Nikolai’s experience living overseas has been a strong motivating factor in his choice of study. Originally from Russia, Nikolai had travelled to New Zealand with his family. During a year-long exchange to Japan through his high school, Nikolai picked up a love for the language and culture. When Nikolai started at UC however, other than pursuing Japanese (which he started straight from 200-level), his choice of subjects was largely based on what he thought sounded interesting.

‘I started out studying Classics, which was a favourite subject during high school. It was very interesting, but I ended up only finishing 100-level courses as Classics had limited applicability in my future field of work and study.

‘I was always interested in studying Psychology. During most of my life I have found myself to really enjoy reading books about Psychology, which made it a natural choice for study.’

Nikolai found an interest in International Business thanks to his knowledge of several languages. Through UC, he had the opportunity to return to Japan to study for another year, which set him further towards his goal of pursuing international business relations.

‘Studying both Japanese and International Business has provided me with possibly one of the best opportunities that I’ve had so far in my life: the opportunity to study abroad in Japan for a year. I went to Tokyo, to Waseda University, where I studied Japanese language, Business, Economics and Communication. Although the year abroad is over, the relationships and connections that I have built there remain, and provide a platform for potential business opportunities in the future, not to mention the fond memories that I now have to treasure.’

‘I also enjoy studying International Business as it provides insight into the different ways that business must be conducted to cater for differences in culture and ways of thinking.’

Nikolai chose to study at UC because it had a great variety of subjects and courses, and it was also close to his home, which meant he didn’t have to move away from friends and family.

‘I think the University provides a great atmosphere for when you need to focus on studying at the quiet study spaces, but also when you want to socialize with your friends and classmates at the cafés around campus,’ he says.

Nikolai also had the amazing opportunity to travel to Dalian, China for a three-month Internship through AIESEC at UC, where he was able to learn some Mandarin and be involved with Chinese culture.

Based on his extensive experience overseas, Nikolai has big plans to go international with his degree.

‘My goal is to own and run my own company. With the skills, knowledge and relationships that I will gain from working at a multi-national company I will be able to successfully develop a business, most likely based in New Zealand or Australia, that will have relations with Asia, fostering trade, and hopefully branch out to the rest of the world.’