Student report from exchange program
Name of the university: ESCE International Business School
Exchange semester: Fall 2015
1. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
The information exchange with ESCE was mainly through email and it included
integration to their electronically platform for students were we had to complete four
steps. All steps are well explained through email and we could also email our contact
person at the university if needed.
Travel
I reached Paris through a direct flight from Oslo.
Housing
The school recommended places to look for housing, and they suggested a student
housing a little outside the city of Paris. We ended up renting on the private market
through an agency.
Costs
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
€ 700
€0
€ 500
€ 70
€ 350
Culture and language
With a lot of international students at this school, and with international lecturers I did
not face any language difficulties. Since going abroad is a part of the French Bachelor
degree, most students spoke very good English. The possibilities to experience the
country and the culture were absolutely there, as student communities arranged trips to
other districts than Paris very often.
2. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The school was a modern building located in the 15th area with walking distance to the
Eiffel tower. It can remind of a Norwegian high school, because it was many small
classrooms and almost no space for self-studying except from two small media centres.
Their special academic areas includes marketing, finance and supply chain.
Course registration
The registration of the course started late August. It was an online process where you
submitted your eight preferred courses and three in case of not getting some of them. I
had some difficulties to do this since there was something wrong with the system and I
had to wait one day for them to fix it. So when I was choosing courses almost all my
preferred courses was already taken. Since all the Finance courses was in French I
decided to go for supply chain, however, when I got there, they decided to drop supply
chain for that semester and since BI only approved certain courses for Master level, I
could choose courses in Marketing or International People Management. BI did not
approve all the courses in specialities so make sure you talk to them as soon as possible
to get your schedule work. After we registered our courses, we received an email with
the courses and schedule. If we wanted to change some courses we could do this in the
add/drop period that lasted for the two weeks. We had some challenges selecting the
courses, but after a few weeks we got an ok schedule.
Academic Calendar
Arrival date:
August 24th
First day of the semester:
August 26th
Last day of classes:
December 2nd
Examination period:
December 9-19th
Any special events/holidays:
One week in October
Other:
Arrival
The introduction week was good. We got all the information that was necessary and
went on a boat trip on the seine. It was a bit of a mess because the introduction week
was at the same time as the first week of school and the add/drop period.
The International Office
It really depended on who that was helping you from the office. Some were helpful and
kind, but others were really rude and unfriendly. In the end I preferred to ask for help to
my favourite teachers instead of going to the international office.
Promoting BI and Norway
They had an international day where all students were asked to promote their home
university.
Social activities
Most of the classes was shared with only international students. This was a very good
experience and I made friendships in almost every part of the world. The native students
were very welcoming and contributed to make my stay here amazing as well. As for the
activities for the international students, there was arranged parties almost every
weekend, trips, picnics and other social activities through a Facebook group for
international students.
3. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style was very different compared to BI. We were about 30 students in
each class, which makes it easier for communication and dialogues with the professors.
Almost all the teachers used PowerPoints, and we did not have any books. So the
preparation for the exam would rely on your own notes from the classes. The setting
was informal and there was a very good interaction between the teacher and the
students. The workload felt less in Paris, but a reason for that can be that the evaluation
was is smaller parts (midterm=40%, final exam=60%). Even with 8 different subjects, I
did not feel totally exhausted after the examination period.
Course Material
The materials were mainly power point slides and handouts from the professors. The
level of the material was not as high as you could expect a second year material on BI to
be.
Exams
Depending on the courses, some had 100% continuous grade, while other had 40%
continuous grade and a final exam of 60% in the end. The exams were based on the
course materials, but a very small part, because the exams did not last for longer than 1-
2 hours. The continuous evaluations were oral presentations, simulations, written group
work, small tests, hand in of homework and participation in class. This was a good way
to keep up efficient work throughout the whole semester.
Library and technology
There was not a library at campus. The PC centre was way to small for so many students,
and there were always problems with the computers and the printers. The IT assistance
was almost never available as well.
Description of courses
Course code &
name
Master/
Bachelor
Français A0
Advanced
digital
Marketing
Developing
Potential
Master
Diversisty
Management
Master
International
Sales
Development
Marketing Mix
Performance
Master
Navigating
Change
Master
Master
Master
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved as
Comments
Continuous
evaluation
None
100%
continuous
grade
2-hour
written
exam
2-hour
written
exam
Marketing
Courses
Not approved,
required course by
ESCE.
Elective
Ok course, wanted to
learn more practical
things. Good to have.
Presenting different
electronical
marketing tools.
Good course. Very
practical.
100%
continuous
grade
2-hour
written
exam
100%
continuous
grade
Some Statistics
is beneficial.
Elective
None
Elective
None
Elective
None
Marketing
None
Elective
Improved oral
presentation skills
and cultural
differences.
Somewhat similar to
ethics (master BI
course)
Did one business case
in each class.
Interesting course.
Ok course, most
demanding of those I
had.
Best course I had.
Good lecturers and
very interesting.
Relevant if you want
to work as a
consultant.
Final note
The exchange semester has been such a pleasure. I am really glad I used the opportunity
to study abroad. The museums, food, people and architecture did really lightened up my
stay here. The most valuable has been all the good friendships I have made all across the
world. The semester in Paris has been fantastic! I recommend everybody to go on
exchange!