Thanks to the Yerzhan Tatishev Foundation I have an opportunity to study in KIMEP. As one of the leading universities in our country, KIMEP cooperates with many foreign universities and provides its students with the opportunity to gain international experience. I was lucky enough to take part in international exchange program for students and study one semester in Jonkoping International Business School, Sweden. For me it was a unique study experience and a good school of life.

Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS) is truly an international school. There I had a chance to meet people from a lot of different countries. We all have had a lot in common, but at the same time we were different. It was very interesting to hear a myriad of languages, learn new traditions, culture, manners of communication and make friends from a different part of the world.

Studying in JIBS was not so easy, but useful for me. The difficulty is mainly consisted of significant cultural differences between Kazakhstan and Sweden. For example, they treat every minute of their time as a single one. This minute is going to pass away very soon and it should be spent in the best way. On the other hand, we mostly believe that there is a plenty of such kind of minutes, so if we do not have time to do something right now, we still can do it later. Therefore, there is no weak schedule of lectures, there are only dates of sessions for the entire semester. You cannot be late even for a usual meeting with your friends, you should be able to manage your time properly and mostly deal with self-studying. I think that the skills I acquired during this semester will be very useful for me in the future.

Among other things, exchange experience has taught me many life lessons. For almost 5 month I lived away form my home without parents, friends and relatives. I had to allocate my budget by myself, solve different problems, live together with other people and try to maintain friendly relations with them. Sometimes it was fun, but sometimes it was difficult.

The main conclusion I made from my trip is that there is no place in the world better than the motherland. A place where you were born and grown is like your parents who brought you up. Whether they are poor or rich, you love them as they are, with all the advantages and disadvantages. Nobody will love you and understand better than your parents, and nowhere else you will feel better than at home.,

Amina Davlidova,

the grant holder of Yerzhan Tatishev Foundation,
student KIMEP