This university is the only one in the country that offers Russian language philology and one-semester language training for students on the European Union "Erasmus+" program at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
With Russia now essentially out of bounds to anyone from the West with a conscience, Daugavpils represents a place where those with a need to learn Russian quickly and to a good standard can do so in a safe environment in an EU and NATO member state.
At the beginning of this year, 47 students from 12 European Union and other countries came to Daugavpils University. In this academic semester, their number has increased even more, Velta Trūle, Project Manager of the Department of International and Public Relations said:
"A total of 62 foreign students are currently studying at Daugavpils University. They are from Nigeria, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China. The list is quite long."
Daugavpils University has its own niche products, with which it is able to interest students from abroad. For example, Drufa came from India and is studying at Daugavpils University in the master's program Smart Economy and Innovations. Drufa uses opportunities at Daugavpils University to learn the Russian language in depth.
He studies and tries to speak Russian, because many people around him speak Russian and most often use the language in practice in shops. In Daugavpils, Latvia's second-largest city, Russia is the predominant language heard on the streets even though Latvian is the only official State Language across the entire country.
Many students already have prior knowledge
Many foreign students who come to study in Daugavpils already have a good command of the Russian language, Trūle said:
"For example, Chinese students – a large percentage of them received previous education in Belarus, which was partly in English and partly in Russian. Perhaps this also motivated them to study further in Daugavpils, knowing that there are many Russian speakers here."
A big plus for these students from China is the relatively low tuition fee. For a doctoral program in Daugavpils, it is in the amount of 3,000 to 5,000 euros, while in China you would have to part with 20,000 euros for the same degree.
Daugavpils University also offers a special Russian language training program, which is in strong demand, according to the university's deputy rector for Development Affairs, Jānis Kudiņš:
"In our Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, this humanities block historically offers opportunities to learn the Russian language, and people come to us from all over the world to learn this language. Our biggest cooperation partner in this field is the United States. The lecturers who work in this field at the university are of high level and high teachers, and this cooperation has been going on for many years. We also see that this interest in this language is only growing."
The director of the Eastern European Cultural Relations and Integration Processes program, professor Anna Stankeviča, stated: "Our program is licensed at the European level, so we have a lot of American, Finnish, Japanese students who need the Russian language. Also regional studies - Latvia, Lithuania, Poland. We have such a program where there are 5 countries - Latvia, Lithuania , Poland, Belarus and Russia in the regional field. Because Americans and other students are interested in the Russian language and regional studies, that's why we have these students."
Mevioz is a student from Turkey who has come to Daugavpils as part of the "Erasmus+" program. He says he chose Daugavpils precisely because there are many Russian-speaking people here. He needs the Russian language for his future professional career.
"After studying in Daugavpils, I will return to Turkey to finish my university there. I will become a translator so that I can work as a diplomat in the future," said the student.
Mikaj, on the other hand, is from Germany and is learning Russian to become a teacher. He hopes it will help him when it comes to teaching students from Ukraine in his country.
Meanwhile, Matilde came to Daugavpils University from Stockholm, for a year to study Russian. "Daugavpils is a beautiful city, I haven't been to Latvia until now, and my wish is to practice and speak Russian. We had Russian language learning courses at our gymnasium and I thought, why not learn the language, besides, I also listen to Russian music a lot," she said.
"Daugavpils has a very favorable environment for learning the Russian language. Many people here speak Russian and the university also has Russian language courses. Many people speak Russian, so knowing the language is useful."
At the moment, Daugavpils University is still accepting students, so the number of foreign students is likely to increase further.
