Hey everyone! We're Mariia and Alina, and we're students at the Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations at ITMO University. In this 3-part blog, we want to share our experience participating in the Aydin University "Delightful Istanbul 2024" Summer School.

Image courtesy of the authors

Mariia: I'm a Bachelor's student in the Technological Innovations Management program. I'm currently in my third year. The summer school was my first experience of studying abroad, and actually my first trip outside of my home country as an adult.

Alina: I'm a second-year Master's student in Intellectual Property Management at the Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations. I had the experience of studying at a foreign university online, but this year I was lucky enough to study abroad offline, which I am incredibly glad about!

Application journey

We found out about the "Delightful Istanbul 2024" Summer School at Istanbul Aydin University through a post in the ITMO Student Exchange page on VK. Therefore, our first advice is to be sure to subscribe to the university's information communities so you don't miss all kinds of opportunities :)

First of all, subscribe to the ITMO Student Exchange on VK and Telegram: information about international opportunities and events is published there. In addition, everything is always announced on the ITMO.Students page and the official pages of our university: in Russian, the handle everywhere is itmoru, and in English — itmo_uni.

The program, taking place in Istanbul from July 20 to August 3, 2024, offered a 50% scholarship for two students. Bachelor’s and Master’s students could also participate in ITMO’s partial financial support competition: ITMO University covers up to 70% of the cost of the trip. We didn't hesitate to apply! The application process required a CV, a motivation letter, and a language certificate (we had already passed ITMO's internal language exam, so we had the certificates).

Within a few days, we received an email confirming our selection for the program. Next, we had to register on Aydin University's internal platform, choose our course, and submit our application. From that point on, all communication was handled by the host university — we received detailed instructions and updates by email. We also had to pay the program fee, which turned out to be the most challenging part of the application. Due to the current situation, making payments from Russia is difficult and requires a foreign bank card. Luckily, our friends were able to pay for us with their cards.

From that point on, all we had to do was wait for the program to begin! Aydin University provided excellent support throughout. We received regular email updates, filled out Google Forms with our flight details for airport pickup and optional tours choices. We joined a Zoom call a few days before the trip for an information session and a WhatsApp group for important announcements. We were excited to finally start this adventure!

In the following parts of our blog, we will tell you in detail about the university, studying, Istanbul, and much more. Stay tuned!

Written by Mariia Tereshina and Alina Gadieva