Experiences of a Polish Erasmus Student at Estonian Aviation Academy

28.01.2010

Before summer time 2009 when I got to know that I would be a student of the Estonian Aviation Academy – I was really excited but in fact I didn’t know what should I have exactly expected then. Estonia was a quite unknown country for me and I knew only where this Baltic country is situated on the map and that Tallinn is the capital – and it was all:)

However I had double pleasure due to my lack of knowledge, because personally I’m always very curious about exploring and experiencing new things and additionally I was supposed to study aviation - my major studies, future profession, as well privately beloved hobby. I was really interested about the differences between my University and Estonian Academy. All the information from the EAVA website made me feel that I will be studying in a professional solid aviation institution – but it is always better to check theory in practise – I did it and have to say that I was surprised in a very positive way.

The festive beginning of the year started on the 31st of August and the first pleasant gesture met me and my Erasmus colleagues. We were warmly welcomed with applause and announced as new students for the new semester. Additionally, Academy took care also about our potential communication problems, because we got books for learning Estonian language – which I can say is quite hard to learn, but surprisingly, during all the stay in Tartu I cannot complain for any communication problems. It was really easy to communicate with everybody and everywhere – not only in the Academy.

Due to fact that me and my Erasmus colleagues were quite a small group – 5 people with me - we were joined to the groups with Estonian students. We had classes in three groups:  Aviation Company Management, Aircraft Maintenance and Communication and Navigation Systems. Estonian students from these groups were really nice and friendly towards us and after some time we quickly became friends. We were from different countries but we didn’t feel any borders between us, we spent time together also after studies and our common time gave me a lot of happiness, unforgettable moments, meetings, and discussions.

It’s really worth to add that also lecturers were very helpful and friendly towards us. There weren’t any stiff  relations as it may happen between student and teacher. We didn’t feel uncomfortable asking lecturers something wider, what concerned our lessons and also we were able to have some casual conversations with them, what only made a great atmosphere at the lectures. Besides teachers were more like partners than superiors, I have to admit that all of them were high-class aviation specialists and had great extensive knowledge of their specializations. Additionally, they ran our classes in very interesting way so it was really pleasant to participate in every-day lessons. One of the most interesting and unquestioningly extraordinary lessons which took place in Academy, were our practical subject Polymer Project, where we were making real pilots helmets - from forming the first clay shapes of design to putting the last layer of the varnish on ready helmet. Everything with the use of professional equipment in the Academy´s workshop. Our common work was developing our creativity and ability of team-working and often it was more great fun than hard work. It wasn’t the only practical lesson in the Academy. We were also making different electric circuits or algorithmic programme on Instrument Systems in Aviation. On Human Factor in Aviation Maintenance, we carried out an experiment which checked efficiency of the teamwork. We formed two teams with division role, then we were working on special project, which concerned building aircraft and helicopter from Lego pieces. Another practical project was learning how to run aviation conference with impersonation of  moderator, performer, members etc on Aviation English. That practise only made lecturers more interesting and encouraged us to be more active and committed us in real studying. Our theoretical knowledge from lectures was also accurately verified. The lecturers often checked us by essays, tests, homeworks and of course we had final exams at the end of the term. I guess someone could complaint for this hard studing but in my opinion it only confirms that EAVA put the education on the 1st place, what is the one of the greatest value of the Academy.

Me and my Erasmus co-students were accommodated in Hostel Torni. So if we have a hostel, we can grant some stars for the standard. Maybe first, advantages: it was only a stones throw from the hostel to our academy so I could afford to go to school couple of minutes before the beginning of the first lesson – really convenient especially for people who like sleeping longer. Standard and comfort of the hostel deserved for the best grade – everything clean, neat, colourful and cosy and all necessary equipment for a typical student was there – big plus! Minuses weren’t very visible - maybe there were little communication problems with administration and reception – but anyway it wasn’t very serious obstacle but maybe worse was that - Erasmus students weren’t put together on one floor, so it was hard to meet somebody from abroad and of course to socialize with each other. However, it doesn’t change a fact that generally on 5 stars I can give our hostel well-deserved 4 stars!

At the end, I will write a few words about Tartu city. At the beginning I was a bit afraid of living in such a small city as Tartu. Warsaw where I live, is 20 times bigger than Tartu, and even the number of students here is over 2 times bigger than the number of inhabitants of Tartu. Prior to my arrival I wondered whether it would be possible for me to survive during the gray autumn and cold winter in such a small city. Now, without any doubt, I can answer: yes. There is no mistake in the town’s official motto: Tartu really is a city of good thoughts. Reality proved to be much more colorful than I expected. The relatively large number of students have a great influence on the city. There are also many restaurants, clubs, pubs, sport facilities any many other things for body and soul of a typical student. The second very important point of the special charm and climate of Tartu are people. It’s really worth to mention that for many foreigners, including me, the impression of Estonian people is surprisingly positive. All of them do their best to give the best impression of Estonia. No matter where – in a bus, a post office, or a shop – they are very friendly and helpful. I sometimes thought that helping others was more important for some of them than doing their own job. Amazing courtesy and hospitality!

What I regret is the only thing that I didn’t travel in Estonia more and I wasn’t sightseeing other sides of the country but I just left it for another days because I’m planning to return to Estonia in the future and I will make up for what I haven’t seen. So… for me Tartu is not only a city of good thoughts but also the city of good memories, which are always worth to recall. After my return from Tartu I was really glad that I have Estonian colors: blue, black and white stained on me and till now I don´t really want to wash it off.

Bartlomej Czerkowski with Eduard Tubin

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 ERASMUS Students: Sven Portengen (from Netherlands), Kaupo Sillam (ERASMUS support-person), Emre Dogan (from Turkey), Mustafa Toraman (from Turkey), Bo Niewind (from Netherlands) and Bartlomej Czerkowski (from Poland).