The group of third-year students are back from their exchange in Shanghai University. One special challenge they experienced was that the English-taught courses they were due for in Shanghai constitute the master’s level there, whereas ICEF teaches them as part of bachelor’s degree. Doubting their capability to complete those courses with good results, the guys, however, proved highly competent, grasping new concepts and maintaining discussions just perfectly.
Here’s what students Matvey Kovalev and Arman Vardanyan shared about studying at ICEF and Shanghai University.
Green tea, Chinese hospitality, memorable experience
Matvey Kovalev enrolled in ICEF after completing HSE Lyceum. Here’s why:
“The first thing that attracted me was the possibility of learning finance as part of a bachelor’s degree. At HSE Lyceum, during faculty days, we had ICEF students as teachers of introductory accounting and finance courses. I really liked those classes. It was fun evaluating corporate investment potential and bond performance. Second, with English as the language of instruction ICEF students stand a better chance of landing jobs abroad. Third, all students here are highly ambitious. I wanted to be part of this community.”
- Now, after two years of ICEF, which courses are easy and which still take effort? What do you like most about studying here?
Here, every course uses a weekly combination of one lecture and one seminar. While lecturers deliver new topics, seminar-givers use sets of questions and tasks designed to consolidate our knowledge. This arrangement facilitates faster interpretation and memorization.
The courses I had hard time with in my first and second year were Micro and Macro. Banking, finance, programming in Python seem to be much easier. I think the best thing that happens to me here is when I learn a topic and understand immediately where its concepts can be used in practice – a highly inspiring experience for me.
- Can you share your impressions of Shanghai University? How was your student exchange experience?
Shanghai University uses a trimester system that divides the academic year into three sessions. My group and I went for the fall trimester running from September to late November. Living in another country with an entirely different culture has been an amazing experience.
Our curator, Mrs. Sun, first communicated with us by e-mail and then on WeChat after we all signed up for it. We used that group chat to communicate whatever queries we might have.
Another person to assist us at Shanghai University was a student from Russia. He’d been of great help advising us on matters such as dormitory, bank cards and how to get one from a Chinese bank, and what not. It would have been much more difficult without him.
We lived on Baoshan campus in the building for international students. I liked it there, its learning-friendly environment with rhythmic pace of university life and encounters with friends.
Living on campus was good also because we didn’t have to spend much time travelling to the classroom. There are stores on campus with almost everything you need, a pick-up location for orders from popular Chinese marketplaces, and lots of sports facilities – football fields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pool.
While the majority in our class were Chinese, we met a lot of students from CIS countries. We stuck together as a team of people far from home and using their native language. I also made friends with a couple of native students and thus learned a lot of interesting things about the Chinese society. The green tea they treated me to was lovely!
What is the most important takeaway from your study abroad experience?
For me, this exchange programme has, in the first place, been an unforgettable experience. It gave me a whole new perspective on ordinary things. I have made a lot of friends in China and would like keep in touch with all of them. And I re-discovered Moscow. I am now a bigger fan of our cuisine and language.
Did you have the time to see anything else in China?
Yes. It may sound funny but I’ve been to three Chinese cities – Chengdu, Chongqing and Xiamen – because my favorite rapper bbno$ was touring there. These three places have completely different vibes. Chengdu is a city of pandas and luxury brands; Chongqing is a megacity with 32 million people and a scale comparable to that of whole China. Xiamen was where I was finally able to see bbno$ playing live, I’ve been there one day. And because I traveled alone and could get full feel of China. It’s been a memorable journey. Chinese people are incredibly hospitable.
Getting lost in the mountains of China and finding safe way back without knowing Chinese but with memorable impressions
Like Matvey, Arman Vardanyan completed HSE Lyceum and chose to major in economics. He chose ICEF because of its high reputation and quality teaching in English. It took Arman six months to get used to ICEF’s training system, but when he finally did, preparing for the exams became much easier for him.
Can you share your impressions of Shanghai University? What did you study there?
We studied together with master’s students, as Shanghai University does not teach finance courses to undergraduates. I was very pleased to find our level of knowledge high enough to do well in master’s-level courses. This indicates high quality of teaching finance and economic theory at ICEF.
Shanghai University amazes with its scale. Its campus is simply huge; students move around by bikes or scooters. It has a lot of massive edifices – academic buildings and dormitories – and has multiple canteens with cheap, delicious food. There’s a koi pond in the centre of its beautiful park.
The other students in our class were from France, Indonesia, African countries. Everyone was very friendly and willing to help with any matter.
You mentioned food. Did you like the Chinese cuisine or did you miss your usual food?
Food was what we talked about all the time. I really liked it in China. Chinese food is spicy and heavy on flavour. It is resourceful, with plenty of unusual ingredients.
What is the most important takeaway from your study abroad experience?
It’s been an extraordinary and rewarding experience living in another country without knowing its language and culture pattern. It was learning on the go, and I think we did it pretty well: after two months there we knew our way around town and were able to exchange phrases with the local people. I was even able to use my Chinese to haggle at the local market.
Did you have the time to see anything else in China?
I’ve been to the very beautiful city of Guilin, which lies amidst the picturesque scenery of mountains, rivers and lakes. I thought it was a small place before I got there, but it has five million people.
I and my friend spent days exploring Guilin and its surroundings. We went up to the mountains and to the rice fields... On our last day there we managed to get lost on our way to the mountain top and it wasn’t until a few hours later that we caught a car with two Chinese guys in it. They agreed to give us a ride, but we couldn’t figure out where they were taking us – the road they were going was nowhere on the map. In the end they dropped us off at some stairs in the middle of the mountains and told us to climb them. We did and up there was an incredibly beautiful view of the Lee River and the mountains. Everything ended well for us.
I think we made the most of our opportunities in this exchange programme. We were able to test our financial and economic English, we became certain we have good skills, and we received new cultural and life experience.
