Erasmus Mundus scholarship will help me get a job at an international company and work around the world

Oksana Kostyrina entered the Central & East European, Russian & Eurasian Studies program (Erasmus Mundus International Master) and has already begun her studies in the first of the three countries of the program – Estonia. The next semester will take place in Scotland. Then Oksana will have to choose one of the countries of study for the last year: Georgia, Czech Republic, Hungary or Kazakhstan.

Who is this story about

Our clients get help by tutors to get their education abroad. These people are already studying in another country. They do most of the preparatory work and help our clients’ dreams come true.

Oksana Kostyrina

Client of Univibes.org

Applied for an overseas master’s program through Univibes through the Scholarship Application Service. I entered the International Master in Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IMCEERES) Consortium on an Erasmus Mundus scholarship. She graduated with honors from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations.
Foreign languages: English – C1, Spanish – B2, French – B1.

Maria Kuznetsova

Educational advisor of Univibes.org

Is studying environmental contamination and toxicology on an Erasmus Mundus Joint degree from universities in France (University of Pau and the Adour Region) and Spain (University of Basque Country).

1. About the desire to study abroad

In the 11th grade I was lucky enough to take part in a business project competition in English, where the prize was a trip to the UK for a year. I received this prize and studied in the preparatory program for my bachelor’s degree (International Foundation, Business and Management at Newcastle University). Also I got the Bachelor’s degree but further education was expensive. So I went back to Moscow and I entered the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration at the Faculty of International Economic Relations, which I graduated with honours.

I had a goal to get a second degree or to enroll in a master’s program abroad. I wanted to study in a different educational system. I think that foreign education is more difficult because of the large amount of independent work, but it gives freedom and encourages greater independence. The instructor guides you: “Go deeper, study this side as well. It’s much more interesting to learn that way.

Oksana Kostyrina – client of Univibes.org

After my first education, I wanted to work for a year, look around, study some short courses, and then apply for masters. But there was a pandemic, so I worked for two years before I decided to go abroad. I combined my studies with work from the beginning in order to pay for my education in Moscow. And now I just want to study without working. Therefore, I had a goal: if I go abroad, then only on a full scholarship that pays for the cost of education and living. I am ready to earn extra money, but not to combine work and study, and I don’t want my earnings to depend on whether I study or not.

2. About the program choice

I initially considered Erasmus Mundus and the IMCEERES program for admission, planning to tie my life to the field of international relations. I studied the admission to this program and began to gradually delve into the subject. When Maria told me about the other programs, I was so excited to join GLOCAL and study in Barcelona, Scotland and Chile. I was just learning Spanish with a tutor.

However, I did not pass, but I got into the program which I initially desired. Now I am studying in Estonia, next Scotland. The last year I will choose between Russia, Georgia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan. I will probably choose Kazakhstan to learn about Central Asia, which I studied at the undergraduate level.

Oksana had a high chance of admission to IMCEERES because her education is the best fit for the program. She had previously studied Central Asia and had participated in conferences on that topic. Although she had no volunteer experience, she had internships, which is much more important.

Maria Kuznetsova – educational advisor of Univibes.org

3. About choosing Univibes

I just saw an ad on instagram. I thought it was better to pay for the service and be sure that all the documents were prepared correctly, than to lose a year because of an unfortunate mistake. I know there is no guarantee of getting a scholarship, but there is a guarantee of getting the paperwork right.

It took me a long time to decide to apply, although I had been thinking about it for a long time. The decision was spontaneous, I started to prepare in the last week before New Year’s holidays, and I was collecting letters of recommendation on December 30.

4. About working with Univibes

From the moment we started working with the mentor to receiving the invitation, it was relatively little time. I got the invitation in the mail as early as mid-March. The preparation was extremely fast and took a couple of weeks. Maria was in touch with me 24/7. Since I was working, I did most of my paperwork at night and didn’t expect her to respond to me. And she responded even at night. I am very grateful to her!

One program was chosen by me initially, the supervisor helped me choose the other two. Maria was a good help, gave me a framework of motivation letter, corrected and double-checked it several times. I received letters of recommendation from my employer and teacher. The difficulty was catching them on the spot in the pre-holiday rush. The professor from the university wrote the recommendation himself in Russian. We translated it into English and we tweaked it a bit for each major.

I really liked working with Oksana. She is a nice girl, and as a mentor and as a person I was rooting for her success. I really worked very intensively on her admission, because the deadline for preparation was minimal. It was even more comfortable for me to work at night, so we had a perfect schedule.

Maria Kuznetsova – educational advisor of Univibes.org

5. About my profile

I had two C’s in my freshman year from the same teacher. In my fourth year, I retook them with an A to get my red diploma.

I think my work experience played a significant role in my admission. I worked at the same company for 4 years and was promoted there twice. The experience is not exactly relavant, I was doing tech support, but I worked for a company helping foreigners in Moscow, including working with representatives of international organizations.

IELTS scores don’t seem to be the main thing. I took the test with a 7.0. The girl who took IELTS with me got a score of 8.0 but did not get in for Erasmus Mundus. She prepared the documents herself, the only help she took – to write a motivation letter for 15 000 rubles. I advised her to seek help from specialists, but she decided her own way.

6. Expectations

I was very happy when I got the invitation. I was waiting for it, and even before that I told everyone that I was moving away. There’s a saying, “Don’t say ‘goop’ until you’ve jumped over,” but that wasn’t me. It was like I had a feeling that everything was going to be okay.

The next country of study is Scotland and there is an opportunity to extend the visa for two years without an invitation to work and other justifications. This opens up the prospect of finding a job and staying in Europe. Although I do not plan to stay in one country, I want to work in different countries, for example, by taking a job in an international company. With a European education it is much easier to find work in international companies, such as the Big 4, that attract me.

About studying on Erasmus Mundus

My first semester in Estonia has already started. The teachers are all very versatile, from different countries, it’s very interesting to study with them and there’s no professor I wouldn’t like to come to class with. There is a lot of group assignments, which is kind of hard in the beginning, because everyone has different backgrounds and ideas about teamwork. A lot of students (about half of the class) are studying through Erasmus Mundus. Many of them come from America, most of them want to go to Russia and Kazakhstan. There are also many students from Ukraine, but relatively few from Russia.

Oksana Kostyrina – client of Univibes.org

I wanted to live alone in a room with a kitchen and a shower in the unit, but there was a long waiting list for such rooms. I was even eager to pay extra for it, but I was told that there was no guarantee that I would wait for my turn before my semester in Estonia was over.

So as not to be left without a roof over my head, I just chose a room for two. Because of the pandemic, only one person is supposed to live in the room, but when I arrived, it turned out that I had a roommate. I wasn’t upset, I have a good roommate.

When I studied in England, the dormitory provided all the necessities of life: dishes, linens, etc., although the rooms and kitchen were smaller. Be prepared to buy all the necessities of life at first. In my dorm, there are no dishes, no microwave, no blankets and pillows by default. But it doesn’t bother me, the main thing is that I’m studying!

Invitation from Erasmus Mundus