In 2020, when leading destinations such as Canada and the US lost close to 20% of their total international student populations and Australia lost still more, Estonia saw just a -5% drop in degree-seeking foreign students in the country, and even milder contraction in 2021 (-3%). as well that overall numbers for 2021/22 were buoyed by a 20% year-over-year increase in student commencements.

“New education powerhouse”

According to the , Estonia is “Europe’s newest education powerhouse, [outperforming] the major European economies, including the UK, in influential global education tests” such as PISA. Even before COVID, Estonian students were being educated in a system that placed great value on digital learning, with an “e-school system” through which a high proportion of homework and grading was done online.

Estonian master’s programmes are the most popular among international students (2,122 students), followed by bachelor’s (1,466) and then doctoral (757) programmes. The government-run Study in Estonia site reveals that though Russian and Latvian students compose the largest proportion of international students in Estonian universities, there is also a great deal of diversity, with 124 nationalities now represented.

One promotional strategy used by the Study in Estonia team has been to publish more than a dozen testimonials from international students about their study experience and decision to remain after graduation to work. that participating students “come from countries such as India, Colombia, Spain and Croatia and their jobs include music teacher, landscape designer and software developer, among others.” Most international students who come to the country study in one of the 225 English-taught programmes offered by Estonian universities.

Student satisfaction is high

The country is clearly on the radar of a growing number of international students, not the least because so many students who have studied there are happy with their experience. The 2019 i-graduate International Student Barometer found that 91% of foreign students were satisfied with their study in Estonia’s higher education institutions, and 95% said they chose Estonia “because of the boost it would give to their future careers.”

While studying in Estonia, students are permitted to work part time or even full time without having to apply for an additional visa permission as long as they keep up with their academic requirements, and they can in the country.

Start-up culture and jobs are major attractions

Attractive to many students is the start-up culture in Estonia, which owes much to Estonia having the one of in the EU.

Eero Loonurm, the Head of Study in Estonia, told ���Ϲ��� Monitor that the field of information technology is a draw for many students, including master’s programmes such as e-Governance Technologies and Services, Technology Governance and Digital Transformation, and Innovation and Technology Management. Graduates can then look for job opportunities in the country. Mr Loonurm notes,

“We have a lot of amazing start-up companies which are ready to recruit international students. For example, Transferwise (Now Wise), Pipedrive, Bolt and Veriff. [We also] have many international companies that have recruited international students for decades: Skype and ABB are some examples. Employability is a key word here!”

The country’s digital sophistication is compelling, adding to the country’s growing reputation for innovation. Mr Loonurm explains:

“Estonia is very famous right now for its digital services and development. It is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital identity and status that provides access to Estonia’s transparent business environment. In our paperless government, all the decisions are done with a digital signature.”

Blanketed by many parts by forest and/or national parks, Estonia is also a nature-lover’s dream and is also relatively affordable. Two Estonian cities, Tartu and Tallinn have been listed by as two of Europe’s most affordable cities.

For additional background, please see:

• “How Estonia established its international education brand“

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Today, ���Ϲ��� Monitor takes an in-depth look at how Estonia – often called “Europe’s trendy Baltic Tiger” – has successfully launched its national international education strategy, and highlights valuable insights for other small markets.

International students on the rise

Nestled in Northern Europe, the Republic of Estonia was home to approximately 1.3 million people in 2010, according to the OECD. After years of Soviet occupation, the country regained its independence in 1991 and joined the European Union in 2004.

The University of Tartu, Estonia

University education has been offered in Estonia since 1632. Here are few facts about studying there today:

• In 2010/11, there were nine universities in Estonia and 22 professional higher education institutions.
• In 2012, the total number of people studying at Estonian tertiary institutions was almost , including approximately 3,000 doctoral students.
• In the academic year 2014/15, Estonian universities will offer more than 100 recognised degree programmes in English.

But perhaps one of the most striking facts about the Estonian market is the significant increase in the number of international students coming to study in the country. It’s something Eero Loonurm, Head of Communications for Estonia’s , recently discussed at the 2013 EAIE Conference in Istanbul.

During a presentation on “How to use country branding to strengthen international marketing and recruitment”, Mr Loonurm explained that the number of international degree students in Estonia has more than doubled from around 900 in 2008/09 to around 1900 – from over 80 countries – in 2012/13.

As reported in the Statistical Yearbook, approximately 1,500 (the majority of Estonia’s international students in 2012/13) came from Europe and approximately 300 came from Asia.

Cooperation is key

So why are more international students coming to Estonia? According to Mr Loonurm, Estonian universities initially carried out separate marketing activities, even though “they were all doing the same things.”

That began to change in the mid-2000s with the establishment of Estonia’s Higher Education Internationalisation Strategy 2006–2015. However, it wasn’t until 2008 that things really kicked in with the launch of a related marketing campaign: .

Students in front of the library of Tallinn University of Technology

Financed by the European Social Fund and coordinated by the Archimedes Foundation under the DoRa (Developing Doctoral Studies and Internationalisation) programme, Study in Estonia takes a coordinated approach to promoting Estonian education abroad and enhancing the visibility of Estonia as an attractive study destination for international students. As ���Ϲ��� Monitor has previously observed:

“Explicit and coordinated national organisations or initiatives like these can ensure that the desired features of a country’s higher education system are communicated in as compelling and clear a way as possible.”

Under the Study in Estonia umbrella, seven Estonian universities with degree programmes in English have teamed up to promote the Estonian brand, visiting embassies and doing industry events together, among other activities.

But Study in Estonia also counts foreign embassies (e.g., Estonian Embassy in Moscow); Estonian government ministries (e.g., Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Education and Research); commercial networks; and non-profit organisations among its valued partners.

Mr Loonurm has said that this partnership and cooperation is essential. The Estonian government in particular takes care of the campaign’s overall online activities and social media channels – such as , , and – and all public relations activities.

Estonia’s top priority targets

The Estonian approach to attracting international students is not only coordinated, it is also strategic. It involves identifying the top markets with the most potential to send students to Estonia and concentrating on these: Finland, Russia, Latvia, Turkey, and China.

Mr Loonurm has explained that these markets were chosen because of their economic strength, openness, and cultural similarities to Estonia, as well as their ties to the country: embassy connections, alumni relations, and numbers of current and returning exchange students.

This can be a wise move. Targeting students from specific countries allows promotional efforts to be more tailored to their needs and circumstances, and thus more appealing. Figures from 2010/11 suggest that Estonia’s targeted approach is working. During that period, 44% of international degree students in Estonia came from Finland, 8% from Latvia, 8% from Russia, and 5% from China.

As part of its targeted approach, Estonia also identifies where it excels in the International Student Barometer and promotes those rankings. For example, the Study in Estonia website advertises that 90% of international students are satisfied with their living standards in Estonia, a figure that is above the European average of 86%.

Promoting a safe, stable, wired Estonia

Indeed, that quality of life is just one of the national strengths – inherent national factors that can be used to draw overseas students – emphasised in Estonia’s branding. Study in Estonia’s marketing materials, for example, stress that the country is a safe and stable Nordic society with relatively low tuition and living costs.

But Estonia is also developing and capitalising on its niche areas of specialty to help it stand out from the fray. As the OECD noted in its publication Education at a Glance: “Estonia is well known for being the most wired and technologically advanced country in Europe.”

Estonia managed to avoid the “digital divide” by rolling out a national programme in the 1990s that connected all schools to the Internet and by building a huge network of innovative teachers, creating a huge potential in the combination of new technology and education.

As Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonia’s Minister for Education and Research, explained in an article published earlier this year:

“I realise it is 1000 times smaller than China, but Estonia can figure as a kind of ‘experiment’ to explore the possibilities of ICT. The costs of making a mistake are relatively small.”

Estonia’s country branding efforts accordingly emphasise its high level of digital literacy, ubiquitous Internet access, e-government, large numbers of ICT start-ups, and international cachet as the birthplace of Skype.

The country’s impressive technical infrastructure continues to fuel the adoption of new technologies and new innovations today.

“In the early 1990s, the government and the private sector collaborated to build a country-wide secure network called ,” recalls Märt Aro, head of international operations at , an Estonian application developer. “All systems that need to securely exchange data in Estonia can now be linked to X-Road. This makes the cost of buying software development in from the private sector much less expensive and allows modern ideas to foster.

For example, to link the DreamApply online admissions platform with the Estonian National Student Admission system we needed to build only one integration with X-Road. All universities receive the data to their student information systems (SIS) through the same channel. In many countries, building a similar system would have meant direct integration with each university’s SIS, which would have made the setup time and cost much greater.”

Successes and challenges

There are many signs that Estonia’s national recruitment strategy is proving to be a success. By banding together, Estonian universities have made it easier for students to work in Estonia, thereby strengthening its international appeal. As Mr Loonurm explained:

“Universities were able to push legislation changes through because they showed their will and their commitment in internationalisation … It used to be that when students graduated, they had to leave the country for a work visa. Now all students can stay for six months after graduation to look for work, which is a good benefit for the state.”

However, there have been some occasional communications challenges, resulting from staff turnover at the government level. Nevertheless, Estonia’s ability to double its foreign student population during the global economic downturn suggests the country is on track, and will reach the government’s goal of enrolling 2,000 international students by 2015.

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