If you want to study in Rome — study in Perm!

HSE students submitted 701 applications for participation in international mobility programs  during the spring semester of 2017. 177 of them started to study abroad this fall. Eugenia Nelyubina (LUISS Guido Carli University, Rome), a second-year student of the master's program in Marketing at HSE-Perm, talks about how to become a member of the international mobility program.

About filing the documents

I thought about mobility before I decided to enter the HSE master's program. I graduated from MGIMO and I wanted to move forward. The opportunities to participate at the mobility program at HSE had convinced me. Documents had to be collected in advance, but unfortunately, I did not have a valid IELTS certificate. So, I had to prepare and pass this exam, and the process of collection of other documents was quite easy and quick. If I am not mistaken, when considering an application, attention is mainly paid to your rating and the motivation letter.

About the first impression

At the beginning, it was scary to study in another country,: it seemed that I did not understand anything. For example, I didn’t know where I can find my schedule, look for lectures or how can I contact with professors.  The first two weeks you could attend all the lectures and choose the schedule that suits you best, so for the first half-month I was “floating through life”.

About the differences between academic programs

Everything is very different at a foreign university. I have the subject “Advanced Marketing Management”, where we are working on eight projects in parallel - individual, group, virtual, real! But “Fashion” and “Luxury Management” are my favorite. But in general, I am in love  with the lectures, lecturers and practitioners. We had representatives from L'Oreal, WeChat, P & G, Gucci, Bulgary, Fendi and others.

About the relationship with the group

I feel like Italians do not like foreigners, and foreigners are afraid of Italians. The Romans are uncommunicative with students from other countries. Here the tuition fees are very expensive and consequently, the competition level is very high too. Here you’re on your own . No one will help anyone, and even if someone will, there is a risk that they will tell you the wrong answer. For me, this is crazy, but I hear more and more similar stories.

About extracurricular activities

There is a lot of everything here! There are parties for Erasmus students three times a week, there are excursions, trips to other cities and the possibility to attend sports matches. And that's great! There is also a place where we have political debates every Wednesday —Language Cafe.  You are free to decide how to spend your leisure time. For example, I ran a half marathon in Nice one weekend.

I am happy to be here. Every day, I thank HSE-Perm for the opportunity to enjoy this semester abroad!