What is it like being a British student abroad?

George Leech (23) started a two-year masters degree in international and European studies at Linkoping University in Sweden 18 months ago. He is among the 1% of Brits who study abroad full-time - a tiny percentage compared to most European and international partners.

He got his first taste of studying abroad as an undergraduate at Leicester University, when he went on an Erasmus exchange to France's Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne in Reims, as part of a history degree.

Just back from Russia

Now just back from a student exchange semester at the Southern Federal University in Rostov-on-Don in the south of Russia, he said he had a front row seat watching developments in Crimea and the Ukraine - just across the Sea of Azov.

"It's been fascinating watching the Crimea case unfold; we would discuss Ukraine a lot in Rostov where lots of people are half Ukrainian-Russian and they already viewed it as Russian then.

"I doubt there will be any movement at the moment into eastern Ukraine, at least not yet, where although pro-Russian, the split is more pronounced.

"Russian foreign policy is fascinating to watch - first Abkhazia becomes Russia, now Crimea. Interesting to keep an eye on Belarus."

Leech went to Rostov as a mobility exchange student with his girlfriend Kitija, from Latvia, who he met on the first year of the masters degree in Sweden. She studied international relations and European studies at Riga Stradins University before enrolling on the masters at Linkoping.

A full-time masters takes two years in Sweden, as they do in many European countries outside the UK, and the course is taught entirely in English.

George says studying abroad is a wonderful way to get to know fellow students from all over Europe, and beyond.

Being an Erasmus student in France showed him he could 'live comfortably' operating in a second language.

"The worst part was the often confusing and unfamiliar university bureaucracy. Also adapting to the French academic system was tricky as it is quite different to the UK."

He picked Linkoping in Sweden because he wanted to study international relations, with a European theme, "and the people in the international office were very positive".

International students all in the same boat

George said: "Studying abroad makes it easy to make friends with international students because you're all in the same boat."

As for Linkoping, he loves the setting. "It is in a really green and lovely part of Sweden. Accommodation is great when you get it, but the process of getting a place is one of the worst aspects.

"Teaching on the first year was fine and, overall, the student experience is good, if a little expensive, and Swedes take a little longer to warm up!"

No tuition fees for EU students

One major advantage for British, and other EU students, is that they do not pay tuition fees in Sweden, which makes up for the higher cost of living. Another is that teaching on Swedish international masters programmes is in English.

"My advice to any British students worried about going to a country, like Sweden, is 'don't worry! You'll actually be at an advantage being a native English-speaker.'

"But you need to be very proactive in the first weeks to meet people and work out how to do things. There is none of the 'fresher's' stuff you get in the UK - or at least not for masters students."

Going to Russia as part of his studies abroad was also a big bonus. "We simply don't consider the Russian point of view when studying in the West," he said.