1,700 International Participants Named Winners of Open Doors International Olympiad
On March 16, the results of the Open Doors International Olympiad for master’s and doctoral applicants were announced. The competition is organised by the Association of Global Universities with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo). HSE University is one of the Olympiad’s organisers and the site of its distributed project office.
1,700 winners of the olympiad will be able to study at Russian universities for free under Russian government quotas for foreign citizens.
The Open Doors Olympiad is known all over the world. It is held every year for applicants of master's and doctoral programmes online in Russian or English at the choice of the participant.
Open Doors 2022–2023
In figures
21 organising universities
78,000 participants from 196 countries
14 subjects
Olympiad subjects cover 87 of the 252 areas of the international science map
750 employees involved in the distributed project office
1,700 winners
Interest in Russian Studies (doctoral track)
28,000 participants
300 winners
In the first round of the olympiad, participants take entrance tests, prepare a motivation letter, and fill out their portfolio of achievements. In the second round, the selected participants solve olympiad tasks using proctoring technology. Doctoral applicants additionally undergo interviews with potential research supervisors representing the universities that host the olympiad. The winners are determined based on the competition results.
Irina Karelina, HSE University Vice President
The Open Doors Olympiad, created by the Association of Global Universities six years ago, offered a new product to the global market: intellectual competitions for young people, who get an opportunity to receive a quota from the Russian government and study for free on master's and doctoral programmes at Russian universities recognised on the global market. Studying at these universities means participating in the most advanced projects together with industrial partners, conducting fundamental and applied research with international specialists, and attending lectures from renowned professors and scientists who work at our universities.
The olympiad has a system of qualifying events that is understood on the global market and is available in a language comfortable for the participant. In addition, the online format, 24/7 service support in various communication channels, and the opportunity to enrol in programmes at leading Russian universities through the ‘one stop shop’ system have made Open Doors a prominent feature on the global market that attracts young international applicants from almost 200 countries.
Open Doors is held in 14 subject areas. The most popular subjects among international participants include ‘Business and Management’, ‘Engineering and Technology’, and ‘Computer and Data Science’. The most popular tracks are ‘Financial Management’, ‘Computer Science—Artificial Intelligence’, and ‘International Relations’. HSE University is one of the most popular universities among winners of the olympiad—more than 250 people have chosen it for their studies.
Despite the external political situation and COVID-19 restrictions, interest in the competition among international participants is growing. Compared to 2017, the number of participants has grown by 5.5 times, the number of countries represented has risen by 25%, and the number of completed portfolios has increased by 10 times. Alongside Germany, the USA, China, Australia, the UK and Canada, international students consider getting an education and doing research in Russia.
The Open Doors Olympiad has been held since the 2017/18 academic year by the members of the Association of Global Universities with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and Rossotrudnichestvo. In 2018, it was included in the federal project ‘Export of Education’ under the ‘Education’ national project. Since 2021 it has been implemented as part of the federal project ‘Development of Human Capital in the Interests of Regions, Industries and the Research and Development Sector’ under the national project ‘Science and Universities’.
Over the past six years, more than 325,000 applicants from 197 countries have taken part in intellectual competitions. About 90% of the participants live in Asia and Africa. About 4,000 international applicants have had the opportunity to study for free at top Russian universities.
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