Students from Ukraine study at all six faculties of Bialystok University of Technology. They quickly learned Polish and are doing very well in their studies. For some of them, the first impulse to leave was the opportunity to continue pursuing their sporting passions.
Bialystok was discovered by friends from a sports team for Daria Mankovska from the Sumy region, when the team settled in the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Initially, the young Ukrainian focused on training, but when the team disbanded, she decided to start studying. She immediately chose the Interior Architecture degree programme at the Faculty of Architecture of Bialystok University of Technology. It is one of three programmes for which applicants must pass an entrance examination in drawing.
– I did not know Polish very well yet, I did not read the assignment correctly and did not do what was required, but eventually I was admitted to this programme – says Mankovska, today a fourth-semester Interior Architecture student at the Faculty of Architecture of Bialystok University of Technology.
It was only three months before making the decision to start studying that Daria seriously began learning Polish.
– It was difficult because I understood what Poles were saying, but I had no opportunity to practise – recalls the student. Therefore, she enrolled in a language course and looked for friends among the young residents of Białystok to practise the language. After starting her studies, she received enormous support from her fellow students at the Faculty of Architecture.
– My fellow students from the year saw that I had problems with the language and they always helped me a lot – says Daria. She emphasises that she is extremely satisfied with her choice of degree programme.
– Classes can be difficult for those who do not know what they want to do and simply came to try it out – argues the student. But not for her.
– I really like interior architecture and painting – says Daria. – Studies take a lot of time because we have many projects. In my third year, I would like to attend furniture-making workshops, learn how to creatively use glass and 3D printing, and improve my English. She believes that academic teachers at Bialystok University of Technology make great efforts to pass on their knowledge in the best possible way.
– I want to finish my studies and find a job in Białystok or somewhere in Poland to gain experience or start my own start-up, but in time I really want to live in Ukraine and that is why I will definitely return – declares the student.
If it were not for sport, who knows how the life of the young Ukrainian canoeist would have unfolded. Oleksii Donos, now a fourth-semester student of the Automation and Robotics degree programme at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Bialystok University of Technology, came to Białystok to train in canoe sprint.
– I trained canoeing for eight years – says Oleksii. – After winning a medal at the Polish Championships, I was admitted to Bialystok University of Technology outside the standard certificate-based admission procedure. At the 40th Polish Long-Distance Championships in Turawa, he took third place in the C2 10,000 m event. The young athlete chose the Automation and Robotics degree programme at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Bialystok University of Technology.
– I thought that robotics and automation were something for me – recalls Oleksii. – I had to catch up on all the mathematics and subjects required in automation, but I managed and now I have no problems with my studies. For the first two semesters, we had ‘Mathematics Plus’ classes with MSc Małgorzata Zdrodowska. It helped a lot.
After only a few months in Poland, Oleksii learned Polish.
– It was a bit difficult, but after a few months I more or less started to understand what people were saying to me – recalls the student. – I knew that either I would learn the language, or I would not be able to communicate with anyone in the team and would not understand what the coaches were saying to me. Now the student himself is already an instructor. He cooperates with Dojlidy Białystok Canoe&Kajak Team. He has made many friends at Bialystok University of Technology.
– There is a great atmosphere at the University, the studies are great and the halls of residence are five minutes away from the laboratories and lecture rooms – sums up Donos. He plans to stay in Poland permanently.
Yelyzaveta Marchenko from Donetsk Oblast has found her place at the University exceptionally well. The energetic sixth-semester student of Computer Science and Econometrics at the Faculty of Computer Science of Bialystok University of Technology quickly became involved in student life and even joined the work of the student government operating at the Faculty.
– I was very surprised by the level of student involvement in the life of the University, student governments, various Faculty councils, residents’ councils – all of it works – says Yelyzaveta enthusiastically. – Every year there are Juwenalia, getting bigger and bigger, and there are so many other things happening on this campus. The Faculty student government councils organise, for example, Computer Science Day and Mathematics Day. We always have some coffee with a professor, they always bring some biscuits. Professors are also very involved, they are also very engaged in their studies, they give their all. And you can see it in the results as well, because many people receive the Rector’s scholarship.
Yelyzaveta admits that the results she achieved at the end of her education in Ukraine were enough for her to be admitted to the Faculty of Computer Science without any problems.
Interestingly, she made her decision after analysing the educational offer of Bialystok University of Technology.
– I did not know exactly what I wanted to study, but when I looked through all the available offers, it was Computer Science and Econometrics that impressed me – recalls the student. – I have already been studying for three years, three years of a decision I have not regretted.
This is what Bialystok University of Technology is like – open, inclusive and supportive.
Author: Jerzy Doroszkiewicz
