From February to July 2023, Timur Krutskikh, a second-year master’s student from the Faculty of Applied Mathematics, Informatics, and Mechanics, studied at the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar (IPT). Apart from university classes, he also played rugby on the student team, participated in local festivals, and even organised a cybertournament between universities. Read on for more details and Timur’s impressions.
Timur had wanted to try going abroad as part of the academic mobility programme since his second year at university. First, his plans were ruined by the pandemic, then by the disruption to air travel to Europe in March 2022. So, when in the first year of the master’s program, Yulia Pustovalova, an employee of the international department, offered an educational trip to Portugal, Timur immediately agreed.
“I liked the training program at the Faculty of Computer Engineering: the chosen semester had many similar subjects with my curriculum at VSU, and there were interesting lectures on IT. Each international student chooses their own educational programme: you can attend both bachelor’s and master’s programme classes at the same time,” said Timur.
The training course itself is free, students have to cover their travel expenses and accommodation on campus. The one-way flight cost 30,000 roubles, and the dormitory was 120 euros per month.
Timur’s trip began with a week in Lisbon where he admired the architecture and learnt about the traditions of the country.
“I was very impressed by the city: all buildings are of the same style, not higher than four floors in the historical centre, with red roofs. The atmosphere there is very pleasant: clean streets, old trams, local people in no hurry.”
Timur was among the first to arrive at the Tomar university campus.
“When I got out of the taxi, I met some guys from Turkey who had come there through the same educational programme. They helped me with my suitcases, showed me around, and helped me to register at the dormitory. They prepare everything in advance for international students, so it didn’t take much time.”
On the second day, university volunteers showed Timur the buildings on the campus, gave him a tour of the city, and gave a list of important addresses, including the hospital, supermarkets, and other places.
“The volunteers also provided me with some household items that were left from other students, and that’s how I got some dishes,” said Timur Krutskikh, laughing.
“Classes in bachelor’s programme began earlier than master’s, so I had time to get involved gradually. I was lucky since all the teachers spoke perfect English, and many classes were in English only. The most remarkable technologies I studied there were Vagrant and Docker. The teachers explained everything using modern examples, and the classes were vibrant and active.”
One of Timur’s brightest memories about his training programme was the rugby training.
“Sport has always been important in my life, and surely I found something new to do while in Portugal. The main sport at IPT is rugby, so I joined the university team, although I’d never played it before. We had training sessions twice a week. It was difficult and even dangerous, but at the same time a lot of fun.”
Timur Krutskikh is the head of the e-sports department at the VSU students’ sports club “Khitschnye Bobry”. While studying in Portugal, he even managed to organise a Valorant tournament between universities.
“On the ground floor of our building I saw some guys with laptops who played the tactical shooter Valorant. And I suggested a team tournament with “Khitschnye Bobry”. We gathered teams of five people each, arranged a convenient time taking into account the time zone difference, and streamed the tournament on a screen in the ground floor area. Other students were sitting on couches and watching the game. My team won but what’s more important is that we gained experience of playing a game between universities and between different countries.”
Text: Irina Golik
Photos provided by Timur Krutskikh
