Ishaan studied at FBE MENDELU and then he moves to the UK after his undergraduate degree. Now he is studying the University of Birmingham. In this interview he talks about his first impressions of the Czech Republic, what he appreciates most about studying at FBE and what his plans are for the future. Read an inspiring interview with a promising financier who left India to follow his dreams and found a new life in Brno and the UK.
I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from FBE MENDELU. I was born in India and completed my Bachelor’s degree at FBE two years ago. I am now in the UK and studying my Masters in Financial Economics at the University of Birmingham.
The Czech Republic was not my first choice. Actually, it was the second. I originally wanted to go to Germany. I wanted to live in Central Europe. I love travelling and it seemed to me that I could easily go from there to neighbouring countries like the locals do.
And the second reason? It may sound silly, but in India we have a very popular Bollywood film – Rockstar, which was shot in Prague. Everyone in India knows that film. I love that film. So that’s one of the reasons why I chose the Czech Republic.
I knew some of the history, I knew about the division of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but the film made the biggest impression on me. It made me want to visit Prague, and the best way to do that is to live in the Czech Republic, right?
I was surprised by the beer culture here. We don’t drink beer that much in India, so it was quite a culture shock for me. It’s also relatively quiet here. There are people everywhere in India. But here, after 7pm, the streets seem to close and suddenly there’s not many people anywhere.
And last but not least, I was surprised by the Czech food. In India everything is spicy and Czech food is very bland. So even that was a big difference at first.
I love Špilberk Castle and the view of the surroundings. I like to go for walks and hikes. I used to live in the dorms and there was a forest trail nearby that I liked to walk. There are a lot of short trails that you can walk through. I like that. Also, it’s very safe here, so you don’t have to be afraid to go out almost anytime.
I enjoyed my studies at the FBE here the most. The professors were amazing, the facilities of the school are of a high standard and I had great classmates. The hardest part was living with the language barrier. Most of the older people here only speak Czech. On the other hand, the young people speak English well and are very willing to help. I remember one story from when I first came to Prague. It was my first international trip, I didn’t know a word of Czech and I didn’t know how to get from the airport to the main station. Fortunately, two young people helped me move my luggage from the airport to the station. And at the station I met an elderly couple again who, although they didn’t speak much English, were very nice and helped me find the train and load all my luggage on it. So that was my first experience with the Czech Republic. I understood right away that the people here would be just amazing.
Yes, I did and it was amazing. Thanks to the Erasmus programme I made friends here from Ukraine, Italy, Austria and Germany. I didn’t expect it to be so international. I can’t imagine something like this in India because there are not so many international students. In Brno, the international community is great and I love going to bars with them. I’ve learned a lot about their culture. On the other hand, I haven’t really had that many opportunities to make friends with Czech students.
The worst was that I had to go to the office every year to renew my visa. This was really challenging at times because no one there spoke English. I always had to translate what I wanted to say over the phone and show them on the screen.
In addition, it was my first international trip, the first time I lived alone, and I didn’t know how to cook, for example. My mother also usually cleaned my room, so suddenly I was also in charge of housework, which was quite difficult.
Also, studying in the first semester was a bit difficult. It’s different from India. In India, we don’t do presentations or homework, so I was a bit embarrassed because I wasn’t used to speaking in front of 40 people in class. That was a problem at first.
I would give the teaching a 4 out of 5. And that’s only because from time to time something got lost in translation in the explanation. Some of the Czech teachers were sometimes unable to explain the substance sufficiently in English. Otherwise all the facilities here are quite good. The building and campus are beautiful, the information system is great and very useful. And whenever we can use the computer here, that’s great.
Well, first of all, everyone here speaks English. But studying in Birmingham is very difficult. The classes are bigger, I’m in groups of 150-200 people. Here at FBE there were about 30 of us, but that suits me better. It’s such a small community where professors and students have more personal contact. That’s not the case in Birmingham.
There are a lot of students from China and India. I haven’t had a chance to meet other students from Europe yet. Honestly, I would say that at FBE MENDELU the study was actually more international than in Birmingham.
We have a really big campus and the university gives us the opportunity to join many clubs, like dance clubs, jazz clubs… FBE MENDELU doesn’t have something like that, which is a pity.
Maybe now I feel like I can live anywhere. Now I can travel to any European country and even without knowing the language I can somehow function normally there. So, if I have learned anything in Brno, it is mainly living in an international environment.
I am studying financial economics, so I would like to stay in the field. I would like to start working in banking and finance right after my studies. I will probably stay in England or move to Switzerland. It is, after all, the main centre of finance.
Be open to experience. Don’t be afraid to say hello to people, network with them and learn from them. People are nice.