Stories from Abroad
There are a lot of positive impression, I liked the culture and architecture, all the people are pleasant and responsive. I passed the HSK 3 Chinese language exam and generally improved my speaking skills in Chinese. The internship was useful for me in everything, according to the included training program, my subjects are successfully closed, and I am glad that I studied these subjects abroad. I learned a different approach to education in China. As for me, it became clear to me that I want to connect my life with China and the Chinese language.
What difficulties did you have at the stages of preparation for the internship? What tips and recommendations can you give to future participants of the academic mobility program?
In general, there were no difficulties. I can advise you to reformat all Word documents to PDF, so that your documents will remain in the form you wanted when printing.
Describe the process of obtaining a visa. Your advice for future participants of the academic mobility program.
There was nothing difficult in obtaining a visa, you need to fill out a questionnaire, print it out and come to the embassy with a Russian passport and a foreign passport. There is no person at the embassy who can tell you something in Russian, but there are 3 windows, 2 of which are for applying for a visa and 1 for receiving. It is worth contacting one of the two windows on a first-come, first-served basis. Hand over the printed application form and passport to the embassy employee at the application window. Take into account the days and opening hours of the embassy. After handing over the documents, information about the payment of the application is indicated at the windows, the bank and the bank's address will be written there. The application is considered within 7 days, and it must be paid no later than the end date of the application (it is better to pay immediately).
What difficulties did you encounter upon arrival at the host foreign organization? Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program.
The peculiarity was that the applications and search engines that we are familiar with in China do not work without a VPN. For example, Google, Google Maps and Telegram. WhatsApp and Viber can work without a VPN, but with a delay and without the possibility of delivering media files. Everyone should have WeChat, a Chinese messenger and a VPN (for example, Planet VPN is not the best, but after several attempts to connect it turned out). Alipay and WeChat Pay are payment systems in China. It's easy to open an Alipay account, just go through verification. To use WeChat Pay, you must already have a Bank of China card. You can pay in cash and with a Unionpay card. You can connect MasterCard and VISA cards to Alipay. Next, in Alipay, you find your balance and click "Recharge".
Specify your expenses related to participation in an internship abroad (visa costs, cost of flight / travel to the place of internship, registration fees / taxes / deposits in the host organization, policy / medical services, if used, public transport, meals, accommodation. Your tips for cutting costs.
• Visa costs – 2500 rubles.
• Flight about 36.000 rubles Irkutsk – Beijing (round trip) + about 16.000 rubles. Beijing – Shanghai (round trip).
• The institute provided information on medical insurance in an email, I paid 400 yuan for 6 months.
• Prices for public transport may depend on the city. Bus fare is 2 yuan (payment via Alipay or coins is exactly 2 yuan, since the machine does not give change). Metro – 6 yuan (on average).
• No additional contributions were required. We lived in a dormitory at the institute in a room for four with a cost of 30 yuan a day. On average, it took up to 500 yuan to eat for a week.
• I can advise you to keep track of your expenses and calculate them at the end of the week.
The impressions from the internship are extremely positive, a huge amount of new and useful information. I think this training, personally, gave me motivation to become a more highly qualified specialist in my field. I believe that the experience gained during the internship will help me in my further studies.
What difficulties did you have during the preparation stages for the internship? What tips and recommendations can you give to future participants of the academic mobility program?
There were not many difficulties in preparing for the internship, the main problem was with obtaining a foreign passport, constant postponements of issuance dates, you may not be in time for the start of training, so it's better to start preparing in advance.
Describe the visa application process. Your advice for future participants of the academic mobility program.
To study in Indonesia, you need two types of visa, the first, which is issued for your flight to the country, and the second is issued upon arrival. For the first visa, you need to send documents and funds (at the time of our training, about 18,000 rubles), for the second, the documents requested by the immigration office are collected, you have a month to collect documents, but in fact everything is processed in two weeks.
What difficulties did you have upon arrival at the host foreign organization? Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program.
There should be no problems upon arrival, as your curators explain everything thoroughly and help with all issues. I had a little problem getting a document about my place of residence, since the hostel owner did not know English and it was difficult to explain what I specifically needed, but after a translator and some time we understood each other. Based on this, you need to be ready to communicate in Indonesian, because not everyone knows English.
Specify your expenses related to participation in an internship abroad (visa costs, cost of flight / travel to the place of internship, registration fees/ taxes/ deposits in the host organization, policy / medical services, if used, public transport, meals, accommodation. Your tips for cutting costs.
Before leaving, I paid 18 thousand rubles for a visa, after arriving I paid for ITAS (residence permit for 6 months) 10 thousand. The insurance came out at 29 thousand rubles. The cheapest tickets there came out at 41 thousand. I also paid about 29 thousand for the accommodation. Tickets from Jakarta to Bandung cost about 1200-1500 rubles. It took me about 100 thousand to live. And the tickets went back to 40 thousand.
My impressions of the internship are positive. Thanks to the internship, it was possible to improve both language and professional skills thanks to the courses. I also think it helped me to improve my soft skills by giving various presentations and getting to know a lot of people.
What difficulties did you face during the stages of preparation for your internship? What advice and recommendations can you give to future participants of the academic mobility program?
- I advise you to study the list of documents and the requirements for them so that you do not have to redo them, and also take care of how it will be more convenient for you to transport money, since at present almost all Russian bank cards in Korea do not work.
Describe the process of obtaining a visa. Your tips for future participants of the academic mobility program.
- Personally, the process of obtaining a visa went absolutely smoothly for me. I advise you to make an appointment at the embassy by mail in parallel with the collection of the necessary documents, because it is possible to collect them quite quickly if there is an invitation from another university, and the appointment will be made in a week at best. However, if you are not from Irkutsk, then in order to get a certificate from the tuberculosis dispensary, you may need a request about the lack of registration in your hometown, and it may take a couple of weeks to receive the results of the request.
What difficulties were encountered upon arrival at the host foreign organization? Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program.
- One of the main difficulties at first is the inability to issue a bank card for non-cash payments. To apply for a card, you must have an ID card. I applied for it in the first days of September, and received it in the second half of November. I solved this problem by applying for a UnionPay card in a russian bank that was not under sanctions, after which I could only use it to withdraw money from an Global ATM, and then top up the Wowpass tourist card, the machines of which are located in Seoul and other popular tourist places in Korea.
Indicate your expenses related to participation in an overseas internship (visa costs, flight/travel costs to the place of internship, registration fees/taxes/taxes at the host organization, policy/medical services, if used, public transport, food, accommodation. Your tips for reducing costs.
Visa: 80 dollars.
Round trip flight: about 65000 rubbles
Medical insurance: 3000 rubles for September, then price changed to 5000 rubles per month.
Metro: 100 rubles per trip, but there is a system of discounts for transfers, etc.
Accommodation in a dormitory with one meal per day ticket: 80000 rubbles
Due to the change of environment, you can get sick despite good weather, so it is advisable to bring medication with you. The insurance that I got through the university covered only a relatively small part of the expenses, so the medications that I brought with me helped me a lot.
I am very glad that I had the opportunity to study exchange at the Technological University in Bandung, Indonesia. Overall, the impressions from this experience remained positive.
Bandung is a unique city with a rich history, beautiful nature and friendly people. I visited various attractions and tasted the national cuisine, got acquainted with the local culture and traditions.
At the expense of my studies, the university offered me a wide range of subjects related to my specialty. I have studied new methods and approaches in the field of technology, which has had a positive impact on my knowledge and skills. The students and teachers at the university were very friendly and open, which helped me easily adapt to the new environment. I also had several different projects that allowed me to develop and improve my skills.
The exchange training was useful for me not only from an academic point of view, but also personally. I became more independent and adaptable, as I independently solved many everyday tasks related to living and studying in another country. I developed communication and cultural interaction skills as I met and communicated with people from different countries and cultures. In general, the exchange training helped me become more self-confident and independent.
What difficulties did you have during the preparation stages for the internship? What advice and recommendations can you give to future participants of the academic mobility program?
The difficulties were only in paying for a visa, the website through which it was necessary to pay for an entry visa did not work due to sanctions, but we found a person who helped us. My advice is to start collecting documents in advance, as there may be unforeseen circumstances with a passport or visa, so that there is time to solve problems.
Describe the visa application process. Your advice for future participants of the academic mobility program
To study, you will need 2 visas: an entry visa and a six-month stay visa (KITAS). The entry visa is done through ITB curators who help you. It is done for 2-3 months. KITAS is done for about a month, upon arrival you need to contact the immigration office to apply for it. I advise you to start preparing and collecting documents earlier.
What difficulties did you have upon arrival at the host foreign organization? Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program
Upon arrival in Indonesia, there were no problems, there were a couple of problems during the flight. There are some unforeseen circumstances. At such moments, the main thing is not to panic and keep yourself in control.
Specify your expenses related to participation in an internship abroad (visa costs, cost of flight / travel to the place of internship, registration fees/ taxes/ deposits in the host organization, policy / medical services, if used, public transport, meals, accommodation. Your tips for cutting costs
Before leaving, I paid more than 18 thousand for a visa, after arriving I paid for ITAS (residence permit for 6 months) 10 thousand. The insurance came out at 28 thousand. Tickets there went out at 41 (I took the cheapest ones). I also paid about 24 thousand (six months) for accommodation. Tickets from Jakarta to Bandung cost about 1200-1500 rubles. It took me about 100 thousand to live, for six months. And the tickets went back to 40 thousand (also the cheapest).
I am very happy with my exchange program at Beijing Institute of Technology. During the time I spent there, I improved my Chinese language and gained knowledge in Economics. During my 4 months there, I lost 12 kilograms of weight because I had a very active lifestyle. In the future I would definitely like to go back to China for a Master's program.
What difficulties did you encounter at the stage of preparation for the internship? What tips and recommendations can you give to future participants of the academic mobility program?
At the stage of preparation for the internship, I and other students had difficulties with paying registration fees at the Chinese university, as the functionality of Russian payment systems is now limited. Check the expiration date of your passport in advance, you should have a few months to spare, my passport expired a few days before the day of departure from China. Because of this I had to change my passport and I got my visa, literally, on the day of departure from Russia.
Describe the process of obtaining a visa. Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program
I got my visa under expedited mode, so I had to pay 5000 rubles for it instead of 3000. In general, the documents I needed were a visa application form, an original letter of enrollment from a Chinese university, and a few other small papers. The process was simple.
What difficulties were encountered upon arrival at the university? Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program
We were very happy that we were picked up from the airport and helped with registration, SIM card and dorm check-in, getting to the university on our own could have been a huge hassle. Prepare before traveling, download useful apps like WeChat, Alipay and Baidu Maps for navigation, also install a VPN for Viber, Whats'App and Telegram to work. VK works without a VPN.
Indicate your expenses related to participation in an overseas internship (visa costs, flight/travel to the internship site, registration fees/taxes/taxes at the host organization, policy/medical services, if any, public transportation, meals, accommodation. Your tips for reducing costs.
Travel to the place of training back and forth = 150r; One meal = 150r; Airplane ticket = 15000-25000 one way; Registration fee = 5000, Medical insurance = 5000. SIM card = 4000. Most of the money was spent on buying things. In general, life in China is not expensive.
