Azhar Kazakbaeva (Kyrgyzstan)

PROGRAMME: Master’s in Software Engineering 

Why did you choose to study this programme?

I am a career changer who switched to software engineering after having 4-year experience in highly analytical product management in telecommunications. My first experience coding happened when I was 12 and since that moment, I have been passionate about solving complex problems using programming. Being also interested in data analysis, I studied Quantitative Economics and applied my knowledge in developing products in one of the best telco operators in Kyrgyzstan. However, my interest in coding and designing systems never disappeared, so I started to dive deeper into the technical side of products I launched at work. Eventually, after a couple of years of self-learning and studying in a software development boot camp, I became a junior web developer. After that, I wanted to get a degree in Software Engineering to learn more about various aspects of engineering information systems: system design, big data management, software quality, and more. 

Master’s in Software Engineering at the University of Tartu covers all these topics perfectly and aims to help students to become polyglot, versatile, full-stack engineers, thus, I decided that it will help me to thrive professionally. Moreover, I was eager to experience the international study environment, and get to know people from diverse backgrounds, and all of this is available here!

Why Estonia?

Estonia is an e-government leader in the world and it has a highly dynamic software industry. In Estonia, there is a wide range of opportunities to run your own tech start-up or work for international companies. These facts were the key reason why I chose Estonia as my destination. Moving to Estonia with my family, I also considered such criteria as quality of education and environmental friendliness. Estonia's basic education is among the strongest in the world and the absolute best in Europe according to PISA ratings. And Estonia is one of the greenest countries in Europe that has some of the cleanest air in Europe. With all that said, I realized that spending time studying in Estonia will become a positive life-changing experience for me and my family.