Nigeria, IBSA program
Master Program
September-December
2017 - 2018 Academic year
STUDY EXPERIENCES
The quality of study in my opinion is high enough to meet or compete elsewhere internationally. This can be justified by the quality of teaching, the qualifications and experience of the academic staff. Most of who were professors who brought their wealth of experiences to bear in a simplified manner. To add glamour to it was the visiting lecturers from other parts of the world.
Sufficiency: again I would consider the teaching and learning profile sufficient. It was sufficient bases on the adopted process of teaching methodology, the breaking into small units of work groups, individual assignments, presentations, defence of projects, and the timely completion of the course curriculum.
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
This I appreciated so much especially as a foreign national without any knowledge of the IBS (RANEPA) environment or Language, but was warmly received and welcomed right from the airport to my already arranged accommodation. Again the manner of communications and correspondences made sure I never missed out on any information. It was always on time, even when schedules changed it was often communicated well ahead of time. The handle of visa registration, the student’s orientation and willingness to respond to questions at all time. I acknowledge that the administrative team is well coordinated and experienced.
Impression: contrary to the notion of difficult Russians I had, going by media information and history, I was impressed with the warm friendships and welcome. I also had to learn the “straight to matter” attitude and life style. I think that the younger generation are more open to the outer world as I met some enterprising ones who had travelled and willing to meet and mix. A lot of tourism sites were very good, like the Red Square, the Monastery, War Museum, the Metro, the dress sense for the weather and others. The not so impressive in my opinion might be that same rigid mind-set of “why do I have to laugh about it first impression” because everyone wears a strong serious face until job is done. So I tend to ask how Russians relax. However, I respect the winning mentality that all Russians I met do have in them like an inherited trait.
Meeting Expectations: obviously YES. Because before choosing to study in IBS I had nauseous and anxious at same time of what would or would not be. But as at today I am very pleased and satisfied that my choice was good and IBS made that possible with all the explanations I gave above.
Opinion and Suggestion: I am finding it difficult to point on a particular area for a suggestion but naturally there will always be room for improvements. For instance, to collaborate with schools in Africa. It is also possible to have Country Representatives or contacts that can help sell beautiful IBS RANEPA and Moscow to the word
