HSE Africa Connect – What It’s All About

Benjamin Sarpong shares with us in an interview what the HSE Africa Connect initiative is all about.

Hi Benjamin, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you tell me a little about yourself?

Hi Esther, I am Benjamin Owusu Sarpong and I’m studying MSc politics, economics and philosophy year 1. I am from Ghana.

So, I have been seeing this HSE Africa Connect on our Africa Students Associate (ASA) telegram page, what is the HSE Africa connect and how did it come about?

HSE Africa Connect as the names goes is a platform or a stage or a way to unite and connect African students in HSE and all over the world. It came into existence when two other students had the same idea to create a platform which will give Africans the opportunity to share their culture, their life and experiences while living and studying abroad particularly here at HSE.

That’s interesting. I mean it is also interesting how a simple idea can be transformed into something huge. What I am learning from this is to “Just Do It” like Nike, if you have an idea, just run it. I wish something like this existed before I came to Russia so I could be well informed about life here. So, is it an individual private initiative or it is run by the school?

Yeah, it is crazy, someone had an idea, we discussed it and then we run it. And also, at first, it was an individual initiative. But we proposed it to the school, they thought it was a great idea and now the school supports.

Wow, that huge, congratulations on that. What does this initiative seek to achieve and accomplish?

Well, thanks. Basically, the aim is to spread and promote HSE University to all Africans and to motivate students to join this wonderful university. I have seen and experience schooling and life here and I believe it is something everyone should experience if given the opportunity. So, we are basically doing the opposite of gatekeeping, spreading the good news.

That’s so cool, people wouldn’t usually do that, willingly sharing vital information like this. What are some of the projects you’ve done so far?

Our main project was to create and run social media accounts for African students on behalf of the university which has been accomplished and still running. We have done and some short interviews where some Africans shared their experience and first impression are Russia and studying in HSE because it is very different from academics back home. We also have some fun interviews like the concept of street interviews where we asked non-African at Pokrovka questions about Africa to test their knowledge. I really enjoyed that one. And these videos are on our Instagram channel. We also established a podcast team where students will share their lovely experiences to motivate others.

I like the concept of the street interviews. Those are always fun and you also get to realise how little people know about Africa.

Oh yeah, that is very true. Africans usually know a lot of things about other countries by others know little about us. I hope that changes soon.

Can you tell me you tell me more about this podcast, I do not think HSE has a podcast, or at least one in English?

So, the name of the podcast is The RoundTable HSE Africa Connect. It is hosted by myself and we have constant guest speakers on the podcast, Esther from Ghana, Senyo from Ghana, Zoe from Nigeria, Maxima from Ghana, Abazi from Sudan. It’s going to be interesting way of sharing our life experiences and study life in Russia and HSE.

The plan was to shoot an episode in every month but the challenge we are facing now is the availability of the guests for the show since they also have a busy life with regards to academics as many of them are second year master students so they have been working on their dissertation and also juggling that with their jobs. But I believe that once all of that settles we will be able to pick up where we left of. But for now, we have recorded one podcast and it has been uploaded on social media.

Have you received any feedback from maybe the videos and other posts?

Oh yes, a whole lot of them. There has been a lot of positive feedback on the Instagram comment sections, people learning new things about Russia and also showing interest in HSE. Some people even reached out personally to the students in the interviews telling them “Hi, I applied for the course you are doing, can you tell me more about the programme” or “what do I need to do”, “how do I prepare?”. So, I would say gradually we are accomplishing what we set out to do.

I am very interested in this project, but I want to know, can anyone be a part of it or it is meant for a select few?

Anyone can join the team as a volunteer to help and support accomplish the mission. We need more hands on deck. More people are welcomed to share their experiences; we may have similar experiences but I believe there is a peculiarity in each story.

That’s cool. What are some challenges you have faced since the inception of the initiative, I can imagine it has not been easy.

The challenges faced so far is less attention on the whole project HSE Africa connect due to academic workload. You know that here in HSE we always have assignments and presentations and lots of essays to write. That is taken up most of our time. Another major challenge is the availability of the three members due to other works. So basically, the challenge is lack of time. For logistics, the International Office has been kind enough to allow use their equipment, cameras, microphones, lights etc, they even help with editing the videos sometimes, so we do not face a challenge on that. It is more of an issue on time.

That is really great. Do you have any final words for us?

Well, firstly, I will like to say thank for you showing interest in our initiative, I hope this helps us reach a wider audience. It’s also such a great honour that the International Admissions team has recognized the work and has motivated us in a way to keep the job moving like providing equipment and souvenirs to support the initiative.

Thank you once again for granting this interview, thank you for your time, and I wish you all the best and great success in this initiative. I know for a fact that it will go a long way in getting more Africans to attend the school and also preparing them for their life at HSE and in Russia.

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Esther Adwoa Obiribea Danso