Student Report
Name of the University: PSB Paris School of Business
Exchange semester: Fall, 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university, and
did you encounter any difficulties? We received all information about the school in
May. All our questions about courses and the school in general was answered in a
timely manner.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
- Not applicable
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination? We travelled by airplane to CDG Paris with
SAS from Gardermoen Oslo. The trip is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes long.
From the airport we used the RER, which is the regional train to get to the heart of
Paris.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from
the school? Housing was not provided by the host university, however BI
recommended La maison Norvege as a housing option. We all chose to rent an
apartment through either friends or AirBnb instead of using student housing.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
NOK
10000
Books
NOK 100
Food
NOK 8000
Transport NOK 700
Other
NOK 2000
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students? The
people working in the international office spoke decent English, however most other
staff from the administration barely spoke one word of English. All students that are
taking part in the International classes are speaking English.
- How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture? The
possibilities to experience the country and culture is all down to what you make of it.
There is an international student body that is organizing events that lets you partake
and indulge in cultural sightseeing and experiences. Like us, most people only had a
maximum of three days of school during the week, which gives you plenty of time to
explore the beautiful city of Paris and its rich culture. The courses are not too
demanding, thus giving you this freedom.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Description:
- The school is located in the 13th arrondisement which is in the lower part of Paris on
the left bank of the Seine. It’s easily acessible from the Metro line 14, about 200
metres from the end station, Olympiades. The school isn’t very big and can get very
crowded in the hallways during breaks. There is no library, but it has a study area,
which we never experienced to be full. The school also has a functional WI-FI
throughout the school. The classrooms differ in size and was usually overcrowded at
the start of the semester until they managed to assign rooms with appropriate sizes.
Course registration
- When and how did you register for courses? When we were accepted by the school,
we received a list of courses we could take with 3 different tracks to choose from.
With it followed a registration sheet you had to fill out, scan and send to the
international office at PSB. This had to be done by the end of August.
- When did the add/drop period end? You had only one week to add or drop courses.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special
events/holidays:
Other:
17th of September
28th of September
9th of December
9th of December
Nov. 11 End of
WW1
Arrival
The introduction week started with registering, a tour of the school and general information
about the school. Then native students organized happenings every day of the week,
everything from trips to the Eiffel tour to a party at a club. We got to know the other
international students, and some of the native students. The school helped us with everything
we may have wondered.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information?
As an exchange student, we received sufficient and relevant information linked to the
exchange on day one and further on as well.
Promoting BI and Norway
There were no kind of activities to promote exchange to Norway at our exchange university.
Social activities
- How was the relationship with native students and that among exchange
students?
The native students organized activites with exchange students along the semester, but it was
not that easy to get to know the native students at school, they kept to themselves.
- Are there any special activities, student organisations, and gatherings for
exchange students?
The school has a student organisation that organizes trips and parties for students during the
whole semester, and exchange students are welcome to join. There was also an international
student organization run by some of the French students who planned different activites for
the exchange students to get to know Paris. These people were also the ones that set you up
with a “Buddy” if you wanted that.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The classrooms were small, with around 30 students in every class. The classes were mostly
practical and often featured a lot of cases. We would get a case, then after 30 minutes we had
to perform it in front of the class. The classes are very different from the ones we have at BI.
The level and workload compared to BI depends on with class you take. However, overall the
level is easier and the workload is less than at BI.
Course materials
The material we used depended on the class, but in general we used powerpoint in every
class. This was what most teachers used and also what we had to use as we had to present
ourselves in many of the classes. In International business and International marketing we had
to buy a book, but in the other courses like Branding for Luxury Products, Intercultural
Communication, Economics of Innovation and Digital Business we only used the material we
got in class, like prints, articles and powerpoints.
In Digital Business we had to download Excel and SPSS.
Exams
All of the final exams counted 50% of the grade. We got graded throughout the semester with
either mid-term exams or small cases or presentations.
International Business:
We had group work presentations every week, based on the theory of the course up against
our origin country. We also had in-class quizzes throughout the semester. The final exam was
a three hour written exam, based on the course materials.
Intercultural Communication:
The class attendance counted towards the grade. Throughout the semester we had small cases
where we had to work in groups. At the end of the semester we had a semester paper with a
powerpoint presentation in front of class. The final exam was a three hour written exam,
based on the lectures.
Branding for Luxury Products:
We had an individual presentation, and a group presentation. The final exam was a three hour
written exam, based on the material we got in class.
Digital Business
In this course we had homework almost every week that counted towards the final grade. We
had some small individual presentations. The midterm was group work, where we had to
make a written paper and present it. The final exam was a three hours written exam based on
everywhing we had learnt in class.
Economics of Innovation
In this class there was homework quite often, but it could usually be finished in a few
minutes. Further on, there was a mid-term about the first half of the course, then we had an
exam on the second part of the course.
International marketing
Each week, one group had to present a case from the book. The groups and presentations were
decided the first lecture. A mid-term tested our knowledge on the first part of the course,
while the exam was based on the second part of the course.
Library and technology
The school didn’t have a library, but it had a study room. There were no available computers.
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange. Your comments are useful for
BI and for future exchange students, include information on the qacadmic level, challenges,
relevance to your studies, if the course was practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code & name
Example:FIN123
Finance
International Business
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
Comments
None
Approved
as
Elective
4-hour written
exam
3-hour written
exam
None
Strategy
Interesting
course
related to
current
events
around the
world
Not very
informative
or useful
course
Intercultural
Communication
Bachelor
3-hour written
exam
None
Elective
Branding for Luxury
Products
Digital Business
Bachelor
3-hour written
exam
3-hour written
exam
None
Program
course
Elective
Economics of
Innovation
Bachelor
3-hour written
exam
None
Bachelor
None
Program
course
Course
about the
use of data
statistics.
Great
lecturer
About
different
economic
theories
International
Marketing
Bachelor
3-hour written
exam
None
Elective
Self
explanatory
. Great
lecturer
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
- The experience has been very instructive both academically, culturally
and socially. To learn how to integrate in a new society is undoubtedly an
important experience. Moving to different surroundings for a significant
amount of time brings you out of your comfort zone and makes you look
at things from a different perspective. It allows other people to know your
Adaptability skill, and to see that you are not scared of change. Socially
you get the opportunity to build a big international network. Not only will
you study with people from France, but people from all over the world.
Whether you are staying in Norway or will work abroad, you’ll meet
people from different cultures and with different backgrounds. The
knowledge and understanding we now have after working with such an
international group of people is highly valuable to our future careers. We
would highly recommend for everyone to take a semester abroad. We
believe that it will make you a stronger person and give you a competitive
advantage in your future career.