Student Report - EDHEC Business School
Name of the University: EDHEC Business School, Nice
Exchange semester: Fall 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
Even though EDHEC were a bit late providing useful information compared to other
exchange universities, they were very structured and gave us everything we needed when they
first did. When we got accepted, we got access to a guest account on BlackBoard (similar to
@BI) where most information about practical and academic matters were easily accessible.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
Did not apply as we are in the EEA.
Travel
Traveling to Nice was very conveinient as both Norwegian and SAS offer direct flights to
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. The airport is not far from EDHEC and thus very close to the city
center. It takes around 5-10 minutes by car, depending on the traffic. Taxi from the airport,
however, is quite expensive (around 30 EUR) and bus is therefore recommended. Busses are
leaving just outside the arrival hall.
Housing
The school posted different housing alternatives on BlackBoard but was not provided by them
specifically. However, we know that the school provided support for students that had
problems finding accommodation in the beginning of the semester. We were living at Les
Estudines, which is a student residene between the city center and EDHEC. This was one of
the options suggested by the school and we signed the housing contract before arriving.
EDHEC’s international office was quite helpful in providing information about everything
from costs to the neighbourhood, which made this process easy and straight forward. Les
Estudines was a simple alternative, where we had everything we needed for four months.
However, it was quite expensive (EUR 565 per month) compared to what you can get. If you
do research on your own, and are flexible regarding living with others, you can find
something better. Before going to Nice, we were both thinking about a place in the middle of
the school and the city center. If we could choose again we would much rather go for a place
closer to the old town.
Costs
Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food, transportation, and
other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 4600
NOK 0
NOK 1700
NOK 100
NOK 500
Culture and language
The French culture is something different than what we are used to. Things move slowly in
this country, but we adjusted eventually. There were almost no language problems with the
faculty nor with other students. Nice is famous for its tourism and English is widely practiced.
Nice airport is as previously mentioned very close to the city, which makes it easy to travel
within France or to other European countries. Nice is also very close to the Italian border and
a short train ride can take you even further south or up north to Italy. Another thing the French
is known for is a culture for going out for dinner more frequently than we may be used to at
home, a cultural habit we all adopted. It helps of course that the prices are better than in
Norway.
As Nice is a city with a shoreline and a nice beach, a lot of social acitivites takes place at the
beach, both during the day and in the evening. We also recommend going to the beach in
Villefranche, which is just a 10 min trip by train from Nice, as much as you can when the
weather is still nice.
A lot of what Nice has to offer is located close to the Promenade des Angles. EDHEC is also
located along this promenade, which stretches from the Airport on one side, to the very nice
port on the other. The promenade is great for biking, and Nice has a great system called Velo
Bleu, similar to the Bysykkel in Oslo. This we highly recommend for transportation.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
EDHEC Business Schools has a good reputation and is ranked the 17th (2013) best business
school in Europe by Financial Times. The school has campuses in London, Singapore, Lille,
Paris and Nice. Nice is the campus for the Financial Economics track and the location of the
recognized EDHEC-Risk institute. The study structure is very concentrated as a course can be
done within a week or two.
Course registration
Course registration was available from 5th to 20th of June. The course registration was an easy
process were we got an e-mail with a link connected to the registration page. It is important to
note that one can only choose courses within the Msc. one is enrolled in. Stated differently,
one cannot choose a course from the MSc in Finance if one is enrolled in Msc in Audit and
Management Control. One could add/drop courses until 17th of September.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
1st of September
3rd of September
6th of December
15th Nov-19th Dec
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
Arrival
There was a welcome session the first day of school, where we all were introduced to buddies.
However, the buddy system is quite new, and the buddies are not volunteers, so the quality of
this system is not great. All the exchange students are very social though, so the first week
consisted of a lot of social activities initiated by the students themselves. At school, the first
week consisted mostly of introductory seminars.
The International Office
The international office was quite good. They were helpful when needed and provided
sufficient and relevant information. They were especially helpful regarding practical matters
related to our stay. France is a bureaucratic country and assistance with all the different paper
work (e.g. housing contract, internet/phone contract, electric contract etc.) was much
appreciated by most exchange students.
Promoting BI and Norway
We did not promote BI formally, but we spoke warmly about the school when we had the
chance. The same accounts for Norway.
Social activities
The relationship between native students and exchange students were pretty much nonexisting, and exchange students were mostly hanging out with each other. The positive side
was that we became a little society of our own and met people from all over the world. The
Exchange Students are very social, and we had a lot of fun together.
EDHEC has its own sports club, where one can do everything from playing football to
climbing. The downside was that practices and training sessions often were scheduled at the
same time as classes, which made the whole thing unfeasible. The school has also its own
student organization called “Open Up”. This organization was rather disappointing as they did
very little throughout the semester. If we wanted to do something social, we organized it
ourselves.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style is quite different from what you may be used to at BI, as there is a lot of
group discussions, cases and some presentations. Note that for most classes, attendance is
mandatory. The level of workload is less than at BI, but there are more mandatory hand-ins
etc.
Course materials
Non of the courses we took required us to purchase books, most learning material needed is
posted on Blackboard or distributed in class.
Exams
Few of the courses we took had grades based on strictly a final exam, most courses were
evaluated more broadly, based on attendance, cases, assignments, groupwork or presentations
in addition to exam. For some courses, participation in class is also a part of the evaluation. At
EDHEC there are two “exam periods”, with some exams during November, and the rest in the
end of December.
Library and technology
Parts of the school were brand new, but the facilities did not live up to our expectations.
However, as BI students we may have a twisted perception about reality when it comes to
campus expectations. The library was extremely small and had around 50 seats (including the
“upgrade” they did due to the exam period). Drilling in the library were also a strange but
recurring event, which led to much irritation among students. The lecture halls were ok, but it
seemed to be problems with the technology almost every day. It could be the computer or it
could be as simple as no electricity in the power outlet. The temperature in the lecture halls
vary from icecold to extremely hot. Notice that the library is not open on Sundays, even
during exam period. A big plus was the terrace. Sitting on a sunny terrace every lunch break is
something one could get used to.
Description of courses
MSc in Finance
Course code & name
Corporate Finance I –
4 ECTS
Master/
Bachelor
Master
Quantitative Methods
in Finance – 4 ECTS
Master
Financial Accounting
and Analysis – 4
ECTS
Master
Advanced Excel and
VBA – 1,5 ECTS
Master
Matlab – 1,5 ECTS
Master
Money and Capital
Markets – 2 ECTS
Values, Cooperation
and Trust – 7 ECTS
Master
Master
Exam form
Prerequisites
3hour written
exam (60%),
attendance
(10%) and
assignments
(30%)
3 hour written
exam (100%)
Calculus,
statistics,
probability
and linear
algebra
3 hour written
exam (70%) and
presentation
(30%)
Home exam
(100%)
1,5 hour written
exam (75%) and
1 hour in-class
hand in (25%)
1,5 hour written
exam (100%)
Presentation
and
participation
Approved
as
Elective
Comments
Mathematics,
statistics,
econometrics
None
Elective
Comment
below
Elective
Comment
below
Basic
knowledge of
Excel and VBA
None
Elective
Comment
below
Elective
Comment
below
None
Elective
None
Elective
Comment
below
Comment
below
Comment
below
(50%) and
survey (50%)
Corporate Finance I: The level was quite basic, but a good professor applied the theory and made
it very interesting. The course refreshed and deepened my understanding of core concepts. In total I
would say it was in very useful.
Level of difficulty: Easy/medium
Quantitative Methods in Finance: Basic method course. Not heavy mathematically, but good in the
way that we had many lab sessions where we applied the theory. The professor was very enthusiastic
and possessed the ability to explain difficult subjects in an easy way. I think the course was very
relevant and I consider the learning outcome as valueable.
Level of difficulty: Easy (because of the exam).
Financial Accounting and Analysis: The professor was a higly experienced gentleman and the
course was thus based on pracital appliance. For me it was useful to refresh the knowledge of financial
analysis. It is important to note that analysis of balance sheets and statements are emphasized, not
accounting in itself.
Level of difficulty: Medium
Advanced Excel and VBA: As I choosed the MSc in Finance, advanced Excel and VBA was the
only option. This course was, in my opinion (based on no coding experience at all), the most
challenging of them all. The exam was very difficult and I spent much time finishing it. However,
learning Excel and VBA is an investment with possibly very high retun. The learning outcome was
very good and in the end felt like an advanced excel user. I truly recommend this course as it is useful
in almost every relevant job.
Level of difficulty: Hard
Matlab: Programming course. Even though the software is more complex than Excel and VBA, this
course was for beginners. I would say this course is useful if you aim to use matlab sometime in the
future. If not, it is rather useless. I took this course because I might use matlab in my master thesis.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Money and Capital Markets: This course was based on what I would characterize as basic
knowledge of the financial system and everything within. There were no calculation as the focus was
solely on the understanding the financial system. If I was to choose all over again, this is the course I
would exclude from my learning agreement.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Values, Cooperation and Trust: This course was for exchange students only. The course was based
on class participation, student presentations and a survey. The learning outcome of this course was
rather small, even though I conducted a survey for the first time in my life. To be honest, it felt like a
made up just so exchange students would get the required ECTS.
Level of difficulty: Easy
MSc in Audit and Management Control
Course code & name
Strategic Planning
and Control – 4 ECTS
Master/
Bachelor
Master
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved
as
Elective
Comments
20% individual
participation
and individual
assignments, 40
% Cases and
group
assignments, 40
% Final
examination
30 %
Continuous
assessment and
participation
70 % Final
examination
Accounting &
Management
Control level1
– Cost
Accounting
Accounting &
Management
Control level1
– Cost
Accounting
Elective
The course
grasps
quite
broadly for
a 2 ECTS
course
Level: Easy
Course
taught by
PwC
professinal
s, very
applicable
course.
Level:
Medium
Course
focus a lot
on
consolidati
on, not as
much
analysis as
expected
Level:
Medium
Course
focus is
ERP
systems,
and the
implementa
tion of
these.
Level:
Easy, but a
lot of
information
to grasp
See
comment
given in
Organisational
Controls – 2 ECTS
Master
International
accounting – 4 ECTS
Master
3 hour written
exam (70%) and
presentation
(30%)
None, but
should have
some basic
accounting
knowledge
Elective
Advanced Financial
Accounting and
Analysis – 4 ECTS
Master
70% Final exam
(Duration 3
hours)
30% Group
research project
Sound
knowledge of
the
fundamentals
of Financial
Accounting.
Elective
Information Systems
and Management
Control – 4 ECTS
Master
3 hour written
exam (60%) and
Group
Presentations
(40%)
None
Elective
Values, Cooperation
and Trust – 7 ECTS
Master
Presentation
and
participation
None
Elective
Cases used
are very
interesting
and
applicable.
Level: Easy
(50%) and
survey (50%)
previous
section
Overall, we had a great exchange experience. Nice is a really nice town to live in, especially during the
summer months, which basically is until October, although the weather was still quite nice in
December. Having the experience of living abroad, going to a different school, and getting to know so
many different nationalities really is a life experience well worth having.