MY SIX MONTHS AT BAU – A WORLD UNIVERSITY IN THE HEART OF ISTANBUL

MILDA ŽARNAUSKAITĖ

The Erasmus+ program has become a huge part of my life over the years. My first Erasmus+ experience took place four years ago when I was a third-year undergraduate student at Kaunas University of Technology. I set out to Malmö University located in Malmö, Sweden, to learn the peculiarities of creative writing. I fell in love with living in a multi-cultural environment, I just could not get enough. Consequently, I decided to seize all the opportunities that come my way to experience this kind of living again. I did my second study semester abroad a year ago at Bahçeşehir University (BAU) located in Istanbul, Turkey, where I dived into the world of TV and cinema.

When I realized my student life was soon to be over, I started looking for ways to obtain some work experience abroad. I knew exactly what to do – apply for Erasmus+ recent graduate traineeship. Upon receiving my master’s degree in public relations from Vilnius University, I came back to Istanbul, to BAU. During the period of my placement at BAU’s International Academic Affairs Office, I was immersed into international marketing communications and branding. I worked on rebranding the education experience available to BAU’s international partners and potential partners through updates and development of media promotional content (online, print, etc.) I was immensely lucky to have Dr. Sean Michael Cox as my mentor: he taught me a great deal about the nuances of international marketing and branding for higher education institutions.

However, life is not only about work. I spent a fair share of my time on the edge of the Bosphorus where Asia meets Europe. I learnt everything about Istanbul there is to learn, drank çay and enjoyed an occasional piece of baklava. I am extremely grateful to Partners4Value for this experience. I encourage everyone to grasp this opportunity and experience new professional and cultural environments. Broaden your horizons, never stop learning.