“I like it here in Lithuania, it is really calm and peaceful,” says Sofiia Boichenko from Ukraine in her interview to Study in Lithuania. Sofiia will be graduating from New Media Language at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) next year and is dreaming to work as a marketing professional in the future.
After high school, Sofiia had multiple options to choose from when it came to pursuing higher education. However, from all of the other possible choices in Europe, Lithuania stood out the most.
The New Media Language programme offered at KTU was especially eye-catching for Sofiia as it offered a broad range of subjects to study, such as linguistics, media, design and foreign languages. Including the Swedish language, which Sofiia was always keen on exploring. The wideness of this programme gave Sofiia the possibility of expanding her knowledge and skills in various fields.
Another key factor, which influenced Sofiia to choose Lithuania, was the affordability of studying in Lithuania compared to other European countries. Lithuania was the most attractive proposition if compared the cost-effectiveness to other European countries.
Sofiia is one of the students who became the face of KTU’s admissions campaign for 2023/2024.
“I never considered myself a model material, and this photoshoot was probably my biggest achievement this year – my face could be seen all around Kaunas and the internet! Needless to say, my parents were overflowing with pride and showing the pictures to every friend and relative. Although I always said that I was planning to work in advertising but never thought I would become a model,” says Sofiia with a smile.
This year’s campaign’s slogan “Studies that shape you” fits Sofiia perfectly. The soon-to-be New Media Language graduate is open to all the opportunities the University offers and is taking responsibility for her education and self-development into her own hands.
“I believe that university studies are more about personal development, than academic knowledge. We have to go through the stresses of academic life, meet extremely diverse people with different worldviews, while gaining knowledge, that probably will change our outlook on life,” says Boichenko.
She believes that the quality of education, curriculum and teaching at KTU is top-notch, and is much better in comparison with Ukrainian universities, where, according to Sofiia there is much less academic freedom. Among the many extracurricular activities that the University offers, the humanities student misses literature or art societies.
“The ones that are existing, are almost always aimed at Lithuanian students. However, I took part in the events organised by the Ąžuolas hiking club. They also do rock climbing every Thursday at 7 pm, which is awesome!” says Sofiia.
On February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Sofiia was on her Erasmus study exchange in Sweden. She admits feeling sad, lost and “stuck”. Since Sweden is a relatively safer country, wasn’t she considering extending her stay there? Sofiia says, no.
“After Sweden, I took a gap semester in Greece, but I still came back. After all, I figured out that I prefer Lithuania to both of those countries,” says Sofiia.
Sofiia, who is now back home for the summer, admits that one of the reasons she came back to Lithuania is our country’s mental and physical closeness to Ukraine.
“It’s similar, but not the same,” smiles Sofiia pointing out the notable Lithuanian coldness and reserved attitude towards foreigners. However, she believes that travelling and communicating with the international community usually help Lithuanians to open up to new experiences.
Sofiia appreciates the sense of Lithuanian national pride and commitment to preserving traditions and heritage. She finds herself inspired by this strong connection to the roots of Lithuanian background and admires the effort our people put into cherishing their country’s unique cultural tapestry. For Sofiia, the cultural richness is most evident in the celebrations of folk festivals, traditional crafts and cuisine, especially her two favourite dishes: Lithuanian potato sausage and cepelinai.
As a Ukrainian student, Boichenko does not pay tuition fees for studying at KTU.
“I am thankful for the support that I get and am extremely blessed to not have lost it all (yet). There are people, who need support more than me,” says Sofiia, KTU’s New Media Language student from Ukraine.
