Experience Academic Mobility: International Students On How they Feel about Studying at ITMO

Romain Darriaut, France

Master’s student, Sup’Biotech University

My major is biotechnologies. This year I had to decide where to have my research internship. I could stay in France but I preferred coming here. As for paperwork it was much easier than I thought. Thanks to International Educational Programs Department it took a couple of weeks instead of several months, such an un-Russian style! I sent my CV and a motivation letter, then I had several interviews with staff members of ITMO’s International Research Center "Biotechnologies of the Third Millennium" at which I planned to do my research.

I have been working on a project under the guidance of Denis Baranenko for over five months. I identify biological strains, make enzyme and grow tests. My task is to choose the strongest ones and inoculate them into a potato. The next step is analyzing its behavior to work on ways of how to protect seeds from fungus. Apart from ITMO’s lab I work at the Laboratory for Microbial Drug Technology — some equipment I need for my research is there. My Russian colleagues and I plan to publish the results in a scientific journal.

When I say that I am from France people start talking to me about Napoleon! I’d recommend French to work on their historical background before coming here.

Jenna Leskinen, Finland

3^rd year Bachelor’s student, Lahti University of Applied Sciences, got Erasmus scholarship

When I was looking for an opportunity for academic mobility, my scientific advisor said that I could study here, as ITMO is a partner university. I really wanted to come back here — my family left Russia when I was seven and moved to Finland. I’ve also been to Moscow, so I took this offer to stay in Russia for some time.

My major is economics — here at ITMO I study the same at the Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations. All my classes are in Russian. Despite the fact that I speak this language I am not fluent. Visiting Russian language classes helps me: we study grammar and work on writing skills as well as have speaking classes. Our group is small — sometimes I am the only person who attends classes — as if I have individual training with a teacher! Financial management is the hardest discipline here. My group is quite small — about ten people. So I can address to professors if something is unclear for me. My classmates also help me a lot!

Nicolas Charlon, France

3^rd year Bachelor’s student, Sup’Biotech University

I was disappointed by Russian grading system, as French is different. But now, after spending several months here I feel like everything is clear. I also got used to doing homework. The problem of learning terms in Russian is no longer challenging.

I was always interested in medicine — ITMO’s course on biomedicine gave me an opportunity to come closer to my goal. Most disciplines I had in Sup’Biotech University were about chemistry and biology.

As a person who speaks Polish I make progress in Russian mostly through cheating! It is all about similarity: when you hear a new world in Russian it may sound like a Polish one, so sometimes it is very easy to guess its definition.

Read Nicolas' story about his experience of Russia.

Olga Sabados, Germany

Master’s student, the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences

My family is from Moldova, my parents moved to Germany when I was a child. They speak Russian, so I also speak well. That is why when my scientific supervisor at Zittau University said that she has contacts with colleagues from the Industrial Ecology Department, I didn’t hesitate and came here.

I am the first student from the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences who has an exchange semester at ITMO. In Germany I studied integrated management. Here I have four disciplines and an internship — it is at the Coca Cola factory. Together with other students I work on a so-called stakeholder analysis, which helps manufacturing companies develop requirements and standards for organizations that affect or are affected by these companies.

Being a student who graduated from high school and received a Bachelor degree in German, I was surprised by some peculiarities of the Russian educational system. For instance, I had no idea what "metodichka" is [It is a student guideline with instructions of how to prepare for tests and do home tasks -Ed.]. In Germany we had large studying groups, about 200−300 people, here I study together with a dozen students or less. Lecturers know us personally, even our names! It makes student-teacher interaction more personal — sometimes it’s good but it also may provoke favoritism. However my experience was completely positive — both lecturers and students helped me to adjust.