Stories from Abroad
Studying abroad is a great experience, not only in terms of gaining international knowledge, but also a great test for your emotional development. I can say with confidence that I am still overwhelmed with the most sincere feelings of joy and happiness for the opportunity to study in China. Since I was 14, I was sure that one day I would be able to study in this amazing country, and thanks to my university, my little dream came true.
Beijing University of Technology has offered us a wide range of courses and practical classes that are closely related to the latest technologies. We have mastered the practical skills of innovative thinking through professional entrepreneurship training and specialized courses. The university has an atmosphere of free choice of an individual learning system. The student chooses classes and courses based on his/her curriculum. The training took place at a high level of English, but our classmates, university students, and all the staff spoke Chinese, which gave us the opportunity to practice two foreign languages at the same time. I believe that my level of Chinese has increased many times, as well as my knowledge in the field of international communications and technology.
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 no questions at the preparation stage, it is necessary to follow all the instructions of the university step by step. Curators always meet halfway if there are difficult moments.
Describe the visa application process. Your advice for future participants of the academic mobility program.
The process of obtaining a visa did not cause difficulties: the Chinese consulate quietly issues visas in an educational format. The Academic Mobility Department sent us all the necessary documents, which we had to fill out and later present to the consulate. It will take about a week to review the visa application, unless it is an accelerated format. The consulate issues a payment referral, with which you must come in a week and pick up your passport with a ready-made visa. Payment for the visa is made at Solidarity Bank. I advise you to make several copies of all documents in order to avoid questions, And also carefully monitor the filling in of personal information.
What difficulties did you have upon arrival at the host foreign organization? Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program.
Moving to another country for six months is a big step. You are changing your life 180 degrees: starting with your daily routine and habits, ending with the climate and a completely different mentality of Chinese residents. One of the difficulties that I felt in the first days of my stay in China was, of course, the language barrier. Everyone has their own pronunciation peculiarities and even different dialects, so I had to put 2 times more effort into building communication. I urge you to be more tolerant of cultural differences, because they are really significant. But absolutely, the people of China are insanely good-natured, open to communication with foreign guests. I also advise you to change cash, as it takes time to open a bank account. You also need to be prepared for the fact that there will be no Internet and communication for the first time, but SIM cards are immediately issued on the territory of the University.
There were no difficulties in organizational matters, and if there were questions, we could safely contact our curators. Upon arrival, we received a travel guide in printed format, which spelled out all the points in which difficulties could arise: obtaining a SIM card and a bank card, registering in the system, university cards, movements and movements.
The only disadvantage, in my opinion, is the location of the educational university. The university itself is divided into two campuses, we lived close to the center of Beijing, which was as comfortable as possible. However, the training took place at another campus outside the city, 35 km from the university, and each time it was necessary to get at least an hour. The university provided charter buses (paid), but it was not easy to get into them, you need to buy tickets in advance (which were sorted very quickly). Therefore, the time to get there and back took at least 2 hours, and if you get to the university by metro, the road takes 2.5-3 hours.
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 -3.300rubles
Insurance ~400-500 yuan
One-way flight ~35,000rubles
Taxi from the airport to the university ~2,500rubles
Accommodation in the Hostel is free of charge
The fee for bed linen, mattress, pillows, etc. is 400 yuan
Communication -600-700 yuan for six months
Transfer between two campuses (academic and home) by charter bus - 1000 yuan
One-time public transport fare-7 yuan
Meals- 40,000 rubles/month
Additional expenses-20,000rubles/month
It is cheaper to eat in canteens: an average of 17 yuan for one full meal. There are about 12 canteens with different cuisines on the territory of the university, most of them, of course, Chinese. There was no kitchen in our dorm, but we ordered electric pans on Chinese websites and sometimes cooked in them. We mostly ordered food (delivery within 30min).
In general, I have a great impression participating in the exchange program at Beijing Institute of Technology; the study environment, quality of teaching , facilities available for student to study such as the Library, Stadium and reading areas are well standardize . During my Exchange program, I managed to gain more experience academically in the area of my study, expand my networking among students from other countries and also managed to have a start-up company in collaboration with students which I meet in China. I am delighted that I participated in the exchange program because it helped me achieve my dream as an individual with intention of technological exchange between developed world to developing nations; and coming from Nigeria which lack some modern age technology which are available in China, I did feel happy that I initiated these dreams of mine in China.
Academically, the exchange program affected me positively , it was my first time being in China and during this study period I gained invaluable knowledge about my field of computer science , artificial intelligence usage in stores metro, parks, train stations and also Big Data application in China when talking about Alipay and WeChat which are super-applications serving Billions in China. Hence, I feel personally enlighten, exposed, informed, business oriented and grateful to participate in the exchange program.
What difficulties did you encounter during the stages of preparation for the internship? What advice and recommendations can you give to future participants of the academic mobility program?
Being a foreign student, applying for Chinese visa from Russia might be hectic, documentations were problems, I had to get documents like No-Criminal Record, Bank Statement, the mobility office helped me contacted the consulate and I was given a special letter from the Vice-Rector for international office with my Covid-Certificate before I could be granted visa to study in China as an exchange student. And also being a first time traveler to China, I do not speak Chinese which makes it a big difficulties. Therefore , my advice for those who plans to study in China as an exchange student , you must prepare your mind to have all the necessary documents like I explained above and do consult the consulate in advance the consulate if there are more requirements. Although you can survive in China without the knowledge of Chinese language but having basics knowledge of the language will help you a lot.
Describe the process of obtaining a visa. Your tips for future participants of the academic mobility program.
The process of obtaining Chinese Visa is pretty challenging for international student so I had to prepare more documents than my Russian contemporaries. The documents I submitted include Bank Statement, Admission Document from China JW3 form for visa application, One-year Russian Visa validity, Certificate of No-Criminal-Record, Introduction letter from Vice-Rector of the University and return ticket flight itinerary. I will advise all prospective students in the future to take note of the documents when applying, contact the embassy before nomination for the country of your choice. I was rejected for applying for Korean visa just because I had to have 2years stay in Russia before I can apply for student visa to Korea from Russia. Hence seek embassy consent before applying for any country.
What difficulties were encountered upon arrival at the host foreign organization? Your tips for future participants of the academic mobility program.
Being a new country, not knowing the language was a bit of challenge for me, all major maps and application are in Chinese Language but the host university made it easier, we were picked from the airport and all registration including the sim-card, dormitory registration and room assignment was well organized, only that there was no Kitchen to cook which means I was buying food for all my stay in China. As for the future students, prepare yourself ahead of your travel, download useful applications like WeChat, Alipay, and Apple map for navigation which is very useful if you don’t speak Chinese. VPN is essential because even WhatsApp will not work in China and all google services are blocked in China.
Indicate your expenses related to participation in the foreign internship (visa expenses, flight/travel costs to the place of internship, registration fees/taxes/taxes in the host organization, policy/medical services, if used, public transport, meals, accommodation. Your tips for reducing costs.
My expenses in related to participation in the exchange program include the following: visa fee was about 3500ruble, flight to China cost about 33000ruble and about 14000rub to return from China. Registration fee was about 100RMB for dormitory 600RMB for insurance, public transport like metro cost around 3RMB to 8RMB depending on distance, Buses are cheaper which is 2RMB to any direction, Taxi cost higher starting from 20RMB. Meal in the university cost from 10RMB upto 100RMB, it can be bought by choice at university canteen. Accommodation was free for us but the quality is not great. Staying out of the campus will cost about 8000RMB around Beijing Institute of Technology because it’s almost center of Beijing , Hence to reduce cost , stay on campus , eat from canteen most time with student card, use metro and other public transport more, go out with discount card to parks as they have reduced price for students.
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?
- One of the main problems at the beginning of my study in Korea was the pandemic, as you have to take a PCR test and have a lot of health certificates with you when you arrive and move into the hostel. But the host university and the department of academic mobility and resource centers of INRTU warn you about all this.
Describe the process of obtaining a visa. Your tips for future participants of the academic mobility program.
The process of obtaining a visa turned out to be one of the easiest. It took me only a couple of days, because if you have an official invitation from the host university. Then call the embassy and make an appointment, ask in advance what certificates and documents you need to bring.
What difficulties were encountered upon arrival at the host foreign organization? Your advice to future participants of the academic mobility program.
- I think the most important thing is to have a good knowledge of English and to download in advance applications that will help you to move around in Korea (naver mar, kakao map, kakaoMetro). And immediately try to take a SIM card with internet (it is available at the airport), so that you can easily get to your destination by maps.
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.
- Your first expense before arriving in Korea is your visa ($80). I was flying during mobilization, so I flew through Mongolia. The cost could vary, but on average a flight to Korea will cost you 50,000 rubles one way. The cost of living in a dormitory is 1280000 WON (93000 rub) per semester. Then the insurance changed during my stay and at first it was 70000 WON (5100 rub) after 140000 WON (10200 rub) per month. The cost changed due to the cancelation of the pandemic in Korea. I would also like to add about transportation, its cost is 1250WON (90 rubles) and varies depending on the distance. In our hostel you couldn’t cook, so we ate in street cafes. The cost of food on average for one meal is 10000 WON (750 rub).
In the second semester, due to the epidemic, we could only take online classes at home, but the teachers were very responsible, telling us the class schedule and helping us mail school things to our home. Although it was an online class, we also integrated into the class well and communicated with the teachers, who also tried their best to help us and give some advice
About visa process
Since the exchange school is my home country, I do not need a visa, but you can find our information in the international office of the school
What difficulties did you encounter when you came to overseas institutions?
During the exchange period, there was no great difficulty. For me, I was not very free to go to the school, and I had to go to the teacher to write the application every time
My expenses for overseas internship
I don't need the visa fee
The following expenses are only airfare, accommodation and living expenses
The ticket from my home is about 800 RMB
The accommodation fee is 600 per semester for four people. However, if there is a spare room, the teacher will give us a better dormitory with the same price
The cost of living depends on you. My monthly living allowance is about 2000 RMB. Subway, bus, and school canteen are all very cheap.
About difficulties before departure
I think the difficulty is that some courses are continuous. Students in China have studied this course since their freshman year, while I only study in my junior year. I think it is important to go to the library to read some relevant books
Describe your visa process.
This is simple，just do it.
What difficulties did you encounter after arrival?
There is no suffering. Thank my classmates for helping me a lot. Maybe I need some interpersonal relationships
Cost of my abroad internship
There is no high expenditure. I think it only depends on your requirements for quality of life. I can spend 15000 rubles a month or 100000 rubles a month. You need to pay for what you do.
