This is Alexander from Israel, who chose MYUNIVER's online interview service and got enrolled as a part-time student of the Finance and Banking Faculty at Belarus State Economic University. Alexander came to Minsk for his first end-of-term exams and met with us to tell about his impressions.
Alexander, why have you decided to get higher
education in Belarus?
I have a curious mind and I like to learn new things;
for example, I managed to learn English on my own. I have always been
interested in the field of economy and one day I realized the level of my
knowledge is not enough for me, I want to become a licensed specialist. It
happened so that about 20 years ago I moved to Israel, but I visit Belarus very
often. So when I was ready for getting my higher education I knew already that
it has to be a Belarusian university, so that these two countries - Belarus and
Israel - would get even closer together in my heart.
Which universities did you consider?
I got interested in Belarus State University at first,
but I was unable to figure out how to apply. So I contacted Belarus State
Economic University - and they helped me to apply for Finance and Credit major.
How did your application process go?
I prepared all the required documents - it happened so that my spouse was going to Belarus in August and she delivered my documents straight to the university. I already bought the tickets and was getting ready to fly to Minsk to undergo the admission interview. But then I got contacted by MYUNIVER specialists who partner with BSEU and proposed to take an online interview instead.
Why did you decide to take up the online interview?
In my case, there was a notable cost reduction and
time efficiency. Although I managed to find cheap flight tickets to Kaunas,
Lithuania (they costed about 200USD), it was the amount of time that I managed
to save that mattered. Besides my job I also do some extra work on my
days off, so I would have lost a great deal of my income during these days -
something around 2000USD. Not to mention the money I would have to pay for
renting an apartment in Minsk for thу period of admission.
How did the online interview go?
It was organized via Skype. At an agreed time
MYUNIVER specialist organized a video-conference with the university representatives.
They asked me some questioned and estimated the level of my Russian - and
practically right after the interview I got a call from MYUNIVER specialist who
informed me on my successful enrollment. Later on I received a study agreement
and an invoice from the university. After I transferred the payment all I had
to do is to continue working till January and get ready to fly to Belarus for
my first end-of-term exams.
Why did you choose to be a part-time student?
It's quite obvious in my case - I have a family I have
to provide for. Part-time studies allow me to get my education without
affecting my income.
What about Israel - aren't there courses with
part-time studies too?
Well, they are not the same as in Belarus. We have a
so-called "open university", but you have to come there every evening
- it is more time-consuming.
How are your end-of-term exams going?
Oh, it is very interesting. Today I made a report on
the geopolitical analysis of Israel - a very interesting topic to me, and I can
say that I didn't have to prepare for a lot of time, I didn't even need my
notes to deliver the report. By the way, I got an automatic 'pass' for the exam
on this subject owing to my good report. Right now we are covering more general
subjects, today we started microeconomics. I am a bit scared of higher math -
luckily international students don't have to pass an exam on it. Teachers
understand that some of the subjects are rather difficult for us. We are
already receiving assignments for the next end-of term-exams - and it's clear
already that we will have to prepare for them thoroughly.
Have you thought already about where you're going to
use the new knowledge?
First of all, there are a lot of representatives of
the Belarusian companies in Israel, like Santa Bremor and Belavia - they might
need to hire local qualified specialists. And secondly, my Belarusian diploma
might be useful at my current job. I am working in a large start-up of a
well-known Israeli businessman, doing Research and Development. But our boss knows
how to encourage his employees and find a place for every skill and knowledge
they possess - so it is very likely that my knowledge in the economic field
will be put to good use.
And our last question is about Belarus - have you
observed any changes for the last 20 years?
Every time I come to Belarus with my children everyone
tells me how much they have grown - but I don't notice this myself. Same is
with your country: a lot of things has changed for the best, you just don't
notice it yourself. I would like to note the high level of services: whenever
you go, to a cafe, a restaurant or a company like MYUNIVER - you receive a
high-quality service, even better than in Israel!
Thank you! :)
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