Study Abroad: Is Russian Education Not Good Enough?

According to official statistics, about 30,000 Russians go abroad every year in order to obtain or continue their education. Does it mean that Russian education is not good enough to get a well-paid job? Or is it just the desire of new experiences and some adventure?

By Anastasia Fistashka

Russian Accent interviewed a few students who are currently studying abroad or have already finished their education overseas and asked them about their experience and reasons behind their desire to study in another country.

“I was looking for a new experience and dreaming of living in another country! I did not plan to learn much, but mostly travel and hang out. But at the same time I’m really happy that I managed to learn some cool stuff as well,” Nadya (24) said.

After studying mathematics and graduating from the Moscow State University, Nadya decided to receive further specialization and went to Germany to do her master’s in the field of biosciences. She successfully wrote her master thesis and has been accepted into a PhD program by the University of Cambridge.

“I would have never gotten to where I am now if I had not had a German diploma,” Nadya said, replying to a question of whether a European education had a positive impact on her career.

A diploma is sort of a recommendation for a young specialist. Often, not only your grades, but also the place from where you received your degree matters to an application process. A prestigious job often requires a diploma of a prestigious university. For this reason, young people from Russia increasingly give their preference to foreign universities especially given the fact that studying abroad becomes more and more affordable.

Yulia (27) who is currently doing her master’s in the field of political science in Berlin said that career prospects as well as the desire to live an independent life from her parents were the main reasons behind her desire to move to another country.

”I have always been dreaming of European education, I thought it would be very prestigious to have both Russian and European education and a huge plus when I will be looking for a job,” Yulia said.

Thus, the study abroad is very attractive to young Russians because it gives them an opportunity to both obtain prestigious degree and live another, more relaxed and independent way of life.

“Since I grew up in a small town, I always wanted to see other places – big cities, other countries and different cultures. I’ve always been an adventurer. Going overseas to study was one of the best things that happened to me,” Nikolai (30) said.

Nikolai left Russia at the age of 17 and lived in Canada for 10 years. According to him, all young people should be sent to an exchange program at least for a year, so that they could not only learn about different cultures, but develop an open-mind, seeing things from different angles and perspectives.

“In this day and age, we live in a global world and I think it’s essential for young folks to understand this. In my opinion, a lot of intolerance, discrimination and cultural insensitivity come from the lack of global awareness and little or no exposure to different places and cultures,” Nikolai said.

The young man argued that people often say they “don’t like” a certain group of people, because they simply don’t know much about them. In his opinion, by going overseas or at least to another city a person gets a chance to experience new things, gets out of his/her comfort zone, learns more about others and most importantly about himself.

“I think by separating yourself from your community / country you develop a critical-mind, an ability to see and find a more-balanced perspective – and at the end of a day, these are the most important things that matter in life,” he concluded.

Disclaimer: the views and opinions contained in this article are those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views of Russian Accent.

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