"I Encourage International Students Like Myself to Apply VUAS For An Impeccable University Experience" - Benedicta Abotar Sey
September 20, 2021
Remote studies during Covid-19 – unrealistic or undoubtedly achievable? The international student from Ghana at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) is proof that not only is it possible to study remotely, but it is also possible to finish the academic year with excellent results. You can learn more about her experience by reading the interview.
One of Us: Benedicta Abotar Sey from Ghana
My name is Benedicta Abotar Sey, and I am from Ghana. I am currently a student at VUAS, and I am undertaking a master’s degree in International Business and Export Management. Before my studies in Ventspils, I was a Data Entry officer at my former company, Magnate Technology, in Ghana. I was also a Human Resource Assistant at the Electricity Company of Ghana North District in Tema. Additionally, I have experience in customer service, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
As for my education, I studied at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, where I received my bachelor's degree in English and Sociology, and I attained my high school degree at the Mfantsiman Girls’ Senior High School. I look forward to gaining the expertise I need in pursuit of my entrepreneurial dreams and becoming a data scientist for a reputable company.
Why VUAS?
VUAS was recommended to me by a recruiter and, after I did further research, I concluded that it appealed to everything I needed. Latvia, a small country with a quiet ambience and serene atmosphere, is just what I needed. In addition, it was doing quite well on the school rankings, and, regarding the tutors, the students' reviews for my programme were also quite good. As a culture enthusiast, I was intrigued by Latvian culture and learning new ways of doing things.
How were your studies, despite the distance and Covid-19?
I have always loved to study in the classroom, however, due to circumstances beyond our control, both the school and its students had to study online and make it work. I must say, some of the tutors at VUAS have been extremely helpful. They have conducted lectures online, just like it is done in class. Even though sometimes it is a bit challenging for some of us, I think the tutors have put in their maximum effort into helping the students understand the courses. One professor that stood out for me was Professor Greg M. I loved his way of teaching and even the fact that he used his free time to help us understand our lessons. Ultimately, even though I was dreading online studies, it has been an interesting experience.
What would you suggest for new students?
No matter the situation you find yourself in, you should adjust, just as we have adapted to studying online to not miss out on our school years. Also, I encourage international students like myself to apply to VUAS for an impeccable university experience.
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Andris Vaivads, Rector of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, has been elected as a new foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Class for Astronomy and Space Science. Andris Vaivads studies what is commonly known as the magnetosphere around the Earth, other planets and the SunClass for astronomy and space science. He performs his research as a professor in Experimental Space Physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Earlier, he spent 20 years as a researcher at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala. He studies the magnetosphere around Earth, other planets, and the Sun. Much of space is filled with plasma, a gas consisting of electrically charged particles that are influenced, among other things, by magnetic fields. When magnetic fields pointing in different directions reconnect – a process known as magnetic reconnection – large amounts of magnetic energy can rapidly be converted into other forms of energy, including kinetic energy. Andris Vaivads’s research focuses on these processes, where large amounts of energy are converted within small regions of space. Plasma processes can, among other things, produce the Northern lights (Auroras), affect satellites, and heat plasma to tens and hundreds of millions of degrees. The research group at KTH, in which Andris Vaivads spends 20 per cent of his working time, develops instruments to measure electric fields on satellites. The group also designs small measurement probes that can be launched from Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna on rockets. More recently, Andris Vaivads has also studied processes in the solar wind, a kind of plasma wind that plays a major role in space weather. This research uses observations from spacecraft launched by ESA (Solar Orbiter) in Europe and NASA (Parker Solar Probe) in the US. Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences serve on committees and participate in classes that initiate investigations, respond to consultations, and organise conferences and seminars. Based on the information published on the official website of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
