Student Report
Name of the University: HEC Montreal
Exchange semester: Spring 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
We got all the information we needed before leaving Norway. The letter of acception came in
the end of November, and after that we continuly reserved information from the school and
from the exchange office at HEC. We also got a contact person from the international office at
HEC who gave us relevant informations as well as answering questions.
We also got to decide the course we wanted to take before we left. And the preparing process
was really easy. Just make sure your to check the exams/midterms dates before choosing,
because a lot of them are at the same day and time.
Applying for a visa
We did not have to apply for a visa, but you need to bring your letter of acception. Quebec has
a social reciprocal agreement with Norway. At HEC it’s mandatory for all students to have a
health insurance connected to the Government of Quebec, but because of our agreement,
Norwegian students don’t have to pay anything. Just be sure to bring your approval from
HELFO, stating that you are covered under the Norwegian National Health Insurance
Scheme.
Travel
We flew from Gardermoen to Montreal, with a stopover in London. The price was
approximately 6000 NOK for a return ticket and one extra luggage.
Housing
It is not very difficult to get an apartment in Montreal, but if you are looking for the best
areas, to a lower price you should start look earlier. As the competition in this areas is a bit
tighter.
We got our apartments through and getyourplace.ca. It is a company by three HEC students
who want to help incoming exchange students with housing. The apartments at
getyourplace.ca are OK, and you know it is safe to make a deal with them. They have
apartments for 3 people up to 8 people, and this makes it easier to get to know other exchange
students. The prices are somewhat good and everything is included.
If you like going out or would enjoy a good coffee, concert and other cultural activities, as
well as great bars and nightlife, Le Plateau is the area to live in. The apartments in this area
can be a bit more expensive than other places, but the area is great! A lot of the getyourplace
apartements are in this area.
There is also a facebook group called Housing exchange student HEC Montreal, where
current exchange students and regular students post on this site, and you are then able to get a
great deal, and also the possibility to get some roomates.
Costs
The prices in Canada was approximately the same as in Norway. Maybe a bit cheaper overall,
but not much. Eating outside, as well as alcohol and taxi is cheaper though. The bad exchange
rate also made our stay more expensive.
If you choose a course where you have to buy a book, this can be very expensive compared to
Norway. Our classes only required paper codex which was about 20 CAD each. So don’t buy
a book if you don’t really have to. There is also a buy/sell page on facebook where you can
find cheaper stuff.
As for housing we paid about 23000 NOK for five months. And we also bought the Opus card
for four months to about 1000NOK. This card gave us the opportunity to take the bus/metro
whenever and wherever in Montreal.
Culture and language
The culture in Canada and Montreal is quite similare to the Norwegian culture. Montreal is a
very “European” city, as well as the city is considered bilingual. Mostly everyone speaks both
English and French. HEC is a French private school, but all the courses we were taking was in
English, and everyone speaks English very well. Even though non of us speak French we do
think we would have appreciated the experience more if we were able to speak French in an
adequate manner. At the school there is about 200 exchange students from all over, and
everyone is very open and respecfull about the English language. And after a couple of weeks,
your English will improve significantly.
Overall, we really enjoyed the Canadian culture, as well as the Canadies and the city of
Montreal. Canadians are as open as we thought, and they are really interested to hear about
you, especially when you say you are from Norway.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
HEC Montréal is one of Canada’s leading business schools. The school is located 20 minutes
from downtown with metro. The school is divided in two buildings, a 10 minute walk
between them. You have small classes with about 20-40 classmates. Through the semester
every course has several assignments, group works and presentations.
Course registration
Course registration opens in the fall and you get a message when you can add courses. You
should be quick to register, since the most popular courses fills up pretty quickly. The first
week you can try different courses and if you don´t like it you can change them. Since it is
only 12 lectures, you are not allowed to change after the 2nd lecture.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
02/01-2015
03/01-2015
14/04-2015
20/04-28/04
Any special events/holidays:
Spring break first
week in March
Easter 3-6 april
Other:
Arrival
The introduction week can remind a bit of the week you got at BI. There was loads of
different activities from barcrawl to ice skating and it all ended up with a cabin trip and spa.
You get to know all of the other students through these activities. Our welcome week cost
290$, a bit expensive – but absolutely worth it.
The International Office
There is an International office at school that will be more than willing to help you out if you
face some kind of problem. They arrange some meetings and have a presentation in the
beginning of your stay where they tell you all you need to know and where you can go see
them if you’re wondering about something. They are all fluent in English and very helpful if
you have any questions.
Promoting BI and Norway
There were not any special activities where we could promote BI and Norway. There was one
time where it was a barbecue where we could meet students from HEC Montreal which were
going on exchange, but this time no one was going to BI.
Social activities
Everyone on exchange are really open and social. The exchange committee was the group
with native students we got closest to and through some small group projects. The atmosphere
with the other exchange students was incredible and everyone wants to do thing all the time.
We had trips to Boston, Cuba, Quebec City and other places. Most of the information goes
through facebook, so be sure to join that group.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The classes are quite small compared to BI, and are more similar to those in High School. Its
about 30-40 people in each class, with both local and international students. This means the
teachers often expects a high level of participation in the classroom, and they often learn your
name.
The workload is a bit bigger than at BI, mostly because you have assignments and
presentations at least once every week. Because of the fact that the exam often only counts for
40-50% of the course, its not possible to start reading a month before the exam, you would
have to work continuesly through all of the semester. The courses mostly rely on the teachers
powerpoint presentation and not any books, which means it is also necessary to pay much
attention in class. With that said, it is easier to pass the courses than at BI.
Course materials
In the courses we chose, it was never necessary to buy any books. The only thing we bought
was a couple of booklets with different articles. The powerpoint presentation is the main
source of information and of course the information the teacher provides. All the course
material was in English. The level of the course material was pretty much the same as in BI,
except you might have to do some work to learn the English terms.
Exams
The exams could be based on both the course material as on the lectures. Compared to BI it’s
more important to show up in class as you can get questions on your exams that the course
material does not provide an answer too. Your course could be evaluated in lots of different
ways, like:
o Mid-term exam
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentations
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
Description of courses
Course code &
name
2-500-09A
Operation
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Comments
3-hour written exam
This course got approved as the course
we call Logistic in BI. The course had an
average workload and we found this to
be an interesting course. Your grade was
based on 3 hand-ins done in groups, a
written midterm and a written final exam.
The exam was based solely on the
PowerPoint presentations and on some
articles. This means there is no books
required.
Bachelor
30 min role-play,
with your own
scenario.
In this course, you are to learn how to
be a successful b2b salesperson. Quite
interesting subject, but after a few
classes you´ve gone through most of
the subjects and from there on and out
its mostly repetition. Your grade is
based on 3 role-plays with both a
preparation report and an analyzis of
your performance in all 3. Finally
there is a 4th roleplay which counts as
your exam. Here you will use every
theory you have learned so far, and
you will make your own sales
scenario. Each roleplay last between
15-30 min, you will have a partner and
you will be filmed. There is no
midterm in this course.
Management
2-120-07A
Relationship
selling
The roleplays are all about repetition
and preparation, so I recommend that
you participate in all the plays as well
as asking questions in class. After
some practice the course gets quite
easy, but the workload can be timeconsuming. You don’t need any books
in this course.
2-405-98A
Management
Skills
Bachelor
3-hour written exam.
This was by far the most interesting
course we had this semester. Here we
learned how to handle your subordinates
in different situations, we learned how to
improve our communication skills and
how political games inside the
organization works and how to handle
them. This is a very practical course
where the teacher gives a lot of examples
from real life, and where we learn how to
get far in every organization. The
workload is quite a lot, as we had to read
between 2-4 articled before every class,
and then discuss them. The teacher forces
everyone to participate, so if you haven’t
read up before class you will be in a lot
of trouble. But with that said, its not hard
to get a good grade in this course.
Participation is 10%, 4 written analysis is
20%, oral exercises is 15%, and the
exam is 40%. You also have to expect to
get videotaped while having your
presentations.
2-851-07A
Economic
problems and
policy analysis
Bachelor
3-hour written exam
We really recommend this class as it is a
very interesting subject, and the teacher
is great. You don’t need any books,
except for a booklet with some articles.
There is no midterm, and it’s an openbook exam.
In this course we learned about
government intervention in the economy,
price mechanisms and externalities.
Basically we learned to make a economic
analysis of different situations in the
society. If you enjoy microeconomics,
this course is quite interesting. The
teacher is very intense, and he uses a lot
of examples from real life to support the
different theories. It is not an easy
course, and you would have to know
basic microeconomics to understand the
subjects.
You don’t need any books in this course,
everything is based on the powerpoint
presentations. 5 hand-in exercises calls
for 10% of the grade, participation 10%,
midterm 35%, and the final exam 45%.
3-006-04A
International
Management
Bachelor
3-hour written exam.
This course is about understanding the
management strategies used in big
corporations locally and globally. It is
somewhat demanding, which requires
you to prepare a lot for each class.
Every week we got a new case we had
to analyze, and this was the basis for
each class. You are going to have two
quite big hand-in exercises in groups,
and you also have to make a
presentation of these exercises. There
is no midterm, and no books. The final
exam is solely based on the
powerpoint presentations, and to a
small extent the case analysis. The
teacher knows a lot about the subject,
but it is hard to concentrate since he
talks for 3 hours straight. I think the
course would be more interesting with
a different teacher.
Participation is 10%, group project is
30%, case presentation is 15% and the
final exam is 45%.
Going on exchange is an experience that we will never forget, and we highly
recommend others to go. You meet so many new people from different cultures,
visit so many new places, learn a lot about youself and you will get friends for
life from all over the world. It has been one of the best 5 month of our lifes!
If it’s anything else you’re wondering about, don’t hesitate to contact us through
the International office at BI.