Prospects are great

Foreign students talk about studying at Belarusian universitie

More than 30 thousand youngsters from many countries around the world study at our universities. Some come for higher education, others enroll in master’s programmes, and others choose Belarus to pursue science in graduate school. The high level of teachers, a wide range of prestigious and in-demand specialties, comfortable prices and responsive fellow students — all this attracts foreigners to us.

Heart shape is a good sign

Fourth-year student at the Faculty of Geography and Geoinformatics of BSU Xingze Rong came from Beijing. He reads Bulgakov in the original and speaks Russian quite well, although he began to learn the language not so long ago. He knows a couple of words in Belarusian: ‘kali laska’, ‘dzyakuy’, ‘velmi dobra’. One day he had to prepare for an exam using a textbook in Belarusian language, but the guy was not at a loss — an online translator helped. In Belarus, he fell in love with potato pancakes with sour cream and saltison. He says that he became attached to our people for their friendliness, and liked the university teachers for their kindness and creative spirit, 

“The contrast is evident! Chinese children are taught to work from early childhood; we spend more than 10 hours at school every day. The discipline is ironclad, the teachers are strict. If you answer incorrectly, you may even be kicked out of class. And here the professor explains with a smile what solutions there are for this or that problem. It’s shocking at first. The amount of information that students receive is also impressive. You need to sit down with your textbooks.”

Adapting to a foreign country is always difficult, no matter how welcoming it may be. Before enrolling, Xingze studied Russian at the Faculty of Pre-university Education of the of BSU. He remembers well how he opened a textbook on geochemistry and was horrified — he didn’t understand anything. And in classes he was embarrassed to answer at the blackboard. In another telephone conversation, his father advised: ‘Learn! There is no other way’. The guy braced oneself and began to intensively improve his linguistic skills: every day he listened to music and read books. Not long ago, Xingze spoke at an international conference and received a diploma for the best report, “My father advised me to go to Belarus. He works in the aerospace field and was passing through Minsk. I fully understood his impressions when I flew to you. Through the porthole I saw a lake in the shape of a heart and thought: a good sign. And one day I found myself on training practice in the forest: I was standing in the middle of a huge coniferous forest and couldn’t breathe. After the noisy Beijing, I felt indescribable emotions of calm and tranquility.”
The student has already visited four cities of Belarus. He takes a photo of each one and sends it to his parents. When he came home, he gave his father a Belarusian watch, a linen scarf for mother, and a hat for grandmother. While Xingze is not planning to return to his homeland, he plans to enroll in a master’s programme, “Belarusian education is valued in China, so my prospects are great. I can get a good job and earn a decent salary.”
BSU Rector Professor Andrei Korol notes a pleasant trend: the number of foreigners is growing. Over 5 thousand people from approximately 60 countries study at the university, this is the highest figure in the republic. Just five years ago this figure fluctuated around 2.5 thousand.
“Our university is attractive due to its wide educational range,” says Andrei Korol. “This is pre-university training, bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate programmes, internships and academic mobility, summer and winter schools, advanced training. In the last three years alone, English-language master’s programmes have been launched at each faculty.”
At BSU, foreigners, along with Belarusians, actively participate in all student projects, from scientific research to volunteer events. They get access to the entire BSU infrastructure. Moreover, all foreign students are provided with places in a dormitory if they wish.

Chance to reach the goal

Applicants from other countries choose a university based on three criteria: prestige, cost and comfort. In Belarus the streets are calm, people are friendly. Unless the weather can be confusing, laughs Mohammed Khalafalla Abdulrahman from Sudan. He often sends his parents photos from Minsk. Snowy landscapes beautifully highlight the student’s dark skin color.
“For me, the usual temperature is plus 40. I’m studying at the university for the second year, but I haven’t adapted to your frost yet. The only thing that warms me is the thought that in a few years I will receive a prestigious profession as a dentist.”
The Belarusian State Medical University (BSMU) can safely be called an international university. Here is fifth-year student Hisham Lubani is studying to major in general medicine. He flew to Belarus from Berlin. His father is a family doctor, and mother is a nurse. The parents have a private office in Teltow, where the guy does an internship every summer. Hisham proudly notes that his father praises his knowledge, 

“It was my dad who advised me to go to Minsk and enter BSMU. I always wanted to become a doctor, but in Germany my dream might never come true. Every year thousands of people try out for medical universities, but the chance of getting in is low.”

After Hisham’s stories about his studies, his brother Ibrahim also came to Belarus. He is now in his third year.
“German students get acquainted with the structure of the body using diagrams or mannequins — all because of the large number of students,” Hisham sighs. “But there is no such model that would replicate the complex anatomical structure of a person. There are enough exercise machines here for everyone!”
The guy also appreciated other advantages: training in small groups, a lot of practice. Now the student is doing an internship at the 3rd City Children’s Clinical Hospital in Minsk. He is given an inpatient medical card and sent to the patient.
The fundamental principle at BSMU — ‘preparation at the patient’s bedside’ — has been preserved for many decades, says Oleg Ishutin, dean of the medical faculty for foreign students, “The practice takes place in the most prestigious healthcare institutions in the country: Republican Scientific and Practical Centre, hospitals and clinics. Many people work as paramedics in their free time. 

Students have a choice: study in Russian or English. More than 65 percent chose the second option. We guarantee high quality education at an affordable price. For comparison: training in European countries costs twice as much.”

The Honor Board at the university, where the photo shows BSMU graduates from all over the world, from the USA to Australia, speaks about the competencies of foreign doctors better than any statistics. For example, Jasur Madyarov from Uzbekistan was included in the list of the best doctors of 2020 according to the All-Russian ProDoctors Award. Kaushal Kishore Tiwari became the founder of the National Society of Cardiology and Pulmonology of Nepal. He demonstrated his talent so clearly that already in his second year he was trusted to participate in surgeries. Arunachalam Muthia from India, after finishing his studies in our country, opened a clinic in his city and called it ‘Minsk’ — in gratitude to the Belarusian teachers.

By Taisiya Azanovich

Photos by Aleksandr Kukevsky