Sponsored by Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University

Soaring tuition fees and a sluggish job market in Europe are driving students to Russia, where over 5,000 international students enrolled this year to Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Just in time for the release of the QS EECA University Rankings 2018, we looked at some of the factors behind Russia’s rise as a study destination for students with itchy feet.

Cheaper tuition fees and a more affordable cost of living

While US$1,000 a month wouldn’t quite be enough to pay for your rent and living costs in most European countries, you could get by in Russia on just US$430-580 a month, covering your dorm room, transportation and laundry, with money left to spare. Tuition fees are also very reasonable, with some courses costing from US$1,000 to US$6,000 a year.

Beating the cut-throat graduate job market

More people are beginning to realize that the experience of living abroad, not to mention language skills they learn in the process, will help to distinguish them from other new graduates.

Chinese international relations student Lee Zingchen said he is certain studying abroad in Russia has given her an edge over other applicants back home.

He said: “After graduation, I will return to China where the demand for specialists in cultural exchange and education is high due to fast economic growth. I am certain I will be able to have a job related to Russian-Chinese relations.

“I took a course in Russian as a foreign language at the Center of Russian as a foreign language of the Higher School of International Educational Programs where I studied with Irina Ivanovna Baranova and was able to improve my Russian in just six months.”

It’s worth noting Russian universities offer extremely effective Russian language courses to international students through University Foundation programs, which prepare international students for post-secondary education in Russian.

Japanese Russian Studies and Russian Language student Uta Hatakawa, 22, said he picked up Russian while studying at SPbPU: “I was interested in learning one more foreign language besides English. Hopefully, my Russian skills will help me find a job in an international company.

“I am happy living here, and have made a lot of friends among Russian students. They are kind and open-minded when it comes to expressing themselves.”

Russian universities are clambering up the rankings and offering courses in English

Competitive prices aren’t bringing the quality of tuition down either. Among the universities behind Russia’s reputation for excellence is the St. Petersburg-based polytechnic SPbPU, which has emerged as a leader in recent years in STEM subjects including energy technology, nanobiotechnologies, industrial and civil engineering, and ecology. SPbPU students also have the choice of being instructed in English or Russian or enrol in prestigious double degree programs with elite universities abroad like London City University in the UK, Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, Brandenburg University of Technology in Germany, and Leibniz University of Hannover in Germany.

A new way to travel if you can’t afford a gap year

Taking a gap year can be expensive and mean putting your career plans on hold, so it’s no surprise many choose to study abroad in order to work towards a goal and get to travel on weekends and holidays.

St. Petersburg is not exactly an unattractive destination either. It’s close to truly stunning spots like the magnificent Pushkin palaces or the Republic of Karelia, a popular touristic destination in the northwest of Russia, known as the “Land of Thousands of Lakes”.

Regional Studies student Lindsey Collier, 22, from the US, said: “I often go on excursions with my Russian friends - to Gatchina, Vyborg, Peterhof. During the summer I would also go on boat trips in St. Petersburg to gaze at the city.”

If you want to study in the UK at postgraduate level, it’s an unfortunate fact that fees are high – even more so for international students. We recently looked at the UK universities with the cheapest international undergraduate fees here, so here we’ll run through the postgraduate version, also based on the results of the Reddin Survey of University Tuition Fees 2017/18, conducted by The Complete University Guide. All fees are for overseas students starting a taught, classroom-based postgraduate degree in 2017.

1. Royal Veterinary College (RVC)

Annual international postgraduate tuition fees: £8,925 (~US$12,030)

If you’re looking to study veterinary science or a similar subject at the lowest possible cost, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) could be ideal, being the cheapest of these UK universities for international students at postgraduate level. RVC’s fees are nearly £800 cheaper than the second-placed university – the largest gap between all the UK universities in this list. RVC is a constituent college of the University of London, and is the largest and oldest veterinary school in the country. It has two campuses, an urban one in Camden, London, and a rural one in Hertfordshire, giving students the best of both worlds. RVC’s postgraduate degrees include a range of taught master’s degrees in subjects such as One Health (Infectious Diseases), Veterinary Epidemiology, Wild Animal Biology, Wild Animal Health and Livestock Health and Production.

2. University of Chester

Annual international tuition fees: £9,700 (~US$13,070)

Also featuring in our list of the most affordable UK universities for international undergraduates, the University of Chester offers the cheapest tuition fees for international students of any non-specialized university. The university was originally founded as Chester Diocesan Training College in 1839, and didn’t gain university status until 2005. Today, it has around 19,850 students from over 130 countries, including more than 4,000 postgraduate students. All students are automatically considered for the university’s scholarships when applying, meaning you may be able to enjoy even cheaper fees.

3. University of Bedfordshire

Annual international tuition fees: £9,900 (~US$13,300)

Also offering postgraduate degrees for less than £10,000 a year, the University of Bedfordshire was established in its current form in 2006. The university has six campuses, with the Luton and Bedford campuses the largest. Despite its name, it also has campuses in the neighboring county of Buckinghamshire.

4. York St John University

Annual international tuition fees: £10,000 (~US$13,450)

Next in our list of the cheapest UK universities for international students at postgraduate level is York St John University, which like Chester has its roots in a diocesan college in the 19^th century, not gaining university status until 2006. York itself is a popular, lively and historic student city, hosting around 20,000 students.

5. University of Suffolk

Annual international tuition fees: £10,080 (~US$13,530)

The University of Suffolk, home to 5,000 students, is one of the youngest of these UK universities, having only opened its doors in 2007. Its main campus is in the county town of Ipswich, but the university also has sites in Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Bury St. Edmunds.   

6. University of the Highlands and Islands

Annual international tuition fees: £10,300 (~US$13,840)

The next institution in our list of the cheapest UK universities for international students is the University of the Highlands and Islands, which has a growing range of postgraduate courses, many of which take advantage of the unique environment, landscape and culture of the university’s location. The university has 13 colleges and 8,400 students, and also offers distance learning programs.

7. Newman University

Annual international tuition fees: £10,400 (~US$14,000)

One of the smallest UK universities with only around 2,800 students, Newman University is located in the Bartley Green area of Birmingham and is also one of the UK’s only catholic universities. It has some of the lowest postgraduate tuition fees around and welcomes staff and students of all religions and backgrounds. Newman has also boasted high graduate employment rates in recent years.

8. University of Cumbria

Annual international tuition fees: £10,500 (~US$14,100)

Also offering lower international tuition fees than most other UK universities, the University of Cumbria has around 8,800 students and has its main campus in Carlisle, northwest England. Founded in 2007 by a merger, the university also has locations in Lancaster, Ambleside, Barrow-in-Furness, Workington and London.

9. University of Chichester

Annual international tuition fees: £10,620 (~US$14,300)

Another of the cheapest UK universities for international postgraduate students is the University of Chichester, which has its main campus in the small city of Chichester, West Sussex. There is also a campus in the seaside town of Bognor Regis, and both locations have been redeveloped with new and improved facilities in recent years.

10. Wrexham Glyndŵr University

Annual international tuition fees: £10,750 (~US$14,440)

The only Welsh university in this list, Wrexham Glyndŵr University was also featured as one of the top cheapest UK universities at undergraduate level. Another young university (founded in 2008), it has around 6,660 students, with 20% of its 650 postgraduate students coming from outside the UK.

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认为您想在大学毕业后飞上天空并为世界上最大的航空航天公司之一工作？无论是设计最新的商用飞机还是提高飞机发动机效率让您兴奋不已，阅读我们来自空客发言人的独家建议，让您的职业生涯开始飞跃。

这家欧洲航空公司是世界上最大的机械工程专业毕业生招聘公司之一，去年的收入超过 780 亿美元。如果您想了解更多关于如何通过竞争激烈的招聘流程并在这家屡获殊荣的公司，或世界上任何其他顶级航空航天公司找到工作的信息，这里有答案。

你在研究生申请中寻找什么品质？

我们正在寻找与我们一样对航空航天充满热情并追求卓越的高成就、积极进取的毕业生。在空中客车公司茁壮成长所需的素质包括独创性、商业意识和出色的解决问题的能力，以及技术知识。团队合作是这里生活的重要组成部分，因此我们寻找热爱协作并希望与他人学习、成长和分享成就的人。

你的招聘流程是怎样的？有几个阶段？

招聘流程有五个步骤：申请、在线测试、申请筛选、评估中心和工作机会。数字、逻辑和口头推理的在线测试需要在候选人提交初始申请后的 7 天内完成。空客经理和招聘人员随后将审查申请，以评估他们是否符合职位要求。通过此阶段的学生将被邀请到评估中心，其中涉及一系列活动，包括小组练习、演示、案例研究和正式面试。

你最大的招聘烦恼是什么，为什么？

候选人只提到他们所担任的任何职位的头衔，但错过了他们的职责的细节。例如，单独的兼职职位对招聘人员来说可能毫无意义。我们怎么知道您在一家建筑材料供应商担任销售助理的兼职工作中，您经常联系客户提供促销优惠、安排交货、监控库存水平并保持公司数据库的更新？不包括这些信息会使空客招聘人员的工作变得更加困难，并且错失了展示您可以为空客业务带来哪些经验的机会。发给错误公司的求职信是另一个禁忌。这表明缺乏对细节的关注，因此您必须根据公司和您申请的角色定制您的申请。

毕业生通常会被问到哪些面试问题，为什么？

面试可以涵盖广泛的主题，包括你的大学学习、过去的成就和职业选择。我们也可能会要求您想象在某些基于工作的情况下您会如何表现。当然，面试可能涵盖相关工作所需的特定技术能力。

你做过的最好和最差的面试是什么？

最好的面试往往是与投入时间准备的个人。例如，研究您申请的公司和职位，不要重复我们的主页，向我们展示您已经超越了研究我们组织或行业的当前热门话题。个人清楚他们所申请的角色，对公司或行业充满热情，并且能够清楚地识别和阐明他们当前的技能以及他们如何将这些技能应用于该角色。

另一方面，缺乏准备和对角色的理解往往会导致面试效果不佳。

毕业生在申请空客时最常犯的错误是什么？

没有从头到尾阅读招聘广告。学生通常会看到教育要求，但不会进一步阅读招聘广告以了解他们的其他要求。

另一个常见的错误是在申请多个职位时提交相同的简历和求职信。这样一来，简历就很普通——与您需要做的相反。招聘人员需要看到您具有特定角色的技能和知识，因此您需要根据每个职位调整您的简历和求职信。在提交之前，请务必对您的申请进行拼写检查！

你收到的最有创意的工作申请是什么？

简历像谷歌搜索结果页面一样，关键词为雄心勃勃、有动力和创造性等，显示的结果是候选人的详细信息。

最后，你会给想要在空中客车公司工作的毕业生什么建议？

告诉我们您与其他申请人不同的经历。例如，对于我们的某些研究生职位的要求是所有申请人都要有机械工程学位。但是不要让这一点阻止你申请。 你的经历、品质和成就让你与众不同，并为你带来独特的角色——你只需要告诉我们它们。 研究您申请的公司和职位，但不要重复我们的主页，向我们展示您已经超越了研究我们组织或行业的当前热门话题。