International Students Testimonials

Mohamed Amir Ibrahim, Maldives

National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University

I got used to the weather quickly, in about a week

I arrived in Tomsk in December and it was cold. However, I was prepared, I had bought warm clothes and suitable shoes in advance. I got used to the weather quickly, in about a week. The summer white nights were more challenging for me when it is 9 p.m., but it is still sunny outside. It is very unusual since, in my country, the sun sets at about 6-7 p.m. I chose Russian and TPU due to several reasons. Firstly, when I was a school student, I understood that I would study engineering, but at the Maldives universities, there are mostly IT, management, and business programs. Secondly, my mom’s friend came from Russia and her father studied at Tomsk Polytechnic University and I heard many times about excellent education it provides.

Before my arrival in Russia, I learned the Russian alphabet, several basic phrases, and studied the language at the center of the embassy in Sri Lanka. Therefore, when I arrived, I could already say, for example, “hello”, “my name is…”, and several other sentences. I liked to study in the TPU Pre-university department. In my group, there were people from China, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Senegal. They are good people who have always helped each other. Besides, I am very grateful to our teachers for their attention and personal involvement. I believe that the most difficult thing in Russian is the gender of words. In two languages I speak, Divekhi (the official language of the Maldives) and English, there is no such thing.

I chose the Bachelor’s degree program in Materials Science because I want to discover and create new materials. In general, I dream to do science and practice. At school, I was most interested in chemistry, but I understand that higher mathematics and physics are no less important. I hope that at Tomsk Polytechnic University I will be able to study all the necessary subjects. Tomsk is a good and quite small city. There are many beautiful places for walking alone and meeting with friends. For example, I like to walk in the Lagerny Garden. Along with this, I also like Russian cuisines, such as pancakes and borscht. The first time I tasted it when it was very cold. In my opinion, this is the most suitable food for such weather.