PR and Advertising students about the international mobility programme
We talked with the students of the Bachelor's Programme in Advertising and Public Relations who have studied at foreign universities and asked them to share their experience and advice for those students who are just thinking about the opportunity to go abroad.
Every year several PR&ADs students regularly leave for the mobility programme abroad.
The International mobility programme is an opportunity to study at a foreign university for a semester or more. Once a student has finished the first two years of university, they are eligible to apply. Everyone has their reasons: to practice the language, try out the education system, visit new countries and so on.
Polina Clementeva, 4th year
Freie Universität Berlin (Germany)
Studying in an unknown place, getting new experiences, seeing different countries and meeting interesting people - who doesn't want any of this?
Don’t scare yourself that you will be alone in a foreign country and will know only the faceless senders of letters to the post office, the address of the university and the hostel. It won’t be like this. At least I had a very easy adaptation, in which I received only positive emotions that definitely cost all the bureaucratic circles of hell of applying for a visa, housing, and so on.
Having studied in another country, I can say that nothing helps you improve your intercultural communication better than intercultural communication itself: practice, namely the living practice of communication, is the main reason to participate in the academic mobility programme
The only advice is to prepare everything in advance, so as not to nervously do everything at the last moment. Firstly, upon arrival, you will be met by a volunteer of the international organization ESN, whose purpose is to help visiting students to quickly adapt to a new culture. Secondly, the university gives one week of the academic year for the "newcomers' meetings", that is, when foreign students gather with locals in an informal setting, where they can get to know everyone better, and ask any questions they have.
In our course, we had a cognitive subject "Intercultural Communication", which I listened to with great interest. Having studied in another country, I can say that nothing helps in intercultural communication better than intercultural communication itself: practice, namely the living practice of communication, is the main reason for which it is worth participating in the academic mobility programme.
Nadezhda Gorbova and Elizaveta Kuzyakina, 4th year
University of Agder (Norway)
We went to a Norwegian university with the mobility programme, which is located in the southern town of Kristiansand. This university did not have all the necessary disciplines at the faculty of media and communication, that is why the courses we took were from different schools, but similar to those that we took at a Russian university.
Liza: I decided to go abroad because this is a super unique opportunity that is given to you during your time at HSE - after graduating it can be more difficult, possibly more expensive, so it's a sin not to take the advantage. Also, a new country is a country with incredible nature, people, a new culture, a completely different education system, and, of course, a language that you definitely want to practice.
Nadya: In addition to Liza, I was attracted by the very opportunity to live in another country for at least one semester. Many of us want to go to another country for a master's degree or just for further life - I decided that first I had to try it myself. This is a completely different world, and it is not a fact that you will like it. I wanted to get the experience of independent life, even with a friend. It felt like we were the characters of the “Friends” tv show :)
The most important thing we got was improving the English language, and a completely different point of view on the sphere as a whole. In Norway, there is no such competition in the field of advertising and marketing as there is in Russia. Therefore, it was interesting to conduct research there, to study what attracts foreigners and how brands communicate with them
Nadezhda Gorbova and Elizaveta Kuzyakina, year 4
University of Agder (Norway)
For us, as foreign students in Norway, we were provided with super comfortable living conditions, got assigned our own buddies - people who helped you to adapt. They could advise us, organized group meetings, parties, conducted city tours and were with us at all events. There were enough events for the students to get to know each other: picnics, lectures on how the university works, lectures on Scandinavian culture and mentality, a musical concert of a rock band, karaoke, movie screenings, dinners, etc. And every Tuesday evening international students could give little speeches on stage about their countries in the university bar.
If we talk about the educational process, then an interesting feature for us was the minimum number of seminars, even lectures were often in a discussion format. After the lectures, we were divided into permanent groups, in which we prepared speeches, wrote works, and did projects. Everything depends on the people on the team, you can do the work earlier, or finish it at home, or you can stay up late to think over the details together.
The most important thing we got was improving the English language and a completely different point of view on the sphere as a whole. In Norway, there is no such competition in the field of advertising and marketing as there is in Russia. Therefore, it was interesting to conduct research there, to study what attracts foreigners and how brands communicate with them. Our university has many practice-oriented courses, but still not the same as there. In any discipline, the theory is immediately applied in practice. Studying digital technologies - coming up with a project, wherever you can implement it, etc. The educational process motivates to learn: to absorb new theories, to apply them in practice.
In general, organizing mobility was not as difficult as we expected. The main thing is to look at specific subjects at universities, not Schools. Schools by themselves mean nothing. A great chance to get in is if you choose less popular countries. For example, in the USA there will be more competition - everyone wants to go there. Take a chance and try something out of the box. In any case, it will be interesting - there is a very caring attitude towards foreign students!
Katya Neustroeva, 4th year
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Business Administration (Germany)
I have long wanted to live in Europe, so as soon as I got into HSE, I immediately began to learn how to get on the mobility programme. I have tried three times, the first time I didn’t submit the documents for personal reasons, the second time I didn’t pass the selection, and in the third submission, they finally took me. I have studied German for several years, I am very sympathetic to the culture of Germany and Austria, so I applied to all available universities in these countries. As a result, they took me to a university in Munich, and I have been living here for six months now. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get to the university, because upon arrival, everything was immediately quarantined, so my training took place online and I found friends only in my hostel. I took courses remotely at the same time both at HSE and the German university. Unlike HSE, there were no seminars at all, we were sent lecture material and sets of articles for which we subsequently had exams. To be honest, it was quite difficult, since it is so difficult to assimilate knowledge.
Collect all the documents in advance so that you can do everything right, apply to several universities at once, so that there is more chance to pass
Katya Neustroeva, year 4
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Business Administration (Germany)
Preparation of documents became a separate challenge for me. I collected everything quickly because I knew what was needed - but after I was already accepted, a lot of papers had to be filled in. Do not think that if you have been accepted and you can stop there. It is necessary to correct the curriculum in accordance with the subjects that you will study there so that it will satisfy both the receiving and your schools. It is difficult, but possible. When everyone finally agrees, it is, of course, a heavenly delight.
There was also a lot of bureaucratic fuss in Germany: checking into the dormitory, registering, signing a bunch of papers, paying dues, buying a SIM card, making a bank account, and so on. It is interesting that without one it is impossible to arrange another. For example, you cannot buy a SIM card without registration, and the registration office had already been closed at that time because of the Coronavirus.I had to tinker a lot. Now, again due to the pandemic, my mobility programme has been extended for another semester, so I hope I can experience life and study in Germany in full.
For the students who want to apply for the mobility programme, I can advise applyingas soon as you can (in August before the second course, i.e. as soon as the four sessions are closed), because it is a very interesting experience, which I highly recommend to everyone. Collect all the documents in advance so that you can do everything right, apply to several universities at once, so that there is more chance to pass.
Don't be afraid and try, it's really worth it!
Anna Motina, 4th year
Jean Moulin Lyon 3 (France)
The opportunity to travel was an important criterion for me even at the moment of choosing a university, therefore, when I was accepted, the mobility programme became a goal for me, which at all costs had to be achieved.
And so in the second semester of my third year, I went to France. The time for preparing the documents, I won’t lie, was not easy. First, a cloud of papers that needs to be collected in time to receive the necessary signatures - initially I didn't expect that there would be so many things and did not thinkabout the deadlines. Do everything in advance! The main point - you need to find a programme and a university where at least two courses coincide with the subjects at HSE. Not all university websites generally have a list of these courses, sometimes it changes from year to year, and getting approval is also not easy. Most often there are courses for management and IT; it was more difficult to find a replacement for the subjects of our speciality.
If you decide on international mobility, please be patient, willing to deal with visa and housing issues, and sort out other bureaucratic problems. But there is nothing unreal when you really want to, and it's worth it, believe me!
Anna Motina, year 4
Jean Moulin Lyon 3 (France)
Ever since school, I have been studyingFrench, have been to summer schools in France and have dreamed of studying there - so the language was not an obstacle to choosing a university. As a result, I ended up at the University of Leon, where they teach in two languages: English and French.
So I finally got to France, hurray!
The main thing that caught my eye was the calmness, as I would describe my studies there. Unexpected deadlines and exams do not fit into the schedule, all stages of control are known in advance, which helps to plan your timetable and calculate when you need to pay more attention to your studies, and when to personal matters. Another advantage is the two-hour lunch break. Everyone will have time to dine or go home. On the downside, lectures start at eight in the morning. At first, I did not believe that this was possible.
It took a long time to get used to the form of education, because there, as in in our program, there are many group projects, tasks to solve cases, and the entire education system is based on practice.
If you decide to apply for the international mobility programme, please be patient, willing to deal with visa and housing issues and sort out other bureaucratic problems. But there is nothing unreal when you really want to, and it's worth it, believe me!
You can get acquainted with the programmes of international academic mobility, as well as the terms of the competition and apply here.
Do you have any questions? Get in touch with the HSE Department of International Student Mobility e-mail: studyabroad@hse.ru
The article was prepared by Ulyana Vidineeva, a 4th-year student of Bachelor's Programme in Advertising and Public Relations.
Polina Klementieva, year 4
Freie Universität Berlin (Germany)