As part of the integration course, future students improve their knowledge of the Polish language and choose the specialization they would like to study. And they have plenty to choose from: each master's student must decide on one major and one minor specialization among the five offered – Caucasus and Central Asia, Balkans, Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Russia, as well as choose a regional language they would like to master over two years of study.
"The integration course helped me make the choice," says Olga, a student from Belarus. "My heart and soul were drawn to Central Europe and contemporary art. But in reality, I understand that I want to develop and write my thesis on a topic related to the media community and non-governmental organizations, directly in the Eastern Europe region."
The specialization "Eastern Studies" at the University of Warsaw appeared in 1998, and already in 2001 the first scholarship holders from former Eastern Bloc countries became students. Each year in the master's program, the ratio of foreign to Polish students is 50 to 50. This year, more than 20 young people from Ukraine, Belarus, and Azerbaijan are starting their studies in the master's program.
Angelika, who came from Baku, is the only representative of her region on the course, but she claims that this does not hinder her from getting along with her classmates: "I am the only scholarship holder from the Caucasus. The majority of people are Ukrainians and Belarusians. But since they are also from former Soviet Union countries, they are close to us Caucasians in culture, attitude toward people, and views. So everything is fine with us."
It is worth noting that the scholarship of the Polish government not only covers the cost of tuition, but the scholarship holder also receives a living allowance in the Polish capital. For many, studying in the master's program becomes a new stage in life and a new chance to change everything radically, even if not everyone yet has a clear idea of what exactly to change.
"Many of my acquaintances are now studying in their second year of the master's program," says Olga from Donetsk. "I learned about the scholarship from them, came, and managed to get in. Now I don't know what to do next. For now I chose the specialization 'Balkans'; I am attracted by the multiculturalism of this region. Before that I worked at a school for six years; by education I am a historian. I don't yet know what my master's thesis will be about, but yesterday I decided that I will study Serbian, and we'll see what happens next."
Another difficulty for almost everyone is the Polish language and the presence of a language barrier. "It's very hard to just start speaking," admits one of the female students. "Even though many of my friends live in Poland, they are all philologists of Ukrainian or Russian, so I communicated with them in Russian or Ukrainian. Now I need to speak Polish all the time."
Along with the students of the two-year program, students who came to the University of Warsaw for only one semester also take part in the integration course. Since 2011, the Center for East European Studies has been cooperating with the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, the Precarpathian University in Ivano-Frankivsk, and the Ostroh Academy. As part of the cooperation, students from Ukrainian universities have the opportunity not only to spend one semester in Poland, but also to receive two master's degrees – Polish and Ukrainian.
"Together with my colleagues, I came here to finish my studies and learn Polish. We face a difficult task: we have to write a thesis in two language versions – in Polish and Ukrainian. This is an interesting assignment in every respect, because it requires us not only to improve our Polish, but also to delve into our topic, work with archives, and search for materials needed for the research," says Alexandra.
We are confident that everything will work out for the newly minted students, and the student years spent in Warsaw will be full of wonderful memories and emotions. So, as the Poles say, "powodzenia"!