UFE

An interview with 21^st prime minister of Mongolia, first chevener Amarjargal Renchinnyam

Thank you for interviewing in our journal. As the first chevenir of Mongolia, could you share your memories about the Chevening scholarship? When did you go?

I studied at Bradford university in 1994-1995. Also it was very strange. At that time I was director of the college of Economics in Mongolia, but there was no one to welcome me at Heathrow airport. Among the millions of people who were pursuing their master degree, only one Mongolian fellow was coming, and no one cared. There was an email before, telling me to go to the information center... Just take an envelope from there, and inside the envelope, there is an instruction to get on that bus, get off at that station, and get on that train etc. I just went as instructed. It was strange that I couldn't catch anything. In any case, someone was speaking in English, but at what station I was, it was difficult to understand. And anyway, I went to Bradford via Leeds.

In the student dorm, I met one guy, and again couldn’t catch anything. So I asked him to talk slowly, but still couldn’t understand. Actually, he was a real Welshman. And Bradford is West Yorkshire. The Yorkshire accent is quite different from the BBC English we know. It took over a month to catch and understand.

Was it your first time in England?

I can almost say that. Before, I was always invited to events and served as a welcome. It can be considered as the first time to live inside.

At that time, the Chevening scholarship was for one year, as it is now?

Yes, exactly a year. The strange thing is that I found out right before graduation that I was allowed to work for one year after graduation. Students from India, Pakistan and the Pacific ocean asked if I would stay there. I was surprised that I should stay there, but the only important thing was to go home quickly. But, It was weird that those students will stay. In that time, for us, it was important to study and graduate there, and quickly return to our country to apply what we learned. Now it is different as I noticed. It seems that the situation has changed. People are more interested in staying there if possible.

How many of you from Mongolia have you gone to?

I was alone from Mongolia. Later I heard there were more than 10 Mongolian students in Manchester and Liverpool.

Your master’s program was about 30 years ago. Have you gone among this program or in this field again?

Then in 2000, I had an official visit to England after I had become prime minister. In the visiting program, the Foreign Affairs ministry of England organized a program to visit the University of Bradford. It was great to come back to my studied school Bradford, after official meetings in London. That time, the school awarded me the title of “Honorary doctor”. Now I am “honorary doctor” of Bradford university. (laughed) That ceremony was very beautiful. I wore a fine red velvet robe and hat, and was awarded it in front of senior professors and the academic council... It was a very memorable event.

When you first went on scholarship in 1994, did you experience any "culture shock" in terms of studying?

There was no such thing as "culture shock". Because, I myself worked in an educational institution, visited several countries such as America before, and I was very interested in school institutions. That’s why, there was nothing like “shock” for me. Well, according to the learning process, we have lessons everyday here, while there are only 4-5 hours of study a week. Rest of the time I study independently. Such busy days. There are plenty of extended reading materials. Many volumes of books are assigned, and 4000-6000 word 2-3 essays must be written per month. When I was a student, I used to sit in the library from morning to evening, 8 or 9 hours. Also there was a computer room. It was the time when new programs, Microsoft Office and Macintosh were first introduced. In addition, the internet was a brand new thing at that time. I was surprised to learn that news and materials can be found on the Internet, and I used to spend a lot of time on the Internet. In the evening, I used to come to my dorm at around 6-7 pm, cook and eat, then again go back to the computer laboratory to read something. Sometimes, I stayed night long. I was always aware of my main goal to study. But along with my major, economy of development, I was curious to study new computer programs, what is new in the political and economic field, and what is transition economy as well. One year is quite a short time, so I was very busy. After three months, my family came there and my wife saw me and even cried because of how I had lost weight and color. As I am a very curious person myself, I was very greedy to learn and find out what was new out there, so I didn't even notice myself.

What was the Chevening scholarship process like at the time? Was it the same as it is now?

At that time, I took the TOEFL exam of America, and the LSAT exam of England. Compared to the TOEFL, the LSAT was much easier, more flexible, and allowed more opportunities for speaking, thinking, and writing. I passed the exam and went.

What are the qualities that you adapted and mastered during your studies there, and which you still pursue?

First, language. Language skills have definitely improved. Second, essay writing skills. Their writing culture is relatively different compared to Mongolians. Also, I participated in other programs along with my main courses as much as possible. For example, I regularly attended academic English, computer courses. Generally, Bradford university is very capable in development economics, and used to support developing countries in the engineering field a lot. That’s why, there were many lectures by great scientists and people in that field. And I wanted to find out and listen to all of them as much as possible and apply them in my country.

I think I also have mastered the ability to sit effectively in the library. Bradford is a small city compared to London and Manchester, so there are relatively few distractions, which also made it easier to concentrate on my studies. Besides, many events are organized for foreign students. In addition, I used to participate in other cultural events such as traveling to other cities.

What are the characteristics of teaching and learning there that you would like to have in Mongolia? How do you implement it in your school today?

I intend to implement everything that I have learned and seen there. The requirements for lecturers are completely different now. Also there are some changes in course contents. At that time, we only taught languages in computer classes. But now we have started to prepare more application side, which means, we prepare computer users not computer specialists. During that time, dial-up internet had just started in Mongolia. Our school, the college of Economics, was almost the first to introduce the Internet among universities.

As you have traveled to many countries, how do you see the characteristics of England?

It is seen as history has a great impact on the country. Originally it was a big empire, so discrimination is relatively low. Because it is the center of global economic and political policy, the policies and activities carried out there constantly attract attention. It is seen as a country that has reached a very different level of development.

The trending topic of the local news at the time when I came, the issue of whether or not to transport animals alive by car during butchering became the topic attracting mass attention. It became an important issue all over England. Young people blocked the road and even politicians came out to express their opinion that is not humanitarian, because there is no air in the car and live cattle will suffer when they are transported alive. At that time, I wished that this problem was in our country and Mongolians would solve it immediately. Because at that time, everything in our country was at a standstill, everything was falling apart, starting from a new place, and it was such a difficult time that we didn't know what to do. We only had the words, democracy and market. It was a very hard time, when poverty and unemployment increased, and foreign aid did not always come as expected. So, when comparing the sufferings of our country and the sufferings of England, I thought that there is something strange, the level of development is completely different.

What would you say to young people who dream of studying abroad at a time when the Chevening scholarship is available to a relatively large number of people, is open, and has more opportunities?

It may sound old fashioned. My main point is to be patriotic. Consider about the purpose of studying abroad. There is a poem by Natsagdorj. D: "...Upon being educated well, one’s son returns to homeland from a place where even wild geese cannot reach. So, they go to be well educated. Don't forget that. Besides, they are not going for relaxing and entertaining. Studying means not only studying your profession, but also studying the history of the country, learning from the world's best civilizations, visiting theater, watching opera, ballet, literature, poetry, and art, and expanding their brain capacity to the maximum extent. They have to learn a lot. To do so, they need to have good language skills. In the country with more than 100 million people, everyone is mastering one thing or another. In a country like ours with only three million people, a person should be good at minimum 2-3 things and specialize in . So they need to be very good at the language. They need to learn English more than English people, and several other foreign languages as well.. Besides, there is a labor organization. They should manage their time very well. Youths who have just moved away from their parents tend to waste their time on the wrong things because they feel like they have suddenly found freedom. , I think they should come back to home country and convey what they have learned to the people, after learning as much as possible.

Do you have anything else you'd like to add that isn't covered in the above questions about Britain?

In our country, the issues of country studies and regional studies have been introduced and expanded recently. For example, Britain studies. This is almost non-existent in our country. Therefore, it is very important to publish a professional and specialized journal in the field of Britain studies, to address these issues, to include things related to daily life in addition to detailed policy issues, and to include the opinions and experiences of people who lived there in the first place. Since we live in a global world, it is necessary to know the history and culture of the main players who define this globalized world. In this sense, I strongly support young people who are taking the initiative to develop Britain studies and do something in this field. I want you to do more, to publish once or twice and not get discouraged, and continue to be successful.

Thank you for your time and interview with us.

Interviewer: Anudari.T

“Britain study” Journal of science and cognition