Education and Science, EU – Baltic States, Latvia

According to Auzins, internationalization of higher education is a globally important phenomenon. The number of students who study in foreign universities and colleges is increasing very fast worldwide. Therefore, it is important for Latvia to attract more foreign students, said Auzins, adding that the number of foreign students in Latvia was increasing already.

Commenting on why Latvia needs more foreign students, Auzins said one of the reasons was the falling number of local students. Therefore, one of the ways to keep the overall number of students from falling, or even to increase it, is to attract more foreign students to Latvia. This, however, is not the main reason, said Auzins.

There has to be international environment in Latvian universities and colleges, so local students could work hand in hand with foreign students. This will later help them to avoid problems when working with people from other countries. Furthermore, the ties of friendship forged during the studies may be very long-lasting and help students pursue successful careers.

The main objective of the conference is to inform the public and the government about the opportunities that internationalization of higher education may give Latvia in terms of economic growth.