Valentin Shtun: "Semester in Czech Republic was unforgettable"

11:50, August 28, 2022

GSEM UrFU Student shared his impressions of studying abroad

I spent the spring semester of 2022 studying at the Prague University of Economics and Business in Czech Republic. I knew about the possibility of international exchange from the very moment I entered the university, so I was ready and waiting for the opportunity to make a trip. Such an opportunity appeared only in 2022, when the most severe coronavirus restrictions were finally lifted.

From the very beginning, the European region was my priority, so I focused my attention on universities in this part of the world. A large number of universities in cities of both Eastern and Western Europe were offered among the areas for study, so I spent a lot of time choosing an educational institution, the main issues for reflection were the budget for the trip, the prestige of universities and the city. As a result, I considered Prague a reasonable compromise: the low cost of living compared to Western Europe, the university's location in significant places in the world rankings, a relatively large and rich in sights city, as well as the proximity of the Czech language to Russian became convincing arguments to go there. I never regretted my choice during the entire trip: Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, while the Czech Republic is the most economically developed country of the post–Soviet bloc countries, so it was comfortable and pleasant to live and study there.

University of Prague is a large building with many campuses, among them there are new buildings that are equipped with everything necessary. The teachers know English perfectly, so I did not experience any difficulties in the learning process. At the same time, you are given a choice of subjects that you can choose in accordance with your program at UrFU for making transfers, and you study together with students who study for a fee on a full program at this university. Since the education  is in English, students from completely different countries of the world are present at the classes, so you can get acquainted and establish cross-cultural communication. The study was difficult in some aspects, but the educational process is not much different from ours: it is also necessary to do projects and homework, while in practical classes you do not need to earn points for activity, and the teachers explain everything themselves. At the same time, it is the exam that plays a decisive role in the assessment, because in most cases it has a weight of more than 50% of all points.

The university provides good living conditions: a renovated dormitory with apartments for four people, you can also live alone for a higher fee. The building accommodates mostly the same exchange students, so we can conclude that Prague is a popular destination for exchange students from all over the world. Personally, I was lucky to live with an American, a Canadian and a Frenchman, so now I have friends from all over the world. The advantage of this dormitory was a cheerful atmosphere, as well as a relatively small tuition fee, in my opinion the lowest in comparison with Western Europe. The Czech Republic has a good location, because from it you can go to different destinations in Europe for travel. For a trip around the country itself with an ISIC (International student Identity Card) you need to pay insignificant amounts, so traveling around the Czech Republic was easy. At the same time, I was lucky to visit Austria, Germany, Hungary and Croatia as well. At the same time, Prague itself is a large and noisy city, and it takes a lot of time to fully explore it. Living in the city itself was completely comfortable and the intuitive understanding of the language made it even more convenient. Coronavirus restrictions that persisted at the beginning of spring were completely lifted later, so now you can freely come there, and the usual life has been fully restored.

Thus, the semester in the Czech Republic was unforgettable for me and I still consider Prague the best option for a trip. This semester gave me an invaluable experience of improving myself, English, intercultural communication and fun, new experiences and independent life. I definitely recommend the semester abroad program and the Prague University of Economics and Business!