In September, students of MCU went to study for the fall semester at Russian-Armenian University (RAU) in Yerevan (Armenia).
Students from different institutes took part in the academic mobility programme: 3 students from the Institute of Foreign Languages and 1 student from the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of Education, as well as 4 students from the Institute of Natural Sciences and Sports Technologies. This programme allowed the students to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of academic life at RAU and get acquainted with the culture and history of Armenia.
The students shared their impressions about their studies in Armenia with MCU International Relations Department:
Aleksandr Panteleyev, 2nd year Master’s Degree student (Institute of Foreign Languages)
To start with, I got daily language practice as all classes, homework (monologues in particular), discussions were in English. It was unusual at first, but later I began thinking that sometimes I forgot to switch from one language to another and started talking to the Russian-speaking population of Armenia in English. But my language practice wasn’t limited only to English. The second foreign language on my schedule was French, which I had not practiced for several years and which I had long since forgotten. Studying in Armenia helped me regain some of my skills in the French language. In addition, I’d like to thank Shushan Melik-Adamyan, a teacher of several translation and language disciplines. Due to her assistance, I was able to gain my first professional experience in consecutive interpreting, which certainly makes me feel much more confident as an interpreter.
I also had the opportunity to meet students from different parts of Russia and Armenia, tourists, and volunteers from the US, UK, France, Spain, Canada, Germany, and locals. We are looking forward to visiting each other in the future or, perhaps, meeting again in Armenia. It is a very unique mountainous country with lush nature. I hope to come back here one day.
In the end, I would like to thank MCU and RAU for the opportunity to take part in this academic mobility programme and to invite students to participate in it. These are the impressions and experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime.
Nare Manasyan, 2nd year Bachelor’s Degree student (Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of Education)
Luckily, student life at MCU and RAU is not very different, which makes it easier to integrate into the Armenian student community. The students there are friendly, and the weather and food in Armenia are enjoyable as well. The university has classes with native speakers of English and other languages, which is definitely helpful for improving language proficiency. The academic mobility programme allows you to choose the disciplines that you need according to the programme of your university. It helped me a lot to adjust my studies, and in case I had any questions I could always contact the International Relations Department.
We wish MCU students a productive and successful study at the Russian-Armenian University!
Photos of students from the Institute of Natural Sciences and Sports Technologies