Student report for Grenoble Ecole de Management
Name of the University: Grenoble Ecole de Management
Exchange semester: Fall 2012
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
Receiving information from the exchange university:
We received a lot information from the school, mostly e-mails with any information which
was important for settling down in Grenoble. We received all necessary information before
and during the summer. We also received a handbook upon arrival with information on
different accommodations, dangers, documents to bring etc., so we never felt we missed
information.
Difficulties in preparing (application, housing, contact, courses, etc.):
One main difficulty was the fact that French people do not wish to speak English. It worked
out fine when emailing different accommodations, as they have access to translation tools.
Other than this, the school was very helpful whenever we had a question, and they have an
international office, which are always there to help, as well as a welcome desk. We read
reports by previous students who recommended residences.
Do not need visa to study in France.
Travel
We flew to Lyon via Copenhagen. There are busses leaving from Lyon to Grenoble every
hour, and the bus only takes about one hour. There is also a train from Lyon to Grenoble.
Other Norwegian students flew to Geneva, where it is possible to take both bus and train from
there.
Housing
There are no student residences provided by the university, so we were required to find our
own housing. There are many options, but it is important to be early. Be prepared to send a
few emails asking for availability. The options are more limited when you are renting for only
4 months, rather than 1 year. Many residences do not allow students to stay for a short period
of time, but it seemed to help to ask several times or to different personnel in the residence.
There are some Grenoble student residence Facebook groups available, one of them is:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/116967075220/ called “The Flat”.
We chose to stay at Nexity Carre des Halles, which is a 10 min. walk away from school and
20+ min away from the city centre. The apartments are very new and modern. There is also a
Nexity Recidence near the school, which seemed a little older. There are also many people
living at Europole where the apartments are a bit older, but with good standard. These are also
a bit cheaper and right next to the school. We are very satisfied with living at Nexity as it is a
modern facility and the employees here are English speaking as well as being very helpful.
The environment here is also very friendly, and a Facebook group has been created to get to
know the neighbours. It is though a bit far away from the city centre, but the tram stop is 2
minutes away.
Student report for Grenoble Ecole de Management
The school provided us with suggestions for housing and informed us on the procedures for
potential tax payments (not for students staying for 4 months) and necessary documents to
give to the chosen housing.
The area around school can be somewhat dangerous at night, as it is by the train station where
there is some criminality, so be aware to lock your door and do not keep windows open if you
live in the first floor. We would suggest to live further up the building, to avoid this problem.
Costs
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK
4000/month
NOK 1000
NOK
1000/month
NOK/
50/month
NOK
Culture and language
The faculty at school speak English. The staff which is in charge of the exchange students
have high-quality English skills, and you should have no trouble with communicating with
them. The program is English tracked, and all of the classes are in English except from the
French class. The other students in your program should have no language problem. Though,
if you wish to expand your social network in school, you have to speak French to the French
students at the school.
At the beginning on every semester, the school has a welcome desk named Aloha, which
arranged several trips around to show the city etc. There were trips to Rome, Amsterdam and
Annecy throughout the year. There are a lot of events arranged by the school to meet French
students and to try different French and cultural specialities.
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
We think that the exchange experience have made us more open to other cultures. You get a
deeper understanding of why certain people and cultures react how they do, and when you see
it in practice, you will respect other cultures more. The experience has made us open to
interaction and confident to engage in social happenings with different cultures.
It has certainly made us more patient, and even if we are still not expert on other cultures, we
are more easily adaptive and have an understanding for business cultures. It is important to
know how to handle different situations in future careers, and going on exchange has made us
more confident on this.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The school and its surroundings:
The school is modern and has good technology equipment. It is easy to get to know the school
and it’s surrounding. It is not common with auditoriums at this school, and classes are mostly
placed in classrooms. The classes are smaller with approximately 30- 40 students in each
Student report for Grenoble Ecole de Management
group. The school is approximately 15 minutes away from city centre, and right by the train
station. This area is not the safest place at night. There is only one faculty division and there
are approximately 2500 international students at the school.
The classes are obligatory and if you have more than 25% absence in a course, it will affect
your grade. There are a lot of presentations and group work and final exams at the end of the
year. There is though not written exams in every course, and the written exams do not counts
100% of the total grade.
Course registration
It is not necessary to register for courses, the courses were already set and it was an existing
structure to the student schedules.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
14.09.2012
24. September
11. December
6. Dec – 18. Dec
Short break 9-12. Nov
Arrival
The Aloha team was prepared to help and assist. They helped us to create a bank account as
well as dealing with the CAF or other contracts. The CAF was though only available for
students staying for more than 8 months. The administration has a long experience with
international students, so everything was well structured. They gave us a handbook and
explained what is important for the first days. The Aloha welcome desk consisted of voluntary
students. There were a few events in the introduction week with tour guides and other events,
but there was no official “introduction week” other than the welcome day at school.
The International Office
There is an international office at the school. They are very helpful, though not always in their
offices. At the beginning of the school year we received a “student handbook” with all the
information necessary.
Promoting BI and Norway
We were not involved in any activity to promote exchange to Norway other than informing
other students about Norway and the possibilities there are in this country.
Social activities
As we are not fluent French speakers, it is hard to interact with native students. We did
however; build relationships with French students who spoke English. There were many
events where it was possible to socialize with French students and to learn French.
The relationship among the exchange students was very good. There are a lot of people in the
same situation as you and most people are prepared to get to know other people from different
cultures, and are therefore very outgoing. Many events are hosted to help people interact with
international students. There are many events every week, so there is always something to do
outside school.
Student report for Grenoble Ecole de Management
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom:
The professors wish to interact with the students at all time, and this is why we have small
classes with 30-40 students. The professors expect students to be active in class and be
prepared for active discussions. The professors expect cooperation between students in class
to create good relationships. The language of instruction is English. The level of study is
higher in this school than it is at BI. There are more hand-ins and group work during the
semester than it is at BI. You are expected to be studying during the whole semester, and to
do homework is essential. The teaching is primarily practical and they are very focused on
teamwork to implement different theories into practice. The professors used cases in most of
the classes, and there were group work assignments in every class.
Course materials
There is a lot of use of hand-outs in report format and in PowerPoint format. One is expected
to read online articles in some of the classes. Books are only recommended, not essential in
most of the classes. All the materials were presented in English. There is more course
materials here than at BI, but there are more books at BI. The materials do not give very
detailed knowledge, only a broad overview of the subject.
Exams
All of the exams were based on the lectures and the course materials. One had to participate in
each class to be able to perform well at the exams. The courses were evaluated in many
different methods. It is common with in-class quizzes, class attendance, group work,
presentations, class participation, mid-term exams and final exams. We had both oral exams,
written exams, presentations and home assignments.
Library and technology
One needs a student card to access the library and it is open from 8-10 most days. In the
weekends, they are open from 12-19. Some weekends they are closed completely.
There are few computers for your disposal, so one is required to have an own computer.
There is use of projectors in class, but no smart boards. One is dependent on having access to
a computer to receive all information from the school and from the classes.
Description of courses
Course code & name
Entrepreneurship
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Innovation
management
B
Introduction to Global
Strategy
B
Exam form
Prerequisites
A written report None
(60%) and an
oral exam (40%)
2-hour written
None
exam,
presentation
(10%) and Team
project (50%)
2-hour written
exam (60%) and
None
Approved
as
Required
Comments
Required
There is a
lot to do in
this course,
and it is
very time
consuming.
Required
A lot of
work for
Student report for Grenoble Ecole de Management
an oral exam
(40%)
Ethical Dimensions of
Intercultural Business
B
International
Marketing
B
French
B
Intercultural business
skills
B
Written exam
60%),
assignments
(40%)
Presentation
(10%),
Assignment
(25%) and
written exam
(65%)
Mid-term exam
(40%) Class
participation(20
%), Written
exam (40%)
2 quizzes (10%
each), written
exam (80%)
both oral
exam and
written
exam
None
Required
None
Required
None
Required
None
Required