Student report from Grenoble
By Wendie Pedersen (fall 2009)
Name of the University: Grenoble Ecole de Commerce (GGSB)
Names of the student: Wendie Pedersen
Exchange semester: 1 semester 3 year, fall 2009
General information
The school itself is alright. It is located about ten minutes from the center of
Grenoble and with the tram system in Grenoble it is never a problem to get
basically wherever you want to. There are about 4000 students in the school
and we are approximately 120 international students.
The study structure here is very different from the one we have at BI Oslo. In
Grenoble attending is mandatory, we have classes Monday- Friday and a lot of
group work and presentations all the time. Even though it might sound like there
is a lot of work to do in this school, we still get a lot of free time and have a lot of
fun.
Before we left
Before I left from Norway to go study in France, the information and help I got
from the international office at BI were very helpful. I don’t remember when I
got the first information package from GGSB, but I remember never being
worried about what was going to happen when we got there, the courses, etc. I
sent some e-mails with the administration because a friend and me were going
to arrive in Grenoble a little later than planned (1 week later), but she was very
helpful and everything turned out great and we catched up just fine with the rest
of the class.
Before I went to Grenoble I had decided pretty fast that I wanted to bring my car
with me. So a friend and me had one month vacation in France, to see some of the
culture we were going to live in for the next semester. The only expenses we had
were petrol, oil, and other stuff you need for a car when you drive for a long
distance.
When we arrived
We arrived in Grenoble a week later than everyone else on the 13th of September,
found an apartment the day after (we were told we had a lot of luck) and had no
problems in getting to know our new classmates. The reception we got from the
administration was overwhelming. We didn’t have any questions when we left
the office (of course we had courses and other things we had to change later) and
everything seemed to be under control.
Ever since that day we have had a lot to do in school, group work, quizzes,
presentations and other assignments have been a huge part of the structure in
the school. Even though it has been a lot of hard work, we have learned a lot from
it and gotten to know fellow students even better.
The last class we had was on December 9th. The days following that day are hard,
with 6 exams coming up within one week. We are studying very hard at the
moment and we are motivating each other to keep the good mood up and
reminding us that Christmas is right around the corner.
To find our apartment we went to the student organization, Aloha. They help
exchange students with everything. Housing, internet, bank accounts, and any
other questions one might have when arriving Grenoble. One of the guys who
helped us found 3 apartments the same day we asked for help, and we just had to
pick our choice. We got a great apartment and after spending 7 hours at IKEA,
our flat looks amazing.
Expenses
The cost of living in Grenoble is a more or less the same as in Norway, but a bit
cheaper. Our monthly costs of living are about 600-700 Euros. What is important
to take into consideration when calculating this, are the trips, adventures and
social activities one often forget and this is what costs the most.
To promote BI
I have gotten to know a lot of French people who wants to go to Norway on
exchange. One of my best friends here is studying very hard to get accepted to go
on exchange to BI. I was the one recommending him to go to BI, and told him
about the study structure in Norway compared to the one here, about the culture
and about possibilities after a semester abroad and especially with BI in mind.
My neighbor also wanted information about exchange and schools in Norway.
When I saw that Bi was on his list of choices I immediately promoted BI and told
him how great I personally think Bi is and that I think it would be a great
opportunity for him to go on exchange there.
Social activities
All the new people I have met here are from countries from all over the world. I
do not have the words to explain how great it has been to get to know these new
friends and how much fun we have had together. The fact that we have so much
to do at school has made everyone here close friends because we have had to
work together all the time.
The relationship among all the exchange students is great. Of course everyone
gets their ups and downs, and you do get tired of the same drama all the time.
But now when there is only 1 week left of the semester, we are all very sad and
no one wants to leave. It will be hard to say goodbye to all these great persons
and knowing that we probably wont meet everyone again because we are all
from all kinds of places in the world makes everything even harder.
The different events and special activities there has been for exchange students
have mostly been ideas that we came up with our self. Examples of event we
have had are “American pancake/ English breakfast”, “Christmas party with
Scandinavian Christmas food”; birthdays and welcome back from vacation
parties.
Meeting new people has definitely been the best part about going on exchange. I
have gain so much experience of other cultures (not only the French culture) and
I would never change this experience for anything.
Language and culture differences
One of the main challenges when going on exchange is definitely the language
difficulties and differences in all the cultures. It has not always been easy
speaking 3 and for some of us 4 languages. English, French, Danish and
Norwegian is almost mixed together at this point. The culture differences have
also been a challenge. Because we have had the course cross cultural
communication both before we went on exchange and here in Grenoble, it has
helped us a lot in not letting our frustrations end up in anger but rather tolerance
and respect. The experiences I had have learned to make me more tolerate, and I
am much more patient than before I went in exchange.
When I finish my exchange program here in Grenoble I think and know that I will
have gained a lot of experience, which I can use in my future career. One of my
main experiences I can use for future career possibilities are the knowledge I
have gained in working in multinational teams.
ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
 In which language are the courses taught: English; only problems has been the French
accent in some courses.
 How would you evaluate the level of study in relationship to the level at BI? Same level
but more work here.
 Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical? A mix
 Are the professors using cases, group work or lectures (or a mix)? MIX
 How is the workload compared to that at BI? There is definitely much more to do in
Grenoble.
 How is the relationship between faculty and students? We have a close relationship with
the teacher because we are classes of only 30 students.
 What is the relationship between the students in the classroom? Very good. I’m going to
miss this class very much.
Required Literature
 Is the literature in English? Yes
 How do you estimate the level of the literature? Some of the books are hard, but as long
as we take the time to read them they are alright.
 Is the literature used for detailed knowledge or a broad overview? Broad view mostly
 Is exam based on the literature or on the lectures? Both
Exams
 What types of exams were you given?
 What knowledge level was required to pass the exams?
Other
 Do students have easy access to the library and it’s resources? Yes but the library is not
big so it has been a problem to find places to study some times.
 How is the access to the computers? Alright. Most students have their own laptop.
 How is IT used in the teaching or as a distributor of information? Alright. Nothing to
complain on.
Course name:
Exam
Approved as
(Common/elective/extra)
still to be decided
common
common
common
common
common
International Marketing
case + written exam
International business law
oral presentation + written exam
Cross cultural communication assignments + written exam
Strategy and business policy
presentation + written exam
French
participation + written/oral exam
Production &
written exam
Operations Management
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
My major at BI is Tourism Management.
Wendie Pedersen