It is no secret that BNTU is the largest technical University in Belarus, with more and more students every year. Foreign students are no exception, and we will introduce you to one of them today. Bindu Kotail Abraham, a student from India who sees her future in civil engineering, is ready to share her impressions and successes with you.
Bindu, a student at Christ University in India, is carrying out her diploma project, which is being experimented on at the Department of "Technology of construction production and construction materials" of the faculty of civil engineering under the direction of Professor S. N. Leonovich.
We talked to Bindu personally and learned about her impressions of Belarus, her studies, Hobbies and interests, why she chose BNTU and whether she was happy with her choice.
- Hello, Bindu. Tell us about your impressions of Belarus and the difficulties you faced in.
- At first when I came to Belarus, it was bit difficult for me to get adjusted as I came to foreign country for the first time. It took some time for making me comfortable with the climatic changes. As I like the cold weather it was not that difficult for me though. Coming to the matter of food, special dishes like salads, Pan cakes, Jams made of different fruits like blueberry, redberry, gooseberry etc. dishes made with potatoes and meat are really tasty and delicious.
My experience and exposure in Minsk was wonderful and great. I really loved and enjoyed each and every thing I could do at BNTU and in Minsk. It was a golden opportunity provided by BNTU for me to acquire something different and beautiful in my life. I was here only for 3 months but I could take back thousands of Memories.
- What attractions have you already visited?
- There are so many interesting places to visit in Minsk which includes Belarusian National Arts Museum, Churches, National library of Belarus, victory square and National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre. I was lucky enough to attend one of the ballet programme, the opportunity given by my guide. The theme of that ballet was about castles and ancient rulers in the kingdom.
- What do you do in your free time?
- In my free time, I always search for the new places of the city to explore. As long as I stayed in Minsk I always wanted to learn and experience something new and different. In this short period of time I have covered almost all the shopping malls in the city and some other interesting places.
- Why did you choose BNTU and Belarus in general?
- If you are wondering why I so wanted to get to Minsk, Belarus, the answer is People. Every Belarusian I met was a good person. So spending 3 months, working and surrounded with Belarusian’s seemed like it would have to be the best thing ever. If you’ve ever met any Belarusians before you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
Minsk is committed to the highest standards of educational and encourages students to develop a thoughtful and nurturing environment for the overall development of the students. The department of BNTU has a state of art facilities for an academic and research. My experience was consistently that the academic staff at BNTU wanted to see me succeed and be happy, and they were willing to help however they could. The dynamic environment has helped to develop good research skills.
- Tell us a little about your thesis, what is it about?
- My research work deals with the experimental Investigation on the early age Shrinkage pattern generated on concrete with replacement of admixtures like Expanding Sulfoaluminate Modifier (ESAM), Calcium Oxide (CaO) and Magnesium Oxide (MgO) at 5%, 10% and 15%. The Mechanical properties like Compression strength, fineness of cement was studied to determine the shrinkage characteristics of cement.
The equipments in the laboratory for testing are newly installed with latest technologies. For example, for testing the compressive strength and bending test, the specimen is tested under pressure by applying load automatically by the computer and the behavior of the concrete can be visualized while testing. Even for curing the sample latest HBT is used for my project.
"Above all I wanted to thank Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU) Dean of civil engineering faculty, Professor Sergei N. Leonovich for accepting me with kind heart for doing my project in their university. I would also like to thank Professor Natalia who is my guide for the project who was constantly monitoring me throughout my work. My sincere gratitude and thanks to Tatiana who helped me a lot from day1. I am grateful to these three important people who were constantly helping, supporting and guiding me for the successful completion of my project as well as the memories that they have given me. If I could do something in Belarus that is all because of them." - said Bindu.
Bindu has yet to defend her thesis project at his home University in India, but she is full of determination and confidence that everything will definitely work out. Well, we wish her patience and success, because there is still a lot of work and new experiences ahead.
