STUDENT REPORT
Name of the University:
Exchange semester:
KEDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL
Fall 2013
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The school is located outside of Marseille. It takes around 30 minutes from the
metro station. It is surrounded by nature. The school looked new, but compared
to BI it was a bit disappointing. There are around 5000 students and almost 500
exchange students on campus. It was difficult to study at school, because there
were not many places to sit. The library was very small and always over-booked.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
We got our information from KEDGE in good time before we arrived. They sent
us all the information we needed by mail and we didn’t have any difficulties with
anything.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
We booked a normal flight ticket before we went there.
Academic Calendar
We arrived 28th of August and the introduction week started 10th of September.
The introduction week lasted for two weeks and there were events every day.
The first day of the semester was 10th of September, and the last day of classes
was 9th of December. The examination period went over two weeks and it was
very different from the examination period at BI. Here, the exams last only for 3
hours and you can have 2 exams in one day if you are unlucky.
Reception
There was a possibility to get picked up by a student association called Interact,
but none of us used this opportunity because it was easy to get from the airport
to our apartment by our selves.
Housing
It is possible to live on campus, but these apartments are really hard to get. So
we lived off-campus in the city and that was great. Some of us lived nearby
“Joliette” just 10 minutes walk to Vieux-port and close to the metro station so it
was easy to get to school from there. Kedge helped us to get in contact with our
landlord at “easymomenthome”. The rest of us lived in an apartment in Vieux
Port close to the nightlife. We were 3 girls living in a big apartment with 3
bedrooms, and we payed 550 euros each per month. If you are thinking about
renting an apartment downtown, you should find an apartment close to Vieux-
Port. This is the finest area in the city and it is not expensive.
If you are going to Marseille, take some time to get to know the different parts of
the city. There is an area (as in every big city) you just don’t want to go to. The
northern part of the city has a bad reputation. This is a part of town where
tourists are told to stay away from.
Costs
France is a cost friendly country to live in, but we thought it would be cheaper.
France is one of the most expensive EU countries to live in. The public
transportation cost approximately 40€ for a monthly card. This includes the
metro, tram and busses. At KEDGE we didn’t have any books, everything was
online, so the biggest expense you have is housing. The guys living in Joliette paid
approximately 500€ per month for a studio apartment, while the girls payed as
told 550€ each per month for their apartment. There is an opportunity to get
support from the French government if your rent is quite high, but this system is
very complicated, and you need to speak French fluently or get a French friend to
help you with this. We tried to get this extra housing fund but we were not able
to get it because of language barriers.
The International Office
The school has an international office. Here you can get help with different
administrative problems. It is not always that easy to get help because some of
the advisors only speak French. You may also contact them by mail and they
usually answer within a few days. Many had problems getting their requested
courses and it took a long time before we received our Erasmus fund.
Social Activities
KEDGE is very good at arranging social events for the exchange student. This
makes it very easy to get to know other students from the other countries.
Besides from going out on bars they also arranged different trips and other
activities like for example dinners, days at the beach, bus trips etc. There has
been at least one event every week, so there are many opportunities for those
who want to be social.
The local Frenchman is not particularly good in English, so this makes them hard
to talk to and a bit withdrawn.
Culture and Language
As we mentioned earlier, French people are known for only French speaking
behaviour, so if you don’t understand French at all, it sometimes occur
difficulties. In Marseille you can find people from all around the world. There are
for example many Italians and Arabs living here. The culture is affected by
cultures around France as well, and the people (especially the boys) are outgoing and interested in talking with foreign girls.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
We would recommend everybody to go on exchange. It is a great experience to
live in another country and to meet other students from all around the world.
We have got new friends for life and we have extended our future job network.
All of us came here without knowing a single word in French, but now we can
communicate on a basic level and our English has improved a lot. We have also
learned about the French culture.
We all agree that going on exchange is a huge benefit when you are applying for
jobs or Internships later because it shows that you are an independent person
and have foreign experience when it comes to adapting to other cultures.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
The language of teaching at KEDGE is supposed to be English, but their FrenchEnglish can be very annoying from time to time. They are willing to learn and
they all are aware of the language barrier.
In KEDGE it is mandatory to go to class, and most of the teachers take absence.
You can only miss two classes before you are not allowed to take the exam.
The workload differs in every course. Some courses are heavy with a lot of group
works, papers and presentations, while other courses you don’t have to do
anything. There are no books in none of the courses so the preparation for most
of the exams are only to read the power point slides and notes you have from
class.
Required Literature
No books in the courses, only the Power Points you get from the teachers.
Exams
The exams are mainly short, and count only for maximum 6o% of your grade. In
some courses there is multiple choice, and some assignments with open
questions. If you paid attention in class and did your part of group work and
home work I think it is impossible to fail an exam.
Description of Courses
We all had many different courses because we are a mix of marketing students
and finance students, but some of the courses we had together. The marketing
classes were easy because it is a lot of the same we have had on BI.
Course name:
Prereq.
Exam
Major at BI Approved
as
Business strategy… none……… written…… Marketing/finance……elective
French (beginner)
none
written
Marketing/finance
elective
European Law
none
written
marketing
elective
Luxury marketing
none
written
marketing
elective
Project management
none
written
marketing/finance
elective
Management control none
written
Finance
elective
Int. marketing cases none
written
Marketing
elective
International trade
Int. business
none
none
written
written
Marketing/finance elective
Marketing/finance elective