I chose Seoul National University mostly due to its high rankings and high quality of education that is recognized in Korea and worldwide. It was the first time I was traveling outside Russia, so I was interested to check how people live in other countries.



SNU offers some courses in English, but not so many. Hence, you will most probably take some master`s courses. I found them much more difficult than Innopolis courses and that’s why I took 5 instead of 6. Nevertheless, I should admit that I gained lots of practice-oriented information from the courses.
As to the accommodation, the results of the dormitory application for the bachelors were announced two weeks prior to the semester; one needs to keep that in mind before travelling. It will also be useful to know in advance that usual apartments will be much more expensive than dormitory rooms.
Initially, COVID-19 restrictions affected me a lot, however by the end of the semester almost all of them were eliminated.
The places I would recommend visiting in Seoul are Gyeongbokgung Palace, Namsan Tower, Seoul Zoo, Cheonggyecheon Park, National Museum of Korea and any animal cafe you prefer.







About Korean cuisine: it is very spicy, so be ready for that.
Overall, I would say that it is a very nice country to visit for one semester. Education there is worth all the challenges I had before and during the exchange.

I chose METU because of its reputation and high ranking in the area, as well as my will to visit Turkey and enjoy their food. Additionally, the university is entirely in English, so there wouldn't be too many communication problems.



The administrative process was extremely well organized. Everything was communicated on time and our emails get answered on the same day. The quality of education and its organization were great. It was under lockdown for most of the time I spent there, so I couldn't travel anywhere.



The most valuable part of the program was the new friendships I made in Turkey. The exchange program increased my self-confidence and made me feel I am capable of more than I thought.



My advice to the students who plan their exchange semester is to contact people from the receiving institute first because they can have important insights. Making friends with the locals will also help you a lot during your stay.

I chose the University of Luxembourg because it was funded by an Erasmus+ program; also, I have a friend who lives there.



Though my exchange was affected by COVID-19, I would still say it was amazing. I met wonderful people, learned a lot of new things, visited a lot of places. I even did skydiving.
There are lots of events, sports classes, dancing classes and acting classes where you can meet new people. There is an event called "Ideation Camp". Here you can show your entrepreneurship skills.



 Students who apply for an exchange program need to be sure. I had to stay in Luxembourg due to COVID restrictions. Be prepared for any kind of problems or situations and always rely on yourself. 



Luxembourg has the best canteens that have a variety of food and it`s very cheap. Unfortunately, due to COVID, everything was closed during my stay in the country.”

I had a chance to study with Korean students for a short term to see how hard they study in their university

I love traveling. Visiting a new country and meeting new culture always amazed me. So, the main reason for applying to an exchange program was to see the beautiful and technological city of Seoul. Moreover, I had a chance to study with Korean students for a short term to see how hard they study in their university. My choice of SNU was determined by its ranking and its prestige in the field of engineering.

SNU does not offer bachelor's courses in English, so you have to take a Master's course. Since SNU is one of the best universities in Korea in engineering, I found those courses too hard. That is why we took only 4 courses and decided to take the rest at IU.

Because of COVID19, I could not travel much. But during the summer, I tried to visit some popular places in Seoul.

The exchange program helps a student to come out from his/her comfort zone and embark upon new adventures. I encourage everyone to participate in an exchange program and have a chance to visit one of the partner universities of IU to exchange their knowledge with students all over the world. One more thing: be aware of Korean cuisine as it differs from what we are used to here.

I want to express my gratitude to IRO specialists for following my application process step by step and answering all my questions on time.

It was a warm spring night with cherry blossom trees around, I and 20 more exchange students from all around the world met on the roof of the library to drink Korean soju and sing American songs.

The exchange semester at KAIST gave me an unusual experience of life in an Asian country. I and many other exchange students developed an amazing community in KAIST. United by common interests, we enjoyed travels, adventures, and parties together. I remember the brightest part of the exchange program. It was a warm spring night with cherry blossom trees around, I and 20 more exchange students from all around the world met on the roof of the library to drink Korean soju and sing American songs. COVID had its impact on the program but overall, everything else was great.

Do not go there only for knowledge, go for experience and new people!

Lectures were engaging and containing complicated topics in an easy-to-understand form.

Sapienza University is one of the largest European universities by enrollments and one of the oldest in history, founded in 1303. The University is one of the most prestigious Italian universities and in the world, commonly ranking first in national rankings and Southern Europe. This was the reason for which I chose Sapienza University. The administrative process there was organized smoothly and easy to understand. Students of Sapienza have the platform for uploading all necessary documents for an exchange program. The International offices of both universities are ready to answer all student's questions. The organization of online lectures was amazing; all materials were available online. Lectures were engaging and containing complicated topics in an easy-to-understand form.

Because of the pandemic situation, I could not visit the county. Even though the communication with people was online, it remained in my memory as one of the most interesting moments. We had the team projects. We were making zoom calls with my teammates, first to get to know each other and the background of each person. Then we were working on developing MLP and RBF neural network with optimization of its training error function, for which we got the full point.

I would recommend students who wish to go on an exchange program to take part in all possible activities which partner university can provide, visit the county of exchange, and make friends.

The brightest day of my exchange program was the day of Remembering Ataturk on 10th November at 9:05 AM when I met many people outside in a crowded street to see how the nation respects its father.

I chose METU for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it had the best-matched courses with my program at IU. Secondly, the climate is nice. Due to the pandemic, the Fall semester started on the 10th of October, and at that time the sea temperature and the weather could allow you to swim for around an hour in water and sunbathe after that. The sunshine gives you so much energy for routine things. 99% of the time in Ankara you have sunny weather.

The assignee from the international cooperation office keeps in touch with you throughout the whole period of your exchange. They take care of all the administrative issues and give comprehensive instructions on how to live in their country, how to obtain a residence permit (which is a must to stay) etc.

I had a chance to dive into the history of the foreign country. During the exchange, I lived with friends and one of them was Turkish. This guy showed the key places in Ankara and gave a short review of modern Turkish history.  The brightest day of my exchange program was the day of Remembering Ataturk on 10th November at 9:05 AM when I met many people outside in a crowded street to see how the nation respects its father.

Because of the pandemic, I could not interact with students. Most of the places were closed. 

The things I would advise one to be familiar with before visiting Turkey: to know about major historical facts of the Turkish nation and national holidays; to learn about Çiğ köfte and Pekmez, try them.