Abstract:

The authors explore the phenomenon of international education using the several decades’ experience of working with more than 150 nationalities in the highly diverse environment of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University).

The history of diversity and sociocultural adaptation of students from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds at RUDN University started in 1960 when the University was established as Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University. Since then the university has undergone many transformations in order to encompass the current trends of education, with the principle of inclusiveness and diversity being its focus throughout the decades.

One of the central issues analyzed in this article is the choice of problem-solving strategies in the area of social and cultural adaptation of students in the earliest stages of their studies, ranging from mastering the Russian language and being introduced to the technology which may have been previously unavailable to them to developing diplomatic skills and learning the principles of conducting scientific research based on best practice.

This research utilizes data obtained during various case studies and surveys conducted in groups of students with different cultural, ethnic and educational backgrounds.

Keywords:

Diversity, international students, higher education, multinational university.