A professional holiday, University Teacher’s Day, will be celebrated very soon, on November 19th. And we have decided to tell you about some of the brightest representatives of our university. In this interview, Upasak Bose, a postgraduate and SUSU academic staff member from India, spoke on how he decided to stay in Russia and what he expects from the future.
– Please, tell us how did your professional journey begin in your homeland?
– In India, and it was back in 2011, I got a Bachelor’s degree in technical sciences, completed a programme in Electronics and Internet Communications. For two years I was working as a programmer at a large IT company in India, Tata Consultancy Services. Then I got my Master’s degree in Business Administration, which gave me an opportunity to work as a business analyst. Over the next three years, I completed my second Master’s programme in Accounting.
During that time, it hit me that I needed to change my life and decided to obtain international education. And I chose Russia. In India, people tend to think that you can obtain international education only in a limited list of countries: the USA, Canada, Great Britain and Australia. I wanted to get a different experience. Despite living in India for 28 years, I found myself ready for big changes.
– Why did you choose namely Russia?
– One of the reasons why I chose Russia is that I am fond of this country. As part of the World History at school we studied the history of Russia in the 20th century. We studied Russian literature in English. We read Pushkin, Chekhov, Gorky. Earlier in my city, Russian circus, ballet, and theatre were very popular. And I happened to become taken with Russian culture.
– How did you end up in the South Ural region, and what are you engaged in now?
– I came to Russia in 2018. First I studied Russian in Simferopol at Crimean Federal University, and then moved to Chelyabinsk and enrolled in SUSU.
I had a plan of enrolling straight in postgraduate studies programme, but it is taught only in Russian, and I did not know the language well enough. Now I can say that this worked to my advantage. It took me time to learn the culture, society and language. I wanted to understand what kind of people are here and how they live, what the education system is like and how they study here. I believe that my path in Russia developed logically correctly: I got to know Russia not from the point of view of science, as it could have been if I immediately entered postgraduate studies programme, but from the point of view of its soul, that is, its people.
In 2020 I completed my Master’s degree programme and became a professional economist. During the year upon completing my Master’s degree, I prepared for the upcoming postgraduate studies programme: I studied Russian. Now I am a third-year postgraduate studying in a state-funded programme at SUSU and expect to graduate this year.
– How did your family and close ones react to your decision to move to another country?
– They have always supported me and have never been against my decisions. Moving to Russia is a chance to provide a better life for the future generation. I admit, in India I did not feel as good as in Russia. There is a cultural contradiction in communicating with people in India, but there is no such thing here. I have always wanted to live in an open society, like in Russia, and India is a more conservative country.
– What problems did you face when moving to another part of the world? What is it like to adapt to the harsh winter?
The barrier that I faced was insufficient knowledge of the language. Often I had to use a translator on my phone. As for the rest, the climate here suits me much better than in India. I really like snow. The time zone differs slightly from India, the difference is only 30 minutes.
– What are your plans for the next few years?
– I would like to continue teaching and conduct research studies in Russia. I would probably enrol in doctoral programme, but I would simultaneously work on making life in Russia better.
Last year I received a Russian passport, so now I can easily continue my work. At the moment I am studying regional and sectoral economies of the Russian Federation, namely, I am conducting studies of the socio-economic potential of the Arctic territories of the country. My research covers several regions at once: Murmansk, Krasnoyarsk, Chukotka, Yakutia, etc. There are climatic, logistical and economic difficulties there. I have a dream to move to live in one of the regions under study. I want to work for the benefit of the people who live there, so that their lives become more comfortable. In general, I have always had a dream: to live either in Antarctica or in the Arctic, and now I am on my way to make it come true.
– What subjects do you teach to students?
– There are different subjects, including Market Research, Management, Marketing, Global Finance, and more. I teach in English, but in the future I hope to teach classes in Russian, because I am interested in talking with Russian people. Now my students are mainly from China.
– Please, tell us, what is the topic of your thesis?
The Arctic is not just a region that includes 9 entities. All entities are unique. They can be compared according to various variables, for example, the degree of infrastructure development, population size, regional income. I compare entities using this branch of mathematics: fuzzy logic. As a result, I receive a rank of the entities under study, based on integral assessments.
– Can you call yourself a successful student/teacher?
– Most likely yes. I know four languages: Russian, English, Bengali, Hindi. I am interested in participating in scientific forums in Chelyabinsk and other cities of Russia. Russia gave me such opportunities and such a sense of self-awareness that I would not have obtained anywhere else. I love this country as my home, and India has even become my second home.