Oksana Sedliar’s British impressions
“Oksana, you studied in Great Britain on an MA program. And what was your primary higher education?”
“I graduated from the Cybernetics Department at Kyiv State University. Lately I’ve been working for an educational organization engaged in developing leadership abilities in Ukrainian young men and women, Leaders Forming Center.”
“Why did you choose the Chevening scholarship?”
“One of our center’s graduates obtained it one year earlier, and while I was examining various programs for a master’s abroad, he told me about this opportunity. A professor at our center once studied a brief course for senior managers at the London Business School, so he advised me to send an application. The British Council suggested several schools where I could enter, but in addition to them I sent applications to five universities myself, including the LBS.”
“How many of your applications worked?”
“All of them. I received invitations from all those universities, including Cambridge. But at that time I have already made my choice and decided on the London Business School where I studied in an MBA program.”
“Had you ever been to Britain before?”
“Yes, I stayed there with my friends several times, and there was also a week long familiarization internship at a London law firm.”
“Still, short trips are one thing, and studying there for a whole academic year provides you with a more serious and profound acquaintance with the country. What would you mention first if you had to describe the difference between studying at the LBS and Kyiv State University in one sentence?”
“Friendliness, openness for communication, lack of any barriers. It is absolutely normal if you just approach somebody and say ‘Hello, my name is...’ or join a group of strangers talking to each other. Note that all this concerns not only students but also professors. Another thing is internationalism. In general, I was expecting something like this: before I came to London they sent me a CD containing information on the LBS, and I discovered there were no two people of the same nationality in any group. In my group there were two British, but one of them was Jewish by nationality, and the other one had American citizenship. The rest were an Italian, a Malayan, a Mexican, and I, Ukrainian.”
“Did you live with a family or in a dormitory?”
“We rented an apartment together with three girls, and this was also an international group: one more Chevening scholarship holder from Russia and two Spanish girls. We got along together well, though we didn’t see each other too much: we were too busy with our studies, and, if we wanted to just sit together and chat, we had to plan our meeting a month in advance.”
“Was your education at the London Business School a purely academic course or did it include any practical training?”
“We had a number of projects included in our course. One of them was Organizing Staff Management. Every group was to find a team whose actions we followed, studying their dynamics as a team and trying to apply the theories we studied in practice. We selected a group of cardiosurgeons at one of the hospitals of the National Health Service.”
“How do the test groups react to such supervision?”
“Everything is done with their full consent. They meet the students, give them interviews, allow them to attend their meetings, etc. We came to the hospital in groups of three people: one observes, the other poses questions, and still another takes notes. Then we brought together the results of our observations and interviews and tried to compare them with each other to define leaders in the given group (whether the formal leader, in this case chief surgeon, is also actual leader), determine how well this group functions as a team from the standpoint of the theories we learned. As a result, the students’ group composes a report with their conclusions and recommendations and makes a presentation both at the school and for the examined team. Thus, the whole thing is rather advantageous for them, too: they receive a free consultation.
“Another project, an individual one, is called shadowing. For three to five days you follow a manager you choose (it could be a basketball coach, producer, etc.) and then also make a presentation for this manager and the school. In this case the report is to contain the examination of this manager’s leadership style, a definition of the reasons making him a successful manager, and pondering over what is necessary to become a good manager in general. We are not supposed to criticize or make suggestions, just register our observations.”
“Do you believe everything you learned in London can be applied in Ukraine or our country and its economy are not ready for this yet?”
“I thought quite seriously about this and even discussed this with my friends who, having got an education abroad, now work in Ukraine. On the one hand, a single person, no matter what knowledge he/she possesses, cannot change the established structure. However, if nobody tries, nothing will change by itself. I do not count on a hundred percent success in changing everything in a flash with the knowledge I brought from Great Britain, but there are more and more people like me — for instance, every year more young Ukrainians apply for the Chevening scholarship — and I believe there is some hope.”
“Could you specify which of the skills and knowledge you brought from Great Britain will be especially useful for you here?”
“I think what is more important are not theories and the ability to apply formulas to situations but rather the human skills I received from this program: the ability to work under pressure, being a member of a team whose other five members also tried to make everything perfect and everyone is sure he/she can do it better than others; the ability to share duties between the colleagues and rely on people you work with. We didn’t just work on projects together: we became close friends, and I’m sure our relationship will last for a long time. One important thing in studying at the LBS is learning how to start and develop business acquaintances, broadening the network of your business contacts. Even if I fail to make use of my knowledge and theories, this business network can be my personal modest contribution into globalization. I can connect my future workplace with virtually the whole world, because now I have friends and acquaintances everywhere.”
“One of the goals the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain and British Council pursues in sending young Ukrainians abroad is that they to some extent adopt the British way of life and introduced it in Ukraine, bringing their country closer to Britain and through it to the West in whole. In your view, what is for us the British way of life: a model to follow, an unattainable ideal, or?..”
“I did not deal too much with the British way of life as such — maybe when I went shopping or went out at night. The London Business School is a somewhat isolated world, an international island, and I spent sixteen hours a day there. I even used to be surprised when hearing somebody speaking English without a foreign accent, because usually I was surrounded with foreigners like myself.”
“Still, what was your impression of the local people you communicated with? Did it coincide with what you expected from them?”
“The British I met, who became in a way my British family, did not fall into my stereotypes. I expected them to be more cool and circumspect people, but my friends belong to artistic circles (actors, writers, mass media people), so there was no being closed, no sign of the proverbial “My house — my fortress” attitude. Quite the opposite, there were open doors, parties; we sat up late — everything was like at home.”
“How did people react when learning that you are from Ukraine? What are their stereotypes regarding us?”
“Few people know anything about Ukraine. Their first association is the Soviet Union, second — beautiful women. The latter one also has its negative side, Internet brides. If one has no special interest in our country, the level of his familiarity with it would probably be nil. I don’t view this as ignorance; these people just didn’t have a chance to learn about Ukraine before they met me.”
“Speaking about those who have at least some knowledge about our country, what category do they refer it to? Do they place it among the Third World countries or their equals?”
“Ukraine arouses interest and curiosity in them due to the changes taking place here in the last few years. I never noticed any signs of condescencion in them.”
The Day thanks the British Council in Ukraine for its help and support in preparing this interview.
THE DAY’S REFERENCE
The Chevening Scholarship, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain and administered by the network of British Councils throughout the world, has existed since 1983. The scholarship is granted for graduate study at British universities, as well as for scholarly research. It is awarded to people who are not only excellent professionals achieving significant success in their carriers but possess the necessary potential to become leaders in their field, to be of use for their home country with the knowledge they obtained at British universities and bring it closer to the European (and British, in part) standards.
From 1991, citizens of our country also have a chance to win the Chevening scholarship. In these years, about 90 Ukrainian politicians, businessmen, scholars, journalists, etc. took advantage of it.
