Students' Experiences

“I spent the last semester of my studies as the semester abroad in the University of Namur (Belgium). That was both a useful and enriching experience for me. From the studying standpoint, I got both the chance to take courses that are not usually taught at NES (such as management-related courses) and study another language first hand. But more importantly, living in a different country really gives you a perspective. Different culture, different way of life - it is interesting and  allows you to realize that things you are accustomed to and you may not  even  imagine to be different actually can be. I've bonded with my fellow students, not only (mainly not actually) Belgians, but other exchange students from all over the world and we even intend to have a reunion in Mexico in two years :) But even not counting our ambitious plans, It'll be a nice meeting catching up with them when travelling. There even was a possibility to find employment and stay in Belgium indefinitely. I haven't been able to trade Moscow for Brussels yet, but my fellow NES exchange student actually decided to stay behind in Belgium as a stepping stone for his academic career. And who knows where it will lead to :) 

To sum up, it was really cool and I am very glad that I did it, no joke. To be fair, I had a scholarship from the University of Namur, which helped greatly with the financial part and general enjoyment from the trip. So, if you get a chance to go somewhere with a scholarship (or without if you are a well-off person or ready for an adventure) - I strongly urge you to go. It is a sort of thing you regret not doing, not the other way around :)”

 — Alexander Lagoda, MAE2019, exchange student at the University of Namur

Dmitry Dubovik, MAE2019

“I decided to participate in the exchange program during almost half a year of my study at NES and chose Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK(SZ)). It was always interesting for me to visit China, to learn more about its culture and economy as well as about the lifestyle of local people. CUHK(SZ) is located in Shenzhen, the most modern city of China; the university has a large campus with lots of facilities, which are free for students; also, there are a lot of different courses from different programs available for exchange students like me.

This semester was one of the most interesting periods of my life, I met a lot of people from different countries, made new friends, tried various kinds of Chinese food, visited some beautiful regions of China and countries nearby. It was really amazing to live and study there during five months.”

 — Dmitry Dubovik, MAE2019, exchange student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

"It was my last semester of studies when I participated in an exchange program and studied at Bocconi University. In retrospect, I find my experience to be strongly positive, be it new people, exams, lectures, tourism, or (especially!) Italian language course. Yet I think I could have enjoyed that period even more, had I joined one of the many Bocconi clubs, where, for example, I could have had my own broadcast on the Bocconi radio.

One of the key advantages of going abroad was the ability to choose from a vast range of courses and finding exactly those I needed (it was probably the course on Competition Policy that secured a job in Brussels for me). The teaching processes were, however, most impressive. First, the content of each course was unique, with no boring overlap between these courses themselves and the courses I took back at NES. Second, the professors were real (sometimes famous) contributors to the topics of the subject they taught. Third, the scale, attitude, and diversity were astonishing, with people of all backgrounds taking notes with their laptops, recorders, or just with their pencils on the lecture slides printed in advance, as well as the fact that every lecture on Investment Banking was given twice because no single classroom could accommodate that many students craving for it. Other advantages would include better weather and lighter workload.

I also value getting to know European culture much better. I now know what different perspectives they use to plan the development of their careers, how fond of his own country everyone is, and how common it is to visit each other across Europe and possibly travel together. Finally, I was happy to note what foreign practices Russia should adopt, and vice versa."

 — Alexander Eroshenko, MAE 2018, exchange student at Bocconi 

"I really liked the time I had spent at Bocconi University. Bocconi University is situated in Milan; it has one of the best faculties of economy in Europe. It was very interesting for me to look how the education process is organized abroad. I had also a possibility to think about possible variants of my future education, to talk to students from different countries (there were lots of students not only from Italy but from other countries, for example, from the USA).

It was also a great pleasure to live abroad for half a year, especially in Italy. I think there is no sense in explaining why people love this country so much. It is so great to study an unknown city, to find there your favorite places, to help tourists and to feel at home in Milan. You know, I didn’t even want to go home, especially in December, when it is so warm in Italy and so cold in Russia. So to sum up, it was really great."

 — Denis Galiakberov, BAE 2018, exchange student at Bocconi 

“I’m spending my time at Goethe University in a very fruitful way. The reality has definitely surpassed my expectations. I have one more semester to spend in Germany, so I have lots of plans, but there are also lots of uncertainties. The last six months have been a real eye-opener for me. They laid the groundwork for my personal and professional growth at the international level. This university offers a huge variety of courses: more than six accounting courses, a large number of finance courses (hedge funds, investments, banks, corporate finances, mergers and acquisitions) and a vast variety of courses on economics and on other subjects (for example, art courses). As a result, I chose the courses on banking, internal accounting, the master’s course on corporate finances (I agreed upon this course three months before its beginning), the courses on business informatics, econometrics and academic writing (in German).

 — Anastasia Zubaryova, BAE 2019 exchange student at Goethe University