English-Language Education Programmes at Universities

The need to implement priority projects of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, to internationalize Russian universities and increase their competitiveness on the global educational products and services market requires a creation of educational programmes taught in the English language. The article analyzes the current state and prospects of development of English-language education programmes at Russian universities, especially at Irkutsk universities. It was found that a number of metropolitan universities are leading in this area, but so far, despite the significant expenses of leading universities on promotion in international rankings, there are few programmes and individual disciplines taught in English, and publications that reveal the experience of their implementation are few. The paper shows the importance of English-language education programmes for both the university and the region, identifies problems arising from their launch and development, summarizes the experience of implementing such programmes, and offers recommendations for their promotion at the university. The author makes a conclusion that English-language programmes contribute to the development of universities, improving the quality, competitiveness and prestige of higher education in the region and in Russia.