Chelsey Mueller, Kansas State University

I moved to Tokmok from the United States as a volonteer English teacher in the community. I needed a local language to communicate in town and around country. I studied Kyrgyz at the IUCA because it was a perfect fit to my schedule. In my first month of study, I was able to see the President of Kyrgyz Republic and the U.S.Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan as they visited the university.

I met many other wonderful people while studying at IUCA. My teacher took a genuine interest in me and related the lessons in the classrom to my expierence outside the classrom.My initial goal acquiring a phrasebook-level of language skills was quickly achieved and exceeded. I have learned more in six months than I thought I could learn in two years.Attending IUCA was a great expierence for me.

I got an opportunity to get familiar with the Kyrgyz culture

David Merrel, PhD student in Asian & Comparative law at the University of Washington.

I moved to Kyrgyz Republic in January 2011 along with my family members to continue my study of Uzbek Language.I enrolled for 9-month course followed by another high intensity 3-month course in Uyghur language.

Outside of the classrooms all students are given opportunity to get familiar with the Kyrgyz culture through various events held by the IUCA.

Ulan Sherimbekov, International Relations

There are many reasons why I like to study at IUCA. But I can highlight the three main points among them:

1) The conditions for learning;

2) Internal policy of the university;

3) Distance from the bustling city.

I find the conditions, provided by the university for teaching and learning, the most appropriate for me and my classmates. The campus has everything you need beginning from Internet access to modern library. Thus, I have no need to even leave the campus. Also, during the lectures and seminars we are able to use not only traditional teaching materials, but also the most advanced media applications.

The policy of the university is aimed at making maximum use of the university resources by students who could openly express their viewpoints and their vision of any issue. The democratic character and liberal views of the professors to students encourage the latter to think more freely and not to remain within some common cliche and templates.

Some people may find it strange that the student can enjoy the remoteness of the institution from the capital. However, relying on my own experience, I can say that living and studying in a distance from the city one can concentrate on his or her studies - the main purpose of a student - and not be distracted by some unnecessary entertainments.

I believe that studying at IUCA is an investment that we do today to get big dividends tomorrow.

*Ulan transferred to IUCA from the Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Saikal Kushubekova, International Relations

For me IUCA is not just a place where I get a good education, but also a place where I found a lot of friends. Perhaps, IUCA is one of the few universities that has its own campus. This campus allows students to communicate with each other round the clock. In my opinion, student cohesion is a significant factor in learning.

I am lucky to be a student of this school, because we have an enormous selection of educational materials and high technology equipment. In other words, at IUCA a student has everything to feel comfortable.

*Saikal transferred to IUCA from the Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Akbar Aidarov, International Relations

In my personal opinion, there are created the most favorable conditions not only for getting a high-quality education, but also for all-round development and self-perfection of students in IUCA. I would highlight three things that encourage that: commitment to the academic integrity, teaching approach, and multi-nationality of students.

Academic integrity became a sui generis moral law for students in IUCA, who are really keen on learning things. It leads students by the road of being honest first of all to themselves and to people, so that students could know their own abilities. And it concerns not only the education process, but also the future life of a student in case he or she faces such forms of injustice as corruption, bribery, string-pulling, etc. Academic integrity is an immunity of IUCA student.

Another remarkable side of IUCA is the teaching approach backed with high-level professionalism. The individual approach to each student, based on mutual respect, encourages their aspiration for knowledge. A student immerses in learning process by his own interest and will. And this is the merit of the teaching approach. We examine, explore, exchange.

But most of all in my university I love that we are all united by our differences. There are already Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Kazakh, Chinese, Uyghur, Russian, Dungan, Ukrainian, Korean and even Ethiop ethnicities in our friendly and as yet small family. Tolerance and  respect towards other nationalities is educated in students. And this is very important in our days. They enrich their minds and broaden their outlooks, which is necessary for the future leaders of our society.

As for me personally, IUCA opens up a lot of possibilities, for what I am grateful very much. I am given a chance to make my dream come true: I am going to study in the US. I think every university should be famed for its achievements and achievements of its graduates. A lot of things depend on each student. This is why it is an effort of each of us to make it so that every alumnus of our university could proudly say that he or she studied at the International University of Central Asia.

May 2010

*Akbar transferred to IUCA from the Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic.