Evgeniy Khomenko

Nationality:Russian
Degree:BSc Computer Science
Quote:

After finishing school in Russia and a foundation year in London I started to think what university I will be studying at. According to several approved University rankings including information from ‘Times-online’, Surrey was in the “top 20 best universities in the UK” in the Computer Science area. For the past few years employability of Surrey students was higher than 95% with the same percentage of student’s satisfaction. It is relatively close to London, although with lower living costs and has lots of great facilities around the campus.

I haven’t learnt any serious programming before I joined university therefore I thought it will be a bit hard to pick it up from scratch. However, the modules were very well presented to students in the first years and it was relatively easy to understand the basics. However, it does become a little more challenging with each semester. That is because the purpose and aim of the uni is to give a basic knowledge and teach you to learn by yourself as you will have to do it in your future and as it is the 1st thing that the employer will look at when offering you a job as a graduate.

I find coursework projects challenging, tricky but enjoyable when they are finished! They combine 70% = knowledge you were given + 30% of your own thinking and creativity. This challenge forces you to learn and think outside of the box. This approach of learning and gained experience in accepting challenges is the most valuable things I picked up from 2 years of studies. It helped me to become hired by huge International company ‘Accenture’ for Placement year working on their client ‘Vodafone’ in their main HQ in Architecture team. And that’s even before I finished my degree!

Study program is changing each year. It adapts to the current needs of the market which makes this course very valuable investment in future.

The course also provides you with variety of modules and areas which you may be interested in the future, such as: programming, web-development, apps-development, internet-security, networks, hardware development, 3D modeling, project management etc. FEPS department also often drive conferences with major companies like BCS, Opera, Microsoft etc.

The major difference compared to overseas universities is that my tutor here is a person who supports you during your studies rather than forcing you to learn. It helps to become more interested in the area you studying and also helps to understand it in much easier way then it could be. It is always possible to contact your tutor and ask him/her questions if something is unclear and they will be happy to help.  

There is a huge variety of societies at the uni, which are inexpensive to join. The most enjoyable for me were: gliding, scuba-diving, sky-diving, sailing and jiu-jitsu. There are also lots of other stuff depending on your choice and interests. It is also an advantage that you can get some certification (like scuba-diving) relatively cheap as a student and use it for your further holidays on the beach abroad.

My advice to other Russian students considering studying in the UK would be to do everything in time, do not be afraid to ask your tutor and other students things which are not clear, and accept given challenges.