HSE Brand Ambassador in Indonesia
After turning down two offers of admission to universities in the United Kingdom, Rifki Zulkarnaen decided to accept a scholarship offer to attend the Master’s programme at HSE’s School of Asian Studies.
‘Both of my father and mother totally supported my decision to get this education since a great opportunity would not come twice’, the 28-year old student from Indonesia says.
Zulkarnaen says he was attracted by the opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary research that touches issues of politics, economics, sociology, culture, ethnicity, religion, and linguistics while at the same time gaining the valuable perspective of a diverse group of international students in the programme.
Despite initially having difficulty with the application for a student visa, Zulkarnaen had nothing but positive experiences when applying to and arriving at HSE, especially the ease of the online document submission and the helpfulness of his HSE buddy, Larisa (Lara) Shestak, who met him upon arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport.
‘As a newcomer and as foreigner who has zero knowledge of Russian, coming to live in an international metropolis like Moscow was quite challenging’, he says. ‘Lara was really kind by picking me up and accompanying me to the dormitory. Furthermore, on the next day, she picked me up at my dormitory and went with me to the HSE international admission office to get me registered and told me about the politics, culture, laws and many other interesting things about Russia. She even taught me how to read Cyrillic and pronounce things correctly. Finally, she showed me how to use Metro from the central building to my dormitory’.
Zulkarnaen currently serves as a Brand Ambassador for the HSE International Student Information Centre Office in Indonesia and Malaysia, which provides information about study at HSE to high school and university students looking to pursue undergraduate or Master’s degree programmes. As for what comes next, he is considering several possible career options, including teaching, government work, or business.
‘By becoming an international student at HSE Moscow, I can spread my network across borders. My career prospects are wide open!’ he says.
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for HSE News service
See also:
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