The path from the student bench to international recognition does not begin with the purchase of an air ticket, but with thousands of written hieroglyphs and immersion in a new language environment. This is how the start of a career looks like now for a group of students at the International Faculty.

Where are we and what are we doing?

Right now, future managers and financiers from Baikal State University (BSU) are in the city of Shenyang (PRC). They came here for an intensive language internship. This is the second (after studying in Russia) and a very important stage of their big educational journey.

Shenyang is one of the largest industrial centers in China, ideal for practicing a living language. Around noisy markets, business districts, communication with local students and teachers, which makes you constantly keep your brain in good shape. For the guys, this is an opportunity to make a qualitative leap from the level of HSK 4 to the free academic Chinese HSK 5-6, which is necessary to understand complex terms in economics.

Why do you need a language internship before undergraduate?

Training in dual degree programs requires an impeccable command of terminology. Lectures on macroeconomics, corporate finance or strategic management cannot be absorbed through a translator. Summer practice in China allows students to:

• to overcome the language barrier;
• adapt to the Asian education system (high discipline, different pace of lectures);
• establish the first social ties that will become the foundation for the future business network (guanxi) in Asia.

What Happens Next: Dual Degree Programs

After completing the internship, students of the international faculty of BSU will officially become undergraduate students at a partner university - Shenyang Polytechnic University (Shenyang Ligong University)

Joint educational programs are designed for four years. The first two courses lay the foundation directly in Russia, within the walls of BSU, where students study basic disciplines and intensively study Chinese. The third and fourth courses are held in China. According to the results of training, graduates defend two final qualification works (in Russian and Chinese) and receive two documents on education at once: a Russian state diploma and a bachelor's diploma from Shenyang Polytechnic University.

Now in Shenyang there are guys in demand areas:

1. "Business Administration" - a program for future managers, entrepreneurs and analysts.
2. "Finance and Credit" - a track for those who see themselves in the banking sector, investment and audit. Particular attention is paid to international settlements, the work of the yuan on world markets, cross-border payments and financial analysis of joint Russian-Chinese enterprises.

Why China and why now?

The choice of partner is not accidental. Economic ties between the Irkutsk region and Liaoning province are actively developing. Knowledge of the Chinese language, combined with an understanding of Russian business specifics, makes such graduates unique specialists in the labor market.

For an international audience, this case perfectly illustrates a new trend in higher education. Today it is not enough just to "go abroad to study." The most successful strategies are built at the intersection of markets. A specialist who understands accounting rules in the Russian Federation (RAS) and international standards (IFRS) equally well, but at the same time freely reads the financial statements of Chinese counterparties in their native language, becomes a bridge between the two economies. Employers - from large state corporations to private small and medium-sized businesses entering marketplaces like Alibaba or JD.com - are hunting for just such personnel.

Word to students:

"The most difficult thing was not the language, but the speed of speech of the teachers. But when you can order food on your own, explain the route to the taxi driver and understand the classmate's joke, you feel that the boundaries are really blurring."

"We live on campus with students from different countries. It's the best soft skills practice imaginable."

How to repeat this experience?

Baikal University regularly holds open days, where it details dual degree programs and study conditions in Shenyang and Beijing.

If you also plan to build a career at the intersection of cultures and are looking for a program that gives real practice, and not just theory - take a closer look at joint projects of the International Faculty of BSU. Perhaps your ticket to the future is within the walls of one of the popular universities in your hometown - BSU.

You can follow the news of children from Irkutsk on the social networks of the Baikal State University - they promise to share reports directly from Shenyang classrooms!