My name is Kateryna Kravchenko, I am 24 and I am coming from Ukraine. This year, I finished an amazing study journey within the Erasmus Mundus programme, which I would like to share with you.

Tell us about your international study experience and the program that you have chosen.

As an Erasmus Mundus scholar, I studied International Development with a focus on policy design on the national, regional, and international levels. I got a chance to study in three different countries such as the Czech Republic (Palacky University in Olomouc), France (University Clermont Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand), and Italy (University of Pavia in Pavia) while completing my comprehensive Master’s program. Moreover, I was delighted to combine both my passion for Economics and fondness for policymaking.

Erasmus Mundus is a prestigious study program allowing to study in at least two different universities in Europe and program countries and lasts from one to two years. The scholarship offered by the program, which covers tuition fees, travel, and subsistence costs, allows gifted students from all over the world to participate irrespectively of their financial background solely based on their previous academic and professional achievements.

How did you discover this program?

When I was a sophomore student, a friend of mine was enrolled in the Erasmus Mundus Master program with the starting semester in Germany. After I visited her in Gottingen, I deeply fall in love with the whole idea of international study exchange. Just imagine a group of talented people from all over the world gathered in one classroom with the possibility to share their knowledge, experience, and thoughts as well as to learn from the professionals in the best educational institutions in Europe. Is not it one of the best ways to promote development, cooperation, and youth mobility?

Despite being promoted by the European Commission, the Erasmus Mundus initiative is chiefly spread by the word of mouth among the young people as it was in my case. Thus, whenever I can, I am trying to convey such opportunity to youth and encourage them to check available programs in the catalog of Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree programs:

Could you describe your usual study day?

“Would you like a fresh apple?” approached me the professor offering a whole bucket of beautiful scarlet apples once I came to the classroom. He harvested them from the tree right in front of his house. Five minutes later, twenty of us with the homegrown apples on our desks began a plentiful discussion on international trade and world development systems. Twenty bright youngsters with such diverse backgrounds, representing different continents, speaking more languages than there are nationalities in the class and yet aiming for the same goal of sustainable development in both the world and our own countries.

The sun just passed a zenith, morning classes are over, and a huge queue lined up in front of the canteen door. How is it to try the Czech food? Does it taste the same to me, Ukrainian, who is used to soups for lunch, to Italian craving pasta or gnocchi, or to Georgian dreaming of a hot khachapuri? All of it was a part of intercultural learning and tolerance, a bonus that each of us received during the program.

In the evening, the library was crowded with the students, so it was even hard to find a cozy spot. The coffee to go and a bun saved our study evenings until the university employee was kindly asking us to leave the building, as it was time for it to be closed. Hard studies were rewarded by the excellent skills acquired necessary at the labor market.

What about the social side of your program?

“Work hard, play hard”, as they say, could be changed into “Study hard, travel hard” in my case. During the weekend or free days, my classmates and I traveled around Europe. I am longing quite often for these good old days when the world was not threatened by the Covid-19. Erasmus Mundus became an opportunity that opened the world for us and allowed us to widen our views. Therefore, I would highly advise young people to explore as much as they can during the studies.

During these two years, our group became a family as we used to share all the ups and downs together. We used to occupy dormitory kitchens to cook international dishes, were attending pub quizzes and international events, exploring local cafes and bakeries, organizing Secret Santa exchanges, playing musical instruments, and performing the national dances. Besides gaining professional skills, some of my classmates learned how to swim, ride a bicycle, and skate.

It is hard to describe such a vibrant student vibe in a few words. Therefore, I would like to share the video, which I filmed and edited during my third semester in Italy to show it.

 

Moje ime je Kateryna, imam 24 godine i dolazim iz Ukrajine. Ove sam godine svoje studentsko „putovanje“ završila kroz Erasmus Mundus program te bih svoju priču voljela podijeliti s Vama!

Reci nam nešto o svom iskustvu studiranja u inozemstvu i o programu koji si odabrala.

Kao Erasmus Mundus student studirala sam Međunarodni razvoj s naglaskom na politička pitanja na nacionalnoj, regionalnoj i međunarodnoj razini. Završavajući svoj sveobuhvatni diplomski studij, imala sam priliku studirati u tri različite zemlje: Češkoj (Sveučilište Palacky u Olomouc-u), Francuskoj ( Sveučilište Clermont Auvergne u Clermont-Ferrand-u) te Italiji (Sveučilište u Paviji). Najviše me oduševilo to što sam mogla povezati strast prema ekonomiji i ljubav prema politici.

Erasmus Mundus je program studiranja koji omogućuje studiranje na najmanje dva različita sveučilišta u Europi i ostalim programskim zemljama. Program traje jednu do dvije godine. U program je uključena stipendija koja pokriva školarinu, troškove putovanja, životne troškove. Upravo ta stipendija omogućava studentima sa svih krajeva svijeta, pa i onima koji nisu u zavidnoj financijskoj situaciji, da pokažu svoje znanje i akademsko umijeće.

Kako si saznala za ovaj program?

Dok sam bila na drugoj godini faksa, moja se prijateljica uključila u program te započela diplomski studij u Njemačkoj. Kada sam ju posjetila u Gottingenu, jednostavno sam se zaljubila u ideju međunarodne studentske razmjene. Sama pomisao da se talentirani studenti iz cijelog svijeta nađu u jednoj učionici te razmijenjuju iskustva, znanje, razmišljanja, a istovremeno stiču znanje na najboljim sveučilištima u Europi, naprosto mi je bila oduševljavajuća. Nije li ovo jedno od najboljih načina za promociju razvoja, suradnje i mobilnosti mladih?

 Osim što ju promovira Europska komisija, Erasmus Mundus inicijativa u velikom se razmjeru prenosi se s usta na usta brojnih mladih osoba, kao što je bilo i u mojem slučaju. Stoga, kada god imam priliku, nastojim promovirati ovu mogućnost studiranja među mladima kroz katalog dostupnih Erasmus Mundus programa.

Kako je izgledao tvoj uobičajeni dan kao studentice?

„Želiš li svježu jabuku?“ jednom mi je u učionici prišao profesor nudeći punu košaru grimiznih jabuka. Prije dolaska na predavanje, ubrao ih je sa stabla ispred svoje kuće. Nedugo zatim, dvadesetak nas na stolu je imalo domaće jabuke te smo tako započeli raspravu o međunarodnoj trgovini i svjetskom sustavu razvoja. Dvadeset mladih različitih pozadina, predstavljajući različite kontinente, govoreći više jezika nego što je prisutnih nacionalnosti u učionici, raspravljalo je za isti cilj: održivi razvoj u svijetu i u njihovim zemljama.

Nakon završetka predavanja nastao bi ogroman red u menzi. Kakva je češka hrana? Ima li isti okus meni, Ukrajinki, koja sam navikla jesti juhe za ručak, Talijanu koji žudi za tjesteninom ili njokima ili pak Gruzijcu koji sanja o toplom khachapuriju? I ovakve, svakodnevne stvari bile su dio međunarodnog učenja i tolerancije, svojevrsni bonus formalne edukacije.

U večernjim je satima knjižnica bila krcata studentima te je bilo jako teško naći slobodno i mirno mjesto. Kava za van i pecivo spašavali su nas prilikom večernjeg učenja. Učili bismo sve dok nas zaposlenik sveučilišta ne bi zamolio da odemo kako bi mogao zatvoriti zgradu. Muke pri učenju nagrađene su odličnim rezultatima i vještinama nužnim za kasnije zapošljavanje.

Što je sa društvenom stranom ovog programa?

„Naporno radi da bi kasnije uživao“, u mom slučaju može se promijeniti u „Naporno uči da bi uživao u putovanjima“. Vikendima i slobodnim danima, moji kolege i ja putovali smo Europom. Često žudim za tim danima kada prijetnja zvana Covid-19 nije postojala. Erasmus Mundus je prilika koja nam je otvorila vrata svijeta i omogućila nam da proširimo svoje vidike. Stoga bih toplo preporučila svim mladima da maksimalno iskoriste svoje vrijeme studiranja.

Kroz te dvije godine, naša je grupa zapravo postala obitelj, jer smo međusobno dijelili sve uspone i padove. Znali smo okupirati kuhinju u domu kako bi pripremali međunarodna jela, otkrivali gdje prisustvovati na pub kvizovima i internacionalnim događanjima, istraživali lokalne kafiće i pekare, organizirali „Secret Santa“ razmjenu božićnih poklona, svirali i plesali. Osim što su stekli profesionalne vještine, mnogi su od mojih kolega naučili plivati, voziti bicikl i skejtati.

Teško je opisati ovu studentsku vibru u nekoliko rečenica te ću stoga s Vama podijeliti video koji je nastao u Italiji tokom trećeg semestra.

Ovaj članak dio je aktivnosti “Mobilni ambasadori” u sklopu projekta Centar za mobilnost Labin odobrenog od strane Ministarstva za demografiju, obitelj, mlade i socijalnu politiku. Mobilni ambasadori će u svojim pričama podijeliti vlastita iskustva na projektima i programima međunarodne mobilnosti.