Academic progress: universities are introducing AI translators to help foreigners
Russian universities have begun testing an AI service to help international students: it translates lectures into students' native languages in real time. This increases their understanding of the lecture material by 20-35%, according to the developers. It is expected that such technologies will attract more foreign students to Russian universities and simplify classes at least in the first — the most difficult — year of study.
How AI translators help
The Timiryazev Academy and MGIMO have tested the simultaneous translation service "Bilinguo" based on artificial intelligence, which makes it easier for international students to understand lectures, Izvestia found out. According to the developers, the understanding of the educational material improves by 20-35% as a result.
—We also saw that students who lost the thread without translation and stopped following the material joined the discussion after connecting the system," Olga Chebunina, CEO of the Agropromcifra development company, told Izvestia.
The service simplifies the adaptation of first-year students. Despite the fact that it is the first year that turns out to be the most difficult for international students, as a result of which they may be faced with a choice whether to continue their studies at a Russian university. This is largely due to the fact that academic Russian is often difficult for foreigners to understand, even if they know the spoken language well.
The service was tested at the Timiryazev Academy, translating lectures into English, French and Chinese. According to Svetlana Zakharova, Vice-rector for Academic Affairs of the Russian State Agricultural Academy named after Timiryazev, the audit confirmed the high efficiency of the platform, especially in terms of translating complex scientific and professional terms.
Russian Russian language perception of professional terms causes some difficulties in teaching foreign students, despite the fact that they are proficient in Russian, Zakharova noted.
According to her, the students also noted that using the platform helped them to learn the material better and prepare for classes more effectively. After full testing, the new service "will firmly enter the life of the Timiryazev Academy," the vice-rector believes.
The service was also tested at MGIMO. He showed "excellent results" at conferences, providing a "seamless dialogue," the university told Izvestia. At the same time, the university decided not to include a translator as a tool of the current educational process "due to the specifics of the approach to teaching foreign languages and Russian as a foreign language."
— Our effectiveness is measured not by speech recognition algorithms in pairs, but by the quality of work of departments and pre-university training. If a student has come to study international law or diplomacy, he must understand the professor directly," MGIMO emphasized. — But in the event circuit, digital platforms have shown themselves to be at their best: they flawlessly adhere to highly specialized terminology and remove barriers on multilateral expert platforms.
In 2024, the BEAC also announced the creation of a simultaneous interpreter "Interpreter", which, among other things, was to be used to help international students. However, since then, there has been no information about its successful or unsuccessful testing.
Why do students need a translator
Industry experts support the use of simultaneous interpreters in teaching international students, as this will increase their interest in learning.
— Even from the point of view of state policy, attracting students from other countries is a very important direction. Moreover, we have adopted all the documents at the legislative level to become an education export—oriented country," Irina Abankina, professor at the HSE Institute of Education, told Izvestia. — If our high-level delegations go somewhere, of course, education is one of the areas of cooperation.
Even if a student does not know Russian at a sufficient level to understand lectures, effective learning is still possible, she believes.
"Universities are interested in such cooperation, and so is the government, so we need to do everything to ensure that foreign students have a real chance to master the Russian program," the expert emphasized.
In addition, it is an additional source of funding for Russian universities, Irina Abankina summarized.
How many foreign students are there in Russia
In 2025, more than 420 thousand foreigners from 182 countries studied at Russian universities, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education told Izvestia. Of these, 313 thousand people are on a paid basis.
"Over the past five years, the growth of international students has amounted to more than 25%," the department noted. — It occurs mainly at the expense of applicants from China, India, the countries of Southeast Asia and Africa.
About 240,000 students are citizens of neighboring countries, the ministry added. The largest number came from Kazakhstan and China. Russian universities are also popular among citizens of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, India, Tajikistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Iran. They study in both Russian and a foreign language, depending on the chosen program.
The vast majority of foreigners enroll in bachelor's degree programs, and a little less often in specialty programs, the ministry noted. And the most popular areas of study were "Medical science", "Economics", "Management", "Dentistry" and "Pedagogical education".
Most often, foreigners enroll in universities located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, Tomsk and Sverdlovsk regions.
"The main task of educating foreign students at Russian universities remains, first of all, the training of qualified personnel for those countries from which they came and of which they are citizens," the ministry stressed.
For admission, foreigners take either the Unified State Exam or a specialized exam in the Russian language. If they do not have enough knowledge, they can take an additional language acquisition program.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
