‘I Went to Lancaster Expecting the British Education System to Be Different from the Russian One’

Photo courtesy of Dmitry Prokhorenkov

Can a Russian student get a £10,000 tuition discount at a foreign university? How do you study abroad if you do not know the language? The students of the Department of Business Informatics at HSE University’s Graduate School of Business shared their experience in international exchange programmes with the news service.

Sangam Kumar Singh (’20), Double Degree, Lancaster University (one year), Master's programme ‘Big Data Systems’

I had a wonderful experience studying at HSE University’s Faculty of Business and Management (now the Graduate School of Business). I chose this university because it has a good world ranking in the subject I was interested in (big data systems). My master's programme was in the top 50 in this area in the QS ranking. At GSB I had more technical than business subjects, and that is why I decided to go to Lancaster to continue my dual degree programme — there I chose a more business-oriented programme.

At GSB I studied in the ‘Big Data Systems’ programme, and at Lancaster I studied ‘e-Business and Innovation’. I liked the experience of studying in Britain very much. The university organised a lot of workshops and hackathons — this was a defining feature of the programme. During my studies I wrote two master’s theses — one for HSE University and another for Lancaster University. It was my own choice: at the end of my studies I needed to send one copy of the thesis to HSE University and one to Lancaster, and it was not necessary to send identical texts.

Both universities — HSE University and Lancaster University — offer excellent opportunities. I was able to get the most out of both the Russian and British experiences. For example, with GSB I participated in several technical international conferences, where I was able to expand my networking experience. At one of those conferences, I met a professor whose professional interests are directly related to my research interests. Also, at HSE University I helped with promotional events, interviewed international students who’d applied to study at HSE University and participated in volunteer projects. In general, I managed to do a lot of things while studying at HSE.

One of the main differences between the British system and the Russian system is that software like Moodle is used centrally. The British upload all information to one platform: announcements, news, announcements, all changes in studies, and so on.

During my time at Lancaster, I managed to work for Fujitsu, a top IT company. There I worked on a consulting project in marketing research with business analytics. It was an invaluable experience for me working with a real project.

Artur Safarian (’20), Double Degree Programme, Lancaster University (1 year), Master’s Programme ‘E-Business’

To get into the dual degree programme at Lancaster, I took the IELTS language exam, put together an application package with information about my undergraduate studies, a transcript, and a portfolio that can include publications or research papers. Lancaster's admissions committee reviews the application and sometimes awards grants or tuition discounts. I received a tuition discount of £10,000. The academic director of the programme in ‘E-business’ (Mikhail Komarov — ed.) helped me with my application.

Lancaster University has many students from all over the world, with different backgrounds. There are very few British students there: in my group there were only 2 out of a total of 40 students. This is a plus for global international networking.

I also liked the events that the programme had. For example, they had hackathons — representatives of companies came and gave us tasks for which we had to provide solutions.

I went with the expectation that the British educational system would be different from the Russian one. But studying at HSE University is the same as at Lancaster University. Before I graduated with a master's degree from the Faculty of Business and Management (now HSE University’s Graduate School of Business — ed.), I worked for three and a half years. Now four companies in Russia are ready to hire me, even on the condition that I first have to look for work abroad: the companies have agreed to wait for me. So one could say I got a positive response from employers to my study experience in Lancaster.

Daria Lubaeva (’21), Exchange Programme, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien (1.5 years), Bachelor’s programme in Business Informatics

First, I participated in the programme in ‘Software Product Development’ with the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences — I went with a team to the Netherlands as a teamlead. Then Mikhail Komarov, who helped with the Dutch project, told me about the exchange programme with Vienna. I applied to the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien and was accepted, but I had doubts about going— I knew nothing about Austria and did not speak German. In the end I made up my mind: the programme lasts only five months (later I extended it twice in Vienna), it is taught in English, and there are a lot of international students.

The only complicated part about arranging the trip is the need to coordinate the curriculum with the Graduate school of Business (GSB): you need to select all your courses in advance, make arrangements with the study office, and then sign up for them. When I was going to Vienna, there was no international exchange centre, which now helps GSB students with these issues. During my study in Austria the centre contacted me and even provided me with a scholarship.

Technikum Wien is a university of applied sciences, not a research university, which is why the lecturers here are only professionals from the industry, there are no researchers at all. There is practically no science or theory as such; almost everyone is involved in project work, and the teachers pass on their experience.

There's a great international office here, its staff helped me in different situations. Last term everyone went home because of the pandemic, as most of the students are from the EU. The international office knew everyone who stayed, they called us every week and asked if we were okay.

Last year I went with the understanding that I was taking the same courses that I had taken at HSE University in business informatics. But last term I took all the technical courses in English, and this term there are none left. Now I have seven or eight management courses. This academic year at the university began with a mixed learning format, but then coronavirus cases began to skyrocket, and we were switched to online.

The most difficult thing about studying abroad for me was German and the fact that I was not at all familiar with the local culture. At first, I lived in a dormitory where there were mostly foreign students, so we all communicated in English. But recently I moved into an apartment and I realised that I am not included in my neighbours’ communications, because they only talk to each other in German.

The experience of studying in a foreign university helped me to understand an important thing: if you do not know what to do — there is nothing wrong with that. When I was enrolled in the Faculty of Business management (FBM) (now GSB), I had a plan for the next 10 years of my life, but with the exchange programme, my plan has changed dramatically. I realised that even moving somewhere is not a problem. Before that I had lived in the same apartment with my parents since childhood, and here I had to look for my own place. It was a serious experience, it made me grow up.

Margarita Markova (’21), Master's Programme ‘Big Data Systems’, QTEM track, a term at LUISS Business School

QTEM is a master’s programme track with a special focus on quantitative research methods in economics. The master's programme itself is two years, but there are several tracks in the QTEM programme: in the first two you have to do two semester-long exchanges at different universities, and I have a third track that has only one six-month mobility programme, but you also have to do an internship and participate in the QTEM Challenge, in which students in this programme compete, something like a case championship.

This autumn my exchange trip was just about to start, but because of Covid, we were asked if we wanted to do the programme as planned in the autumn or postpone it until the spring. Since we were writing our dissertations and doing our internships in the spring, we had to go with the autumn anyway.

Now I am in Rome, studying at the LUISS Business School. Most of my courses are related to marketing and big data. There was a fairly wide list of disciplines to choose from, but they have to be approved by the supervisor at the GSB, the courses have to be related to your area of specialization. In December I will take my exams and go back to Russia, and I will finish my studies at GSB in June.

At the stage of applying for the mobility programme I received a lot of help from GSB: with the documentation, with communication with LUISS and with the QTEM organisation as a whole, which has its own coordinators. Communication with QTEM is done both directly and through HSE University.

Because of the Covid restrictions, all incoming students had to go through a two-week quarantine. The academic year started with blended courses, but by the end of my quarantine in Italy everything started closing down. There was a moderate lockdown in Rome, but the universities switched to distance learning. So the hardest thing for me on this trip has been doing all my coursework completely online.

In spite of that, I’ve met a lot of people, and we have a lot of projects together. We manage to meet in small groups. The subjects here are very interesting. At GSB I was interested in neuroeconomics, and there are similar fields here, such as neuromarketing. This is a field not often found in universities.

Here I’ve started to learn Italian and have improved my English. Of course, this trip has helped with my global networking, and I can say that even my remote networking skills have been enhanced.

Olga Dornostup (’20), Double Degree, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien (one term), Master's programme ‘Big Data Systems’

When I entered HSE University, I already knew that the programme ‘Big Data Systems’ has a double degree programme, and this was one of the key pros for applying here. Usually such programmes include a year of study abroad: the first year you study at HSE University, and the second you spend abroad, but we went to Vienna for one term.

Our programme has several different foreign universities to choose from. We had a meeting with representatives of the international office, and they told us about different programmes and studying abroad. It turned out that in England the programme is not free of charge, the probability of a grant is low, and the tuition there is the most expensive. The programme at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien seemed more technically oriented than programmes in Germany, which are more managerial. That is why I chose Austria.

We lived in an apartment-type dormitory within walking distance of the university and the center of Vienna. It turned out our dorm was one of the biggest, with everything from music, games and party rooms to a gym, a panoramic roof, and a sauna. Unlike in Russia, student dorms in Austria are run by separate organisations that are not tied to specific universities. This also means that it is up to the students to take care of where he or she lives and to apply for a place in the dorms.

Needless to say, you won't find traditional Russian buckwheat in Vienna's supermarkets, but there are plenty of Russian stores selling all the products we are used to. It was there that we bought pickles, Russian gingerbread cookies, boiled sausage, and condensed milk, and then we prepared Olivier salad and Russian pancakes for the traditional International dinner. By the way, our Russian table was one of the most popular with the international students — everyone was delighted by the sweet taste and unusual consistency of the condensed milk.

Austria is in a favourable geographical location for travelling around Europe, a fact which we enthusiastically exploited. Literally every weekend the ESN organisation organised trips for international students to different cities in Austria, the Alps, and neighbouring countries. And on weekdays we visited museums and the Vienna Opera, painted public walls on the banks of the Danube, walked around and just enjoyed life in the most beautiful European city.

Academics at Technikum Wien are very similar to that at HSE University. They also have modules, but there are exams in the middle and at the end of the term, and the beginning of a subject is not always associated with the beginning of the term. It was quite easy for me in technical courses since my experience in that area turned out to be a bit better on average than other students’ in the programme. The students there were mostly graduates of management programmes, and I had a more technical background. But the Austrians were better prepared in managerial subjects. It was more difficult for me and Dima (Dmitry Cherepov, Olga's classmate, who went to Vienna with her in the mobility programme – ed.), because we were not used to abstract reflections, the humanities, or management subjects.

The coolest thing about studying abroad is not so much the foreign degree as the experience of interacting with people from different countries and moving outside your comfort zone when you have to constantly communicate. We got our English up to snuff because of that.

Most of my classmates were older than us: the guys had initially graduated with a bachelor's degree, then worked in the industry for a few years, realised what skills they lacked, and then came to the master’s programme. In Russia, everyone usually goes straight to a master’s programme. Because of this the Austrians have more work experience, they understand better how things work in reality. But this is cool, a sort of challenge for us. We often worked in teams, and the students there shared their experience with us.

Dmitry Cherepov (’20), Double Degree, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien (one term), Master's programme ‘Big Data Systems’

The availability of dual degree programmes allows the ‘Big Data Systems’ programme to stand out from other areas of study both at HSE University and other universities. My choice fell on Austria, the Vienna University of Applied Sciences, for several reasons: the opportunity to live in the capital of one of the most developed countries in Europe, as well as to study at a well-known technical university and obtain a diploma from a European Union member state. Students on this programme came to HSE to study from Vienna, and having met them, I was firmly convinced in my desire to go to Austria. I passed the IELTS and after waiting for confirmation of my admission from the university, I received a student visa and went to Austria for five months.

At the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien I particularly liked the attitude of both students and professors to the learning process: grades are not the most important thing; what matters is the knowledge gained.

The programme I studied was called ‘Information Systems Management’ — an analogue of ‘Business Informatics’, where half of the subjects were aimed at IT management, and the other half were purely technical — artificial intelligence, big data analysis, and even robotics.

Compared to HSE University, the courses felt a little harder, because both I and Olya (Olga Dornostup, a student at GSB, her review can be read above — ed.) are more technically inclined, and the subjects where you have to solve IT cases were more difficult for us than for our classmates who had been studying similar subjects since their bachelor's degree. On the other hand, we were able to shine in technical subjects.

The most important thing about this trip was the experience of living abroad, travelling and making new friends from different countries. Erasmus, a non-profit organisation that helps students from both the European Union and affiliated countries to study on exchange programmes, helped a lot. Its volunteers organised international student meetings, discos, graffiti courses, and more. Thanks to Erasmus, I made friends with whom I still keep in touch. We travelled with them, visiting a total of six countries — all thanks to Vienna's location in the centre of Europe and low-cost airlines, where a round-trip ticket costs about the same as a meal in a restaurant.

Dmitry Prokhorenkov (’19), Double Degree, Lancaster University (one year), Master’s programme’’Big Data Systems’

At GSB I studied in the Master’s Programme ‘Business Analytics and Big Data Systems’, and at Lancaster University, I spent my entire second year in the ‘e-Business’ programme. As a result I ended up getting two degrees. I liked that you can go for a whole year of study abroad; the programme isn’t just six months.

The academic structure and environment at Lancaster is different from what you usually find at a Russian university. In Britain, there is a competitive element, everyone tries to give their best — they want a good mark, but it's hard to get. At the same time, no one suffers from the fact that they study a lot: people generally strike the right balance between work and personal life.

At Lancaster University, all of the teachers are interested, all of them want to teach the students something new, to share something. They're very involved — they want positive feedback on their work, and it is customary there to regularly collect feedback on classes and courses.

Lancaster has a very cool multinational networking experience — people from all over the world go there. Now we have all gone our separate ways, but we stay in touch. I was also impressed that the programme is designed in such a way that you get as much spending a year in Britain as you do in two years in Russia. And perhaps one of the main advantages of studying in Lancaster is that a British degree is very highly regarded on the international labour market.

HSE University welcomes applicants from all over the world and offers not only different levels of study, but also different formats in English and Russian, online and offline. International applicants can apply for Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in a separate admissions process for foreign applicants and receive scholarships with full or partial tuition fee coverage.

When applying to a Bachelor’s programme, including five English-taught programmes in Moscow, it is possible to submit international certificates you have received in English and mathematics, such as IELTS, TOEFL, A-Level and other international exams and they will be recognized by HSE University, so taking entrance exams in relevant subjects will not be required.

Undergraduate applicants can test their chances of admission now by taking mock tests. Master’s applicants also have the opportunity to get a preliminary assessment of their portfolio and communicate with their programme of choice online.