For study abroad, go by the university, not the destination

A diversified faculty and availability of varied programmes make Budapest an ideal pick to not only boost knowledge but also to learn beyond the books, says Nirjhar MukherjeeFor Indian students, overseas education narrows down to the UK, the US and Canada. However, with the emerging culture of diversity in education, several universities located in offthe-grid corners of the world are grabbing attention among students.For Nirjhar Mukherjee, studying abroad was synonymous with finding a good university as opposed to a clichéd destination. After doing his Master's in International Relations from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and working as a part-time lecturer in two of the reputed colleges in the city, he landed in Kent State University. However, the university did not offer Political Theory as a thesis paper- which Mukherjee wanted to pursue. After a careful screening of universities across the globe, he chose Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary."Kent is a fairly-popular university in the US, but I opted for CEU because it is among the top-notch universities in the world. Evidently, the destination did not matter but the university did," says Mukherjee.Better learningMukherjee credits CEU for offering him a complete experience of studying overseas. "CEU has a collection of varied courses, which Kent lacks. This was a huge decider for me. Also, the learning experience that every Indian hope to intensify at its best in abroad has also been better in CEU than Kent."He adds that CEU has a variegated faculty, which has extensively helped him to expand his ideologies. "The supervisor in my thesis paper was a Serbian who was a part of the team that had crafted the constitution of the country when Yugoslavia was split. As the second reader of my paper, I was guided by a Hungarian professor who is a former minister of the country.These two people are fulltime professors at CEU, and the interaction with them certainly expanded my learning experience." CEU is an American-accredited university; hence it offers programmes that are either certified by both or one of the countries - USA or Hungary. Mukherjee's course was recognised by both the countries thus, he received a certificate of Post Graduate Diploma in Comparative Political Research from the US and another certificate of Masters of Arts in Political Science from Hungary.Lessons for Indian varsitiesFrom his experience both as a student and a lecturer in India, Mukherjee stresses that infrastructure and resources remain the most significant areas where India still lags behind. He says, "We need to strengthen our resources; hire good faculty and maintain a healthy faculty and student ratio as well."Mukherjee states that at CEU, lectures were delivered in the form of classroom participation, paper and PowerPoint presentations, and book and essay reviews. "We were asked to read a newly published book on political theory and prepare a review on the same that were later discussed among our fellow classmates.This process aided us to polish our thought process, and added to our knowledge as well," he adds. He highlights that Indian varsities must change their inclination towards a syllabus-oriented and examination-dependent education system. "Students must have the opportunity to learn beyond what is present in the books, and teachers must have the knowledge to teach beyond the syllabus. Studying merely to score marks is not going to help students learn better," Mukherjee adds.Life in HungaryWhile Mukherjee is all smiles about his time in Budapest, he admits that not knowing the Hungarian language is a big disadvantage for outsiders. He says, "Only a few natives especially those from an upscale background can speak in English. However, majority of the Hungarians, can only communicate in broken English."Mukherjee is keen on doing a PhD from abroad too. "Thanks to my studies in Hungary, I am confident at looking at offbeat destinations like Estonia, Finland and Czech Republic to do my PhD. If I find a university that offers a good scholarship and a compact course curriculum, the location will not be a hurdle," he adds.Mukherjee says that his dream is to work as a professor in West Bengal and use the teaching strategies that he learned in Budapest to teach his students.