If Not Now, Then When?

5 students of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Business Informatics of the HSE University's Perm Campus and one student of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities have been successfully selected for international academic mobility programmmes for the spring semester of 2019-2020. They spoke on how they decided to apply for students exchange and shared their expectations about their upcoming studies at European universities.

Anna Koroleva, 2nd year student of the Bachelor's programme "Business Administration" 

It seems to me that every schooler when dreaming of the future imagines himself as a student of foreign universities. I also have been thinking about this, but not seriously: a full Bachelor's programme abroad is not cheap. When I learned about the programme of international mobility at HSE Perm, I thought that this could be a great opportunity to fulfill a long-held dream.

The decision to travel was made very impulsively. Once, a wonderful curator for international cooperation, Iuliia L. Babenko, came to our course and suggested taking part in the programme. That evening, I began to compare the programmes of various universities in 27 countries, choosing the most suitable for me.

The selection procedure for the international mobility programmes itself is quite simple. It consists of two stages: intra-university selection of students for the programme and approval of the student's application for the programme by the host university. The most difficult thing for me was waiting for the decision of the host university: usually students of the 3rd year of study are invited to a university, but I was very lucky and I was able to pass this selection.

I will spend the spring semester in the Netherlands, at the University of Tilburg.I try not to expect anything from the trip, but I know for sure that it will be an interesting but difficult experience. I plan to travel a lot around Europe at weekends, communicate with students of different nationalities and, of course, take the maximum from my curriculum, which incidentally turned out to be quite interesting.
If you still think about whether it is worth applying for participation in the international mobility programme - decide, do not put off everything until the last day! I often heard that within the 2nd year, "it’s too early to go," but that’s not so. The longer you study, the more you have to be in time with: starting from the 3rd year many students get a job, write articles in scientific journals or implement their own projects. If not now, then when?

Aleksandra Chernova, 3rd year student of the Bachelor's programme "Management" 

I started thinking about applying for an exchange programme before the start of the selection. I have several friends who have already studied abroad within the international mobility programme: their delighted reviews inspired me to participate in the contest.

First I had to choose the universities in which I wanted to study. This is probably one of those moments when you want everything at once: it was really difficult to make a decision. Collecting the necessary documents for submitting an application had also required time and effort, but in this matter the support of our training office had really helped.

I will go to study to the Netherlands, Maastricht University (School of Business and Economics). In general, for now it is difficult to make any guesses. Of course, I hope to find new foreign friends, get the experience of an independent life, travel a lot and understand how it feels to study at a European university.

Svetlana Zavyalova, 1st year student of the Master's programme "Project Management: Project Analysis, Investments, and Implementation Technologies"

One of the reasons why I have entered HSE University was the opportunity to go abroad for a semester within the international mobility programme. I have already been to Norway within student exchange when I was getting my Bachelor's degree, so I knew that mobility is a great chance to live in another country, meet new people and take unique training courses that are not taught at our universities. I will study in Rome, at the University of Tor Vergata.

I want to wish students to forget about all doubts and go ahead - prepare an application, write a letter of motivation, choose the country that you would like to visit. You will remember this experience forever!


The International Office holds informational meetings and presentations for students, ruining the myths about international mobility. On November 19, the Perm campus was visited by the official representative of the Venetian University Ca’ Foscari at HSE University and told the students about the opportunities that the university offers, how it feels to live in Italy and how to get a quota for the mobility programme. Perm students are already familiar with Ca’ Foscari and are ready to share their experience on how to spend a semester in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

 We inform students all year round about the HSE international mobility contest: we are very pleased that the number of students nominated from the Perm campus is growing every semester. Often Bachelor's and Master's students believe that they will always have enough time to apply for student exchange, but sometimes it is already too late, since the years of studenthood are coming to an end. We try to tell our students as early as possible what student exchange is and what prospects it opens up so that they could plan their time.

It will be necessary to make efforts to prepare the application, and our students who returned from mobility programmes are alwayrs ready to tell how to do this as good as possible. I also invite students for consultations where I will help to choose the best programmes and universities and teach how to approach this issue strategically. In February, the acceptance of applications for mobility in the fall semester 2020 will begin - now is the right time to start preparing the application.

Iuliia Babenko

For more information students can contact HSE International Office:
e-mail: iulbabenko@hse.ru,
+7(342)254-41-64,
38 Studencheskaya street, office 205