The city of Ekaterinburg is one of the priority regions of the country for strategic partnership in the field of science and higher education, which is evidenced by the increasing number of joint educational projects with partners both inside and outside the country every year. However, in order to expand the international dialogue, improve competitiveness in the domestic and foreign markets, to enhance educational cooperation and increase the share of students from the SCO countries at Ekaterinburg universities, it is necessary to identify potential capacity and assess the available resources of universities of the region. The article presents the results of an empirical sociological research conducted by the authors in 2022, through a questionnaire survey, the object of which were students from the SCO countries studying at the time of the survey at Ekaterinburg universities (n = 360), as well as a series of expert interviews, where the informants were specialists in the field of international partnership (heads of specialized university departments, representatives of Ekaterinburg ministries, etc.) (n = 15). In the course of the research, the authors considered such aspects as the satisfaction level of students from the SCO countries with education at Ekaterinburg universities in general, and the level of satisfaction with certain aspects of education (subjects taught, technical equipment of the university, the availability of innovative projects, grants for students, living conditions in dormitories, etc.). The available university resources for working with foreign students were also analyzed. As a result, it turned out that at the moment the universities of the city of Ekaterinburg have certain opportunities to attract students from the SCO countries, however, the innovation component needs to be improved, since there are aspects reducing the competitive advantages of Ekaterinburg universities both at domestic and global level.