Distance studies have many drawbacks. It is especially felt by international students who want, apart from acquiring knowledge, to get to know the city and country in which they study – its traditions, culture and inhabitants.

– When the epidemic started, I decided to continue my studies in Lublin from Ukraine – says Maria Curie-Skodovsky University student in Lublin, Anastazja Makar: – It was a really difficult decision for me, because I lived in Lublin for the fourth time a year and I felt in Lublin in its place. At home now I feel a little like I’m wasting my time. Maybe because I’m in Lublin I used to go somewhere all the time, do something, hang out with friends, and now it’s like sitting at home in front of my laptop screen.

– We had a large representation of students in Lublin, for example from Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan and China – says the professor. Włodzimierz Piątkowski from the Department of Social Health Problems of the Institute of Sociology of UMCS and the Medical University of Lublin: – These students largely abandoned their studies because they come to Poland not only because of their professional knowledge, but also from the community and cultural point of view. Poland is located in the middle of Europe, and it is also attractive to tourists, because you can go to Prague, Budapest or Berlin, and there are also many social reasons why people decide to study in a particular country and want to learn about people, culture, history, civilization, etc.

– Another thing is that students come to study in Poland, for example, to get to know the country as much as possible, to try their hand at studying abroad, because this is a new experience – confirms Anastasia Makar.

– Like our students from Poland, international students have also benefited from the possibility of staying at home due to the epidemic – says Monica Stojowska, press spokesperson for John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin: – However, there are those who are physically in Lublin. Certainly there are fewer of them in the normal position, but we cannot say that they do not exist at all.

– The phenomenon of alienation resulting from isolation is well known in sociology and social psychology – says A. Włodzimierz Piątkowski: – We alienate ourselves, that is, we part and we feel strange. I think many people experience symptoms of alienation, deprivation, deprivation, or deprivation of something. It seems to me that this can lead to different types of psychotic and psychotic disorders.

There is a metaphor in Polish about licking cookies through a glass, says the professor. Włodzimierz Piątkowski: – This metaphor would be appropriate for this online study, because we are transferring knowledge through digital systems, but we do not have any contact. It is very important in academic tradition to have direct contact.

In the 2020/21 academic year, studies at Lublin universities are mostly remote, however, a hybrid system has been introduced in some fields of study.

InYes (opr. DySzcz)

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