Social potential of educational migrants in the region's socio-economic development (the case of Transnistria)

The number of students studying outside their home countries increases every year. A side effect of educational migration is a significant loss of human capital, which negatively affects the region's socio-economic development. In Transnistria, about 25% of school graduates' have been entering universities abroad for several years already. Educational migration from Transnistria has become a brain drain. At the end of their studies, only 2-7% of the Transnistrian graduates who received professional education abroad return. The purpose of the study is to examine the social potential of educational migrants in the socio-economic development of Transnistria. The materials are based on the analysis of bibliographic sources, statistical and reporting documentation of Transnistria departmental structures, the analysis of research conducted by the author of the article: “Mapping migration from Transnistria”, “Transnistrian students in foreign universities”. The article provides information on the specifics of educational migration from Transnistria, the “pushing” and the “attracting” factors of migration, its routes and channels, the potential of educational migrants as a social, economic and educational resource for the Transnistria's development. The scientific novelty of the study consists in a comprehensive study of educational migrants from Transnistria as a social group. The empirical results of the work became the basis for qualitative characteristics of the social potential of educational migrants from Transnistria and formulation of the strategy objectives in the field of saving young human capital and using the educational migrants' potential in the region's socio-economic development. This is the development of professional education in the territory of Transnistria; planning professional training and research of Transnistrian educational migrants, taking into account the needs of socio-economic development of the region; supporting the formation of diaspora / territorial organizations of Transnistrian students abroad; encouraging the use of the potential of Transnistrian educational migrants and highly qualified personnel in the development of the educational and research system of Transnistria; encouraging the use of the potential of Transnistrian educational migrants and highly qualified personnel in the projects of socio-economic development of Transnistria.