The role of diasporas and social media in student migration

The article analyses the role of ethnic diasporas and digital social media in student migration. A survey of students from 18 countries who study at RUDN University was conducted. This university is the most international in the Russian Federation because students from more than 160 countries learn there. To analyse the number of representatives of diasporas in social media, data on the number of expats of these 18 countries were obtained from Facebook. Since Facebook's data on the number of expats are not always accurate, they were compared with statistical data on the balance of migration to Russia from these countries and data on the number of students of these countries in Russian universities. When deciding to move to another country for education, young people can get valuable information from members of the diaspora who have graduated from universities there. A model of the student migration process has been developed by clarifying the composition of the migration infrastructure in the Carling migration model. The findings confirm the vital role of the presence of diasporas in social media to reduce the risks of student migration.