Returning after five years: MSU lecturer about her internship in Italy

During the autumn semester, Karolina Borovikova, an assistant at the Department of Romance and Germanic Philology at Mariupol State University, completed an internship at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. Five years ago, as a student, she had already studied at this Italian educational institution, so she was looking forward to continuing the experience.

After passing the placement exam, Karolina was recommended to study in the C2 language group. Her colleagues, as her classmates are called in Italy, were people of various professions from Brazil, France, Austria, the USA and Japan. 

The course program included the study of theoretical and practical disciplines aimed at improving proficiency in the Italian language and expanding knowledge of the culture of a European country. Each day, students focused on linguistics and phonetics and worked with texts, while evenings were dedicated to art history classes. These sessions often took place outside the university walls, in churches, monasteries, libraries, and museums in Perugia.

A highlight for the MSU educator was a trip organised by the Italian university to the Venice Biennale, the 60th International Art Exhibition titled "Foreigners Everywhere." Over two days, she visited nearly all the national pavilions, including the Ukrainian one, which featured the project "Net Weaving." This included the artistic work "Civilians. Invasion," which displayed footage on a large screen depicting scenes from the battles of Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Kherson.

The program concluded with final exams. Based on the results, the educator from the resilient university achieved excellent marks and received a certificate confirming her proficiency in Italian at the C2 level, the highest level, equivalent to native language proficiency.