The foreign Master’s degree students received their degree certificates

The foreign SPbPU Master’s degree students have successfully completed their studies at the university, received degree certificates and special badges of Polytechnic graduates. The presentation ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic turned out to be quite access-restricted, and students and representatives of international services who came to congratulate the graduates were wearing protective masks. However, that could not hide the joy and smiles of completing the path mileage and anticipation of future victories. We met with graduates of Polytechnic University from Vietnam and Afghanistan: Nguyen Viet TCEM studied under the program “Infocommunication technologies and communication systems”, and Abdul RASHID was a student of the international program “Electrical Engineering”. Read about how they studied at Polytechnic University, their favorite subjects and plans for the future in our interview.

- Nguyen, Samim, congratulations on the completion of such an important stage! Please share your impressions about studying at SPbPU with future foreign students!

Nguyen: I absolutely liked studying at Polytechnic University. It was interesting, I felt great. I met new people: these were friendly classmates and great teachers. The level of education at SPbPU, in my opinion, is quite high, and the classrooms are equipped at the state-of-the-art level. So my impressions of studying at Polytechnic University are the best!

Samim: I am very glad that I had the chance to study at Polytechnic University. At the beginning of my studies, I had some difficulties, in particular, due to the fact that the Russian education system is rather different from the system in my country. But I met a lot of people who were happy to help me and share my experience. Thanks to this, I quickly realized that SPbPU is the best university! Many interesting items, the opportunity to study on exchange programs abroad, double-degree programs  are just a perfect confirmation of this.

- What subjects did you like most?

Nguyen: I love disciplines aimed at the practical development of knowledge. I liked working with modern equipment, programs, and simulators of a real working situation. In general, the most interesting thing for me was to implement in practice the theory that I learned at lectures.

Samim: I studied a huge number of disciplines, the existence of which I had no idea of before. All of them were interesting to me. True, I’d have more practical disciplines on the background of the theory.

- Why did you choose this area of training?

Nguyen: I believe that I got to Polytechnic University by the will of fate. At first I studied subjects related to public administration. And then, when I realized that teachers at SPbPU have a lot of knowledge and experience, I decided to change the course and went to study telecommunication systems. This is a very modern direction, and after graduation I can easily find a good job.

Samim: I believe that Russia has a very progressive education system, so I came to study here. After completing my studies here I can find a very good job in Afghanistan.

- What are your impressions of teachers?

Nguyen: First of all, the teachers at Polytechnic University are very kind, they were always ready to help and answer any of my questions. I would even compare them with parents: teachers give us all the knowledge they can, and also wish us all the best in future work and life.

Samim: It is very pleasant that the teachers were always ready for communication. I believe that this is an essential part of training, because it is through communication with teachers that students receive the maximum amount of knowledge. Teachers were always ready to talk, answer questions and help.

- Was it easy to study?

Nguyen: No, it was not; in fact, it was quite difficult. In my group, even Russian students encountered difficulties, let alone international students. There were problems with language, culture, as well as difficulties in studying, because telecommunications are not the easiest area of studies. However, my classmates and teachers were always ready to help.

Samim: At first it was not easy for me because the education system was unfamiliar to me, but after a few months I got used to it, solved these problems and gained the knowledge that I came here for.

- Do you remember how your adaptation to life in Russia went?

Nguyen: I have not encountered any big problems with adaptation to life in Russia. All Russian people are very kind: they always helped me on the street or in other places if I had questions. I can say that I felt at home in Russia, as at my home.

Samim: Many foreign students find it difficult to adapt to life in Russia because of a different culture, people, weather conditions, and also because of the difficult living conditions in old dormitories, but this period passes quickly.

- What do you plan to become in the future?

Nguyen: I plan to become a professional in my field, an experienced engineer. I am also going to postgraduate school at SPbPU and work in my specialty. I will always remember the days of school, because here I met great friends, wonderful teachers, and just a lot of good Russian people!

Samim: Now I’m going to go to a postgraduate school here at Polytechnic University, and continue my studies. Afghanistan and Russia used to have good international relations, and I hope that this happens again. Thank you, Polytechnic University!

- Nguyen, Samim, thanks for the interesting interview! We wish all your plans and dreams come true!

Prepared by the SPbPU International Office