E-mail: derek.filippo@ziggo.nl
Study Program: Bachelor HRS
Exchange semester: Fall
Academic year: 2015/2016
Host University: HEC Montreal
Country: Canada
I General information about the school
HEC Montreal is an amazing business school which is part of Université de Montréal. The school has two
main buildings called Cote Saint Catherine and Cote des neiges. Depending on your courses you may
need to travel between those two buildings which are located at walking distance of each other. I took 4
courses at HEC and about half the lectures were at cote des neiges and the other half at the other
building. In comparison to Tilburg, I had to get used to the larger distances between locations in the city.
Getting from my apartment in the student area “le plateau” to the university took between 25-40
minutes depending on the traffic. Getting from one building to the other by foot takes about 10-15
minutes which is fine, but further away than crossing the entire campus in Tilburg. Both buildings are
located at the other side of the “mountain” of Montréal: Mont-Royal and quite easily accessible via bus
or subway.
The buildings are quite large, but I found the rooms logically distributed throughout the buildings. This
made it rather easy to find my way around the campus. Both buildings also have a canteen and store in
which you can buy office supplies and get your student ID. This means there is no need to walk to
another building to get your lunch. But there is more different from Tilburg than just the buildings. The
entire grading system and study culture is completely different and can be seen as a competition
between classmates. In the Netherlands students are often satisfied with a sufficient grade, but at HEC
and in Canada in general people are driven to get good grades. This is also fostered by the grading
system as your grade is dependent on the class average: 90% does not mean an A+ if the rest of the class
has 91% or higher.
Furthermore, HEC has a total of 11 departments ranging from Accounting and Finance, to HR and
Marketing. It is a larger university than Tilburg University with 10.109 undergraduate students, 3051
graduate students and 127 post-graduate students (PhD). A total of 480 exchange students attended
HEC in the year 2014-2015, which is not that much when compared to Tilburg. The study program is very
much the same as in Tilburg with a bachelor program which takes three years and a master program
which takes often one year. However, students from outside of Quebec, will need to do a preparatory
year before their bachelor.
II Practical information
I received all my pre-arrival information on the 15th of March which gave me plenty of time to prepare
for my departure, choose my courses and ask questions about pre-requisites. For example, it was unclear
to me whether or not a language test was required. Luckily the exchange coordinator from HEC always
responds very quickly and told me that this was not required. However, Tilburg University did require a
TOEFL or similar language test. Luckily my IB certificate also sufficed.
In comparison to some other countries, Canada is very lenient towards exchange students which makes
it unnecessary to arrange a visa as long as your stay is shorter than 6 months. I would advise future
exchange students to print the proof of enrollment from HEC Enligne (HEC’s blackboard alternative) in
the case a customs officer asks for it. This happened to me once and they may deny you access into
Canada. I myself arrived on the 16th of August which was 10 days before the welcome week started. This
meant I had no pick-up service by the HEChange committee, but they do offer a pick-up service if you
arrive later. During the welcome week you get the know many other exchange students and the
HEChange committee that organizes this welcome week and other trips during the semester. I strongly
advice to take part in most/all activities as they are much fun and helped me to integrate quickly. I also
advice to arrange for an OPUS card before the welcome week starts as this allows you to This week is
very similar to the TOP-week in Tilburg, in which you also visit the university. All administrative affairs
are taken care of in one day in which you are guided every step of the way. There was also a possibility
to register for a student buddy which I did. But eventually I did not really make us of it except for a few
small questions. However, it is good to know that the possibility exists.
Housing
There is no on-campus housing, so this meant I needed to find my own apartment. I can advise future
exchange students to start looking early on via websites such as kijiji, craigslist or getyourownplace.ca.
The latter is in some way connected and promoted by the university, but it has a limited amount of
rooms. I myself was unable to get one via getyourownplace.ca and flew to Canada without having any
housing. I slept in a hostel for two weeks and then found something via kijiji. You should be able to find
something for around 500-600 CAD. I shared my apartment with three other people, two from Germany
and one from France. I really enjoyed my stay there, mainly because I had such nice roommates but not
because of the quality of the flat. Many buildings in Montreal are old and can cause much inconvenience
to you. During my stay I had to deal with bedbugs which is an enormous problem in North-America. But
also leakages and mice. If I knew this beforehand, I would have paid a little more in order to get a better
flat. EVO is also a very luxurious alternative, certainly in downtown but it is very expensive with prices
starting at 750 CAD.
Expenses
I found Canada overall to be very expensive. All prices that you see are without taxes and tip which
meant that every time I would need to calculate the price by adding around 30% to the original price. But
also grocery shopping is very expensive compared to Europe, mainly chicken, and milk products are very
expensive. I was able to pay for all of that due to some savings, but I would have needed to lend money
if I did not have those savings. My main expenses included trips and groceries. My advice is to spend
your money on trips throughout North-America and not spending it on alcohol while going out. Of course
there are many clubs and bars which are very attractive to students and I have been there too, but going
out in Canada is much more expensive than here in the Netherlands. If you want to go out, go to Café
Campus on Tuesdays as they will have cheap beer, but apart from that try not wasting your money on
nights you will forget, but spend it on trips with friends that will stay in your memory for ever.
An estimation of my monthly expenses is difficult to make due to the fact that I have almost only used
my credit card, but this should give you a slight idea of the basic expenses:
-
Housing: $550,Food: $625,Transport: $54,Books: $25,Miscellaneous: $100,Trips: $500,-
Academic Calendar
As I already mentioned, I arrived on the 16th of August in Canada and therefore had some time to
prepare myself for the academic year which started on the 31st of August, while the introduction week
started on the 26th. During the semester we had one mid-term break in October the 24th, but this did
depend on the amount of midterms you had. I myself was lucky with only one midterm. The mid-term
break ended on the 2nd of November after which I had a very busy last part of the semester until the
finals. The finals started on the 12th of December for me and ended on the 15th.
The International office
HEC also has an international exchange office where you can ask all your questions about your exchange
or ask for help if you have any troubles. My exchange coordinator was Geneviève Benoit, but there are
several coordinators at the office. They are all responsible for the exchange students and will help you
the best they can. I found them to be very friendly and helpful during my stay, but did not need them
very often. They also organized an event in which it was possible to promote your home university.
Unfortunately I had class that day and could not attend to the event, but it can be a great opportunity to
step into the role of a Tilburg University ambassador.
Social activities
There is a tremendous amount of activities planned by the HEChange committee, but also Interstude
plans trips throughout North-America and even Cuba. I attended to most of them and certainly had the
time of my life. It is a rather cheap way to go wherever you want and be with a large group of nice
(international) students. There are also pub-crawls and other parties planned throughout the year such
as a Gala at the end! During my stay I have made several trips with HEChange to Quebec, Ottawa, Boston
and New York. Next to this I have also made trips with friends and roommates like a road trip from
Halifax back to Montreal. I have also made a visit to my family in Vancouver where we celebrated
thanksgiving and also visited Seattle.
I highly recommend future students to take part in as many activities as possible and try to meet many
people. Even though I have met the majority of the exchange students, there are still several I never met
due to the fact that there were so many (over 300).
Culture and Language
I believe I never really experienced a culture shock worth mentioning. I simply had to get used to the
prices and tipping system which I was not used to, but that did not take very long. It is however an
aspect of Canada that I do not really like, as it keeps wages for people in the service industries artificially
low. However, I do think Canada is very similar to the Netherlands, but the people may be a bit more
friendly and open towards strangers. It is not uncommon for them to invite you into their homes even
though they do not really know you that well. I did have to get used to the vastness of the country. The
streets are longer than any we have in the Netherlands and once you exit the city and enter the
countryside there is so much space around you that you might feel lost. During my road trip we often did
not see anyone for several kilometers as we drove through Canada’s beautiful nature with its wildlife. I
walked and drove more there than I could ever do in the Netherlands and that was something I did not
realize before I came to Canada.
Another aspect I did not realize is that there are many differences between states in Canada, mainly
between Quebec and the rest of Canada. I would compare Canada (and the U.S.) to Europe as all the
states have their own rules and taxes, but the borders between them are open. Quebec even has its own
language which is French and even wanted to become an autonomous country twice during history.
Luckily Montreal is the big metropolis of Quebec and is therefore more internationally orientated. At
least 90% of the people working in the service industry speak English and so I had no trouble
communicating in Montreal.
Personal Development
Overall I experienced a great change in my personality. I had the feeling that I had made a significant
leap forward in both social skills and confidence. I believe this is something that occurred due to the
necessity of using my social skills more as I was put in a completely different environment. Next to this
the fact that you can trust in your own abilities, while being abroad increases confidence. Also being in
contact with more people from different kind of study programs gave me the opportunity to explore
different perspectives which eventually changed my own. This will be something that affects my future
decisions in both my study program and career, as it HEC Montreal gave me a more business like
perspective.
There were no real bad experiences during my exchange, but the worst that happened was the discovery
of bedbugs in our apartment. This was very inconvenient, but also gave me the skills to act in a “crisis”
situation and solve the problem on my own. The best experience was by far the road-trip from Halifax to
Montreal. This is also something that will always stay in my mind and I will put effort into keeping in
touch with the new friends I made during that trip.
III Academic Information
Academic level at the host university
The academic level of HEC Montreal is very high, with many business courses while most of them are
also offered in three languages: English, French and Spanish. I decided to only take courses in English:
International Management, Strategic Management, Conflict Management and Corporate Social
Responsibility. For all students in the HR program, I can definitely recommend taking these courses as
they complement the program in a very good way and will give you a different perspective which can
help you in your future career. But I must also warn students that take International Management, as the
workload is immense. The other courses have a fair to high workload, but International Management is
very tough but also rewarding. I have learned much with this course, but had to prepare a large case
study with a presentation every week. The bar was high and you were expected to reach a level near
perfection together with your team. The overall teaching style throughout the entire institution is very
from Tilburg University. The classes are small and the professor knows you by name. We also had many
group assignments and presentations. This was something I had to get used to, but eventually I started
to enjoy it. It was challenging, but it did make me excel in those courses. My grades were between B+
and A+ and therefore I was very pleased with my achievements.
Exams
There are different kind of exams: mid-terms and finals. Not all courses had both and some did not have
exams at all, but just had presentations or papers to hand in. The exams are given in the same way as at
Tilburg University and are very similar with both true/false, multiple choice or open questions.
Other
The library, computers, the printers, and all other facilities are all accessible to exchange students.
Luckily they make no difference between exchange students and regular students in the access to
facilities and information. We also got a student card which you were obliged to have with you at all time
and was necessary for the exams.
Description of courses
Course
GRH 233011A Conflict
Management
MNGT 244007A Corporate Soc.
Responsability
MNGT 343014A Strategic
Management in
Org.
Prerequisites
None
Exam
Oral Presentation
ECTS
6
Comments
Very useful for HR
students.
None
Written
6
Only mid-term
exam.
None
Written
6
INTERNAT
300604A International
Management
None
Written
6
Only final and
very useful in
terms of business
knowledge. Also
much fun.
Much work, with
many
presentations.
Only one final.
With all courses you should be careful in selecting the right language. I was enrolled in the French
version of conflict management, but could luckily change this in the first week.
I would definitely recommend students to go during the fall instead of the spring semester. You will have
better weather, many more exchange students to hang out with and many more activities going on in
the city. The university is very good and I can certainly recommend everyone to go there. The
atmosphere is very good and the overall motivation is high. In my own opinion I can say that Canada is a
beautiful country with many opportunities to travel, see and experience a different way of life. It is also
safe and the people are nice. I do hope I can motivate other students to go here and will always be
available to answer any question.