3rd year NVSU students Olesya Gorbunova and Grogory Kovalkov, studying at the Faculty of Humanities, won the university competition to study at the University College of Southern Denmark - UCSYD in Aabenraa.  They spent 5 months (February - June 2017) studying the college program of Crossing Borders: Cultural Diversity in Early Years Education.

The students were awarded Erasmus+ scholarship, which is the most prestigious European student grant. It covers all costs of stay and study at a EU university (cost of travel, accommodation, visa costs and insurance). 

Olesya and Grigory have always wanted to get an insider’s look of educational systems of other countries, so when the opportunity presented itself during one of the NVSU international seminars, they immediately applied.  Both Grigory and Olesya posed certain objectives for their studies which included improving English skills, gaining knowledge about education system of Denmark and learning modern teaching techniques. Within the program, students completed four training modules:

• Crossing Borders, an introductory course to introduce the students to the Danish education system and the Danish language;
• Cultural Diversity in Education, a theoretical study and research in schools and pre-schools related to certain topics, such as inclusive education of children;
• Educational Development Project, an independent student project involving three school classes on a particular subject. NVSU students made a photo project with a display of photographs made by children;
•  Practical Training Period in schools and pre-schools, with a portfolio on teaching techniques and educational system.                              

At the end of each module, Olesya and Grigory took various tests and oral examinations, wrote essays and filled out feedback indicating pros and cons of the course covered. Since practical training is an essential part of the Erasmus + course, they also did practical training in Danish schools which focused on improving overall teaching profession capabilities. 

Olesya and Grigory also shared the impressions about their life in Denmark outside of the classroom. Both of them were very fond of friendliness and openness in people that they were able to see. Olesya noted that exam system is completely different in Denmark and allows for more creativity and Grigory noted that he felt very comfortable with cultural differences between Russia and Denmark.