The major clusters of problems impeding adaptation to working in Russia and in the NRU HSE in particular include: employment and education laws; relationship with students; specifics of business culture.

Some recommendations are proposed to correct the measures designed to internationalize the University and to make it a global science center. The authors describe prospects for further research on the factors providing efficient engagement and adaptation of foreign experts. They also stress the need for a detailed analysis of international scientists’ performance indicators.