Dear MPEI students, my
name is Azamat Ziatdinov and I would like to tell you about my experience of
studying in Spain on Erasmus+ grant in University Carlos III of Madrid from 1st
February 2021 until 30th June 2021. I am a student of IITCS, Department of
Applied Mathematics, 2nd year of Master studies during my mobility program. I
managed to win the Erasmus+ grant competing with more than 20 applicants from
MPEI and other prestigious Russian universities.
I had chosen the University Carlos III of Madrid.
Despite that the situation in the world was unstable due to Covid-19, I did all
the paperwork successfully and was very happy about it. 
I was studying in the Big Data field, and I had a
choice of subjects, and some of them were essential to be accepted at MPEI. I
was fascinated by the study process at the University: more practice, less
theory, laboratory works (programming) conducted in groups of 2-4 students,
opportunity to review lectures and gain access to all the materials through the
University web-portal. The pandemic had its toll and we could take both remote
and in-person studies. Some of my groupmates worked in the mornings and
reviewed lectures and practical sessions after work.
This
approach impressed and pleased me a lot.
Study
process in class
For the first 2 months, courses were carried out every
day from 9:30 to 12:45. The first lesson was a lecture, the second - a
practice. They were conducted in English and I had no trouble understanding my
teachers, except the one who had a strong accent.
Surprisingly, I was the sole Erasmus+ student among my
40 groupmates who came in the second year of the Master course. The rest had
been studying together since the first semester. At the University Carlos III
of Madrid the Master course duration is 1,5 year, as against Russian ones that
have 2 years of Master studies. Despite that, I successfully fitted in and even
found some new friends.
Next two months I was studying three times a week, and
was learning some new subjects because I had passed the others. Due to my good
technical training at MPEI, I was studying in cruise mode and received 4+ marks
in all subjects.
I would also like to speak about some organizational
moments that could be useful for a future student of Erasmus+ in Madrid.
The first essential thing you can do is to open a bank
account in Spain to receive the grant. I did it in Santander Bank, and had a
few difficulties, but I consider that as an exception. After the opening, the
coordinator sends the grant (70% of total) that takes 2-3 working days. You
should have some money for your first two-four weeks to avoid problems caused
by bureaucracy. Because of the difficulties with Santander, I received the
second part of the grant through Caixa Bank. If you don’t need an account in
Spain, you can ask the coordinators to send you the money in cheques and cash
them in Caixa Bank during its working hours.
The second one is to obtain a transport card. If you
are younger than 26, you can get it for 20 Euro per month, which is very cheap
for Madrid. You can order here: https://tarjetatransportepublico.crtm.es, however I highly recommend contacting Citylife Madrid for help: https://www.citylifemadrid.com. This is an organization that helps Erasmus students with adaptation.
Add them to WhatsApp, text them in English that you wish to receive a card, and
they are making an appointment, meeting you, taking your picture and giving a
card. As well, Citylife Madrid creates many events for students, for example,
speaking clubs where you can practice your language skills.
In general, if you have a bank account and a transport
card, you feel calmer and safer. In Madrid, there aren’t many English speakers,
and in bars and cafes you will speak Spanish, so I recommend learning basic
phrases in Spanish, that would make your trip easier.
Housing in Madrid is expensive. The campus of my
university was located on Puerta de Toledo, which is quite close to the center.
I wanted to live near the university and had found a room on the Idealista
website for 450 euros per month + expenses. It is possible to find something
cheaper and more comfortable, but it was so comfortable for me, since I lived
10 minutes from the university, with a native, in a cozy room, where everything
you needed was.
Unfortunately, because of the Covid-19, there were a
lot of restrictions in Madrid, so I couldn’t fully enjoy the life of a tourist,
but it was wonderful anyway. I visited several museums, some of them for free,
using the student’s card and the passport (Prado is exceptional), I even
managed to travel (I went to Barcelona).
I got so used to sitting on terraces with groupmates
and talking over different topics that I was thinking why I didn’t do it
before. The culture of Spaniards and their lifestyle got through me so that I
returned as an absolutely different person in a good sense. I wish everyone
could experience these kinds of emotions and travel more. I wasn’t in my
comfort zone during the first month, but the following 4 months changed me
drastically as a person, as a student and as a man. I daresay that these were
the best 5 months in my life!
My gratitude to all the personnel of the Department of
International Relations, especially to Irina Kulik and the Department of
Applied Mathematics for giving fast and necessary help in the framework of the
program realization.
I am open to your questions in Telegram: t.me/mrfocussam