Serbian student Jelena Nadj explains why she decided to apply to Moscow’s Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, and what’s so exciting about being part of this new university.
This time last year I was at the beginning of my final year at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia. As the end was almost there, I started thinking more seriously about my future. To be honest, in Serbia, having a good education and being good at what you do is still not a guarantee of a bright future. For that reason, I started looking for scholarships abroad. On the other hand, I considered my university fantastic, and I did not want to go just anywhere, so finding the right place was not really easy.
When I suddenly found out about Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, it seemed too good to be true. Big plans, great support for students, and, of course, a strong connection with MIT – and all that in fabulous Moscow.
I decided to apply immediately, but, to be honest, I did not really expect to end up there. I am super confident and aware of my abilities, but I did not know how I compared to all the great people who had a chance to apply.
In February, I got the invitation for the Selection Weekend taking place in March and this event made me even more excited about the university. It was totally unconventional; they did not ask if we knew how to solve a differential equation, because everyone can do that after some practice – they went deeper into our minds, to see the logic we follow, how we function in a team...
One question during the Selection Weekend was especially emphasized: “Are you comfortable with taking risks?“ And I think that made me want to come here even more. It wasn’t just a case of joining a great university that had been around for hundreds of years; this was about taking on the responsibility and risk of forming a totally new university. As I see it, it is like a raising a child – not easy, but if it becomes a great person one day, partially because of you, there is no better feeling.
Now I am here. It is not easy, it takes a lot of time and commitment, but it would be strange if it were not like that – if you want to get a lot, you also have to give a lot. The good thing about being a part of relatively new university is that we have a lot of freedom to give our own signature to the process of creating the syllabus, and give it the direction we prefer.
The Skoltech community is formed of students of many different backgrounds and preferences, so this possibility is very important. Students will be able to become experts in many fields, but still be connected as a whole, and able to work together on projects in which putting together various areas of science and engineering is necessary.
Personally, I am interested in computational mathematics. I have a background in system control, and I hope here I will be able to get deeper knowledge of modelling, control and system optimization. This is a great place for this, but there are many other universities which would be also enable me to pursue research and improve my skills in this field. The characteristic which makes Skoltech different, from my point of view, is the subtle approach of giving you ability to recognize problems around you, which are waiting to be solved.
I ’ve never had a problem with learning new things, but when I reach the point of finding a good way to apply what I’ve learned, it has not been so easy. But the fact is that already now, after less than two months spent at Skoltech, including the Innovation Workshop at MIT, I’ve started to recognize where my knowledge could actually be implemented.
Before I joined Skoltech, and attended the innovation workshop, this was too abstract for me, and I had an opinion that some skills you simply have or don’t have – being innovative, being a leader etc. Now that I’ve actually seen that innovation is a skill that can be improved with practice, just like mathematics or speaking a foreign language, I have a strong will to work on improving this. One day, when I get my diploma, I hope I will not just understand science and engineering, but be able to imagine a solution as soon as I see the problem, and more importantly be able to bring that solution to the world.
From my current perspective, if you want not just to improve knowledge but also to find your place in the world, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology is definitely a good choice.
Originally from Serbia, Jelena has a BSc in Computing and Control Engineering from the University of Novi Sad. She’s now studying Information Science and Technology at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow. As well as being interested in all areas of science, she also enjoys watching and playing sports, travelling and experiencing new cultures, and her greatest pleasure is laughing.