Returning Home to Study Business and Management at HSE
For Hoang Thanh Tung, who recently earned his bachelor’s degree at the Institute of International Languages - Vietnam National University, the decision to pursue a Master’s degree at the Faculty of Business and Management at HSE is in some ways a homecoming. Although coming most recently from Hanoi, Vietnam, he was born in Russia and spent much of his time growing up in the country, living with his parents in both Moscow and Ufa.
‘I like Moscow because of my childhood years’, he said. ‘It’s where my school friends, sport club friends, teachers, and relatives are – and of course there’s the beauty of the places there. My favourite places in Moscow are Ostankino Television Tower, Sparrow Hills, Red Square and my entire neighbourhood, the Dmitrovsky District’.
Hoang Thanh Tung, who also goes by Edward, notes that he has read Russian literature since his school years. ‘Even in university, Russian literature was a core subject of mine. I read the novels and poems of Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Gorky, Chekhov and many more. What I like the most is “The Old Woman Izergil” by Gorky’.
Although Edward studied interpretation as an undergraduate, he has always been interested in business and economics, so he is excited by the opportunity to study at HSE. He has chosen Business Strategies: Management and Consulting programme, which comprises both Russian and English-taught courses.
‘My Russian is at good level, I think, certainly not like a native but it’s better than my English for sure’, he said, adding that he has taken time for additional advanced Russian language study. ‘I was introduced to HSE by my teachers and started to communicate with the university. I got a lot of help from HSE International Admissions’. Last year he participated in the International Youth Olympiad and won a competition in Russian as a Foreign Language. He then applied for a Russian government scholarship and was successful in passing the selection process.
As for the future, Edward sees a number of career opportunities in Russia. ‘Five to ten years from now, I imagine myself working in international companies as a consultant. I hope it would be in Russia, because it's my second homeland. My dream is that I can work and settle in Moscow’.
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for HSE News service
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