What is Studia w Anglii?

Janusz Dargiewicz ("Yanoosh Dargyayvitch") is a Polish educator who founded Studia w Anglii (“Stoodiavangly”) in 2006 to help and encourage Polish students to have the opportunity to study in Britain. Since then, he has helped over 500 students from all over Poland to make the journey to enroll at universities in the UK, most notably here at Bucks. We caught up with him in Poland and asked him to talk about Studia w Anglii and how it all works.

Janusz addreses art students in Bygdoszcz

Bucks: What is your background?

Janusz: I trained in Electrical engineering at the University of Warsaw. My son Kristof graduated from Bucks New University in Marketing and Video Production, and it was this which began my connection with Bucks New University.

Bucks: What is Studia w Anglii?

Janusz: Studia w Anglii is a Polish company that supports students in Poland who would like to study at University in the UK. We help students to navigate the UCAS system, help them to apply for student loans, and generally support them in their studies. We also help students to find accommodation – anything, in fact that helps make their overseas study easier and smoother.


Bucks: What are the benefits of studying in England?

Janusz: There are many benefits, but among the most important are the opportunity to study and to find work abroad, the chance to develop your language skills and to become fluent in English. It also helps to see other cultures, to grow as a person, and to become generally more mature and independent. English is the most popular foreign language being taught in Poland; it is now the global language – so this is a definite advantage.


Bucks: What are the biggest differences between studying in the UK and studying in Poland?

Janusz: Studying in the UK is generally less formal. You don’t have to call the lecturers “Sir” in Britain. You have fewer teaching hours in the UK, which is good in some ways because you can work a part-time job, but it also means you must be more motivated to work on your own. You must be able to self-study. Also, the vacations are longer, with longer breaks and more public holidays.

 

Gateway Building at Bucks - modern media hub

Bucks: Why Bucks New University?

Janusz: Bucks offers a very modern multi-media hub, with excellent facilities for making films and collaborating with other creative studies. There are lots of free after-school exercises provided by the student union, through the “Bucks Big Deal”, which aims to make sure that students don’t encounter unexpected extra expenses on their courses.

High Wycombe

High Wycombe offers a relatively quiet, safe environment in which to study. It is also just 22 minutes from London on the fast train, and also a short coach journey to Oxford. Bucks also accepts Polish Matura exam results, without requiring any extra expensive qualifying certificates.

Bucks: What can we do at Bucks to make students from Poland feel welcome?

Janusz: There used to be a Polish Society, so the university should consider putting that back together. There is a Polish shop in High Wycombe, so you can buy Polish food and feel right at home. Generally the tutors are very helpful with foreign students and will take care to make sure you understand what is going on.

Bucks: How do students from Poland finance their studies in the UK?

Janusz: The UK Government student loan system can be accessed by students from Poland. Polish students can also work legally in the UK. Common jobs include working at local hotels and restaurants, cinemas and shops. It helps to have prior experience though, so you can show employers that you know what you are doing. There are also scholarships and bursaries from the university for low income families.

Cheaper than a bus?

Bucks: What is the best way to travel the UK?

Janusz: Ryan Air offers inexpensive flights which take about 2 hours, and can be super cheap if you book ahead. And there are very cheap buses that go to England, though they take over 24 hours.

To find out more about Studia w Anglii, visit their website at www.studiawanglii.pl, and check out theri Facebook page. For more about how the system of UK government loans works, see this post. To find out about bursaries at Bucks, see the official page here.