"Almost all exams were in written format: you had to write by hand on paper" - exams, study process, travel and other impressions of Anastasia Koroleva from her mobility programme at Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC)

Anastasia Koroleva, a 3rd year student of the Marketing and Market Analytics programme at the HiSE Graduate School of Business, visited one of the major multidisciplinary and professional universities in Paris - Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). Anastasia studied in English on the exchange program in the spring semester 2022-23 academic year and also successfully improved her French. You can read about the impressions of the University of Paris in the review.

I am pleased to share my experiences of the mobility programme. The decision to participate in the programme in my second-to-last year came spontaneously out of a desire to live abroad and experience a foreign education system. When choosing the country of residence in the application, I mostly chose France, as I knew it well and had been dreaming of staying in the capital for a long time.

 

It took me about three weeks to prepare the documents and another two weeks to apply for the visa. There were no problems getting the visa, and I picked up my passport a week after the application. I would like to give some advice to students who are planning to study on exchange programs: Do not put off the preparation of the necessary papers, as there can always be a force-majeure situation, and the expected file will come later than the appointed time.

 

After that, my preparations for departure began, gathering the remaining papers, packing, buying tickets. Due to the current lack of direct flights, you should be attentive to choose a connecting flight: it’s not so easy to find a convenient connection and avoid extra visa zones.

 

Upon arrival, everything seemed familiar and new at the same time. The university was a little further than I had anticipated, but it was comfortably located and the journey from the centre did not take more than 40 minutes. Almost immediately we were able to find common interests with other exchange students, including students from Vyshka - we are still in touch with them now in Moscow.

On our first day at the university, we had a French language test to determine our level, as well as a welcome day to familiarise ourselves with the rules of the university and, of course, to see the other students, classrooms and teaching staff. Classes were held in bright and airy classrooms. The programme for both mobility students and French students in the final year was entirely in English, that is quite common in business majors.

 

There were not so many lecturers, but it was possible to get to know each of them better. Perhaps the main difference with the Vyshka system was that there was no division of classes into lectures and seminars. Instead, a standard lesson lasted for 3-4 hours, with both interactive elements and an explanation of the topic by the professor. At first, it was unusual to spend so much time in the classroom, but the short breaks and active project work helped to get into the right rhythm.

 

Despite the busy schedule of classes and activities provided, it is not difficult to combine study with an internship or travel. In terms of traveling, we have visited several French regions and other European Union countries: Italy, Spain and Portugal. The countries are close to each other and flights are relatively cheap, and it created additional opportunities, of course. Moreover, during the last semester I got to know Paris itself, its cozy places and unobvious local peculiarities, got acquainted with local colour and tasted its famous French cuisine. I also improved my French, which made the bureaucratic and routine matters a lot easier. By the way, UPEC provides an optional French course where you can choose your group and level.

 

Almost all the exams were written: you had to write by hand on paper. Because of this, the results did not arrive straight away, and final marks were not known for about three weeks. That said, the study office at the university is almost always in touch and ready to help you promptly. It's a good idea to know about holidays and non-working periods, just in case.

 

If we speak about help, even strangers are open, ready to help and advise you, whether it's opening a bank account or solving a study problem. Perhaps the biggest part of the experience was meeting new people, making friends and walking together in Paris. Now if I'm in this beautiful city again I will feel at home.

 

My impressions of the mobility programme are extremely positive, and the experience and memories I get during the training will stay with me for a long time. I would like to say a special thank you to the HSE International Office for providing such a unique opportunity, and I wish good luck to the guys who are thinking about applying. It’s one of the most exciting phases of their studies.