Student Report
Name of the University: IESEG School of Management, Paris
Exchange semester: Fall 2015.
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
We received an acceptance letter from IESEG in the beginning of May, and then a welcoming
package. This was sufficient information, and we didn’t have any problems.
Travel
We travelled from Oslo Airport to Charles de Gaulle in Paris. The flight takes approximately
two hours. To get from Charles de Gaulle to the city of Paris we chose to take the RoissyBus,
it took about an hour to the Opera and then we took a taxi to our apartment.
Housing
The school could help us to find housing at several residences, but we chose to find one on
our own. We found one apartment through Lodgis.fr here we got in touch with an agent who
helped us in the process. It took quite some time, but at the end we found a nice little
apartment in the 3rd district.
Costs
-
Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food, transportation,
and other personal expenses?
Rent
NOK 5300
Books
NOK 300
Food
NOK 3000
Transport NOK 700
Other
NOK 3500
We only had to buy one online book for our extensive course, but otherwise we got handouts,
PowerPoint’s and reading materials as PDF files.
Culture and language
-
Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
Most of the professors are international and don’t have English as their first language which
sometimes could make it difficult to understand, but overall this is something you get used to.
Some of the people in the administration do not speak English, which makes it difficult if you
have any question regarding the different school buildings or other issues.
-
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
The International Club arranged different trips during the semester, both in France and in
other nearby countries. This is a good way to get to know more international student. We had
intensive courses in addition to a few extensive every week, therefore it was only during the
week-ends we could travel. If you are a group of people you can get a pretty good deal on
train tickets if you want to visit any places in France, the TGV makes it possible to visit a lot
of places with a short amount of travelling time.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
IESEG School of management Paris is located in La Defense, a business district right outside
of Paris. You can easily access the school by taking the metro, RER, bus or tram. The school
is located in three different buildings. The main building is inside the Grand Arche, which is a
big monument at La Defense. There are two different types of courses, intensive and
extensive ones. The intensive courses are lasting from Monday to Thursday and ends with an
exam on Friday or an assignment. In most of the courses we had to do a presentation as well.
The extensive courses are normally lasting from September to November, and the exam is in
December.
The intensive courses starts at 08:10 and finishes at 12:30. The extensive courses are in the
afternoon. When you are having both an intensive course and an extensive course on the same
day, you will have to prepare for a very long day at school. Sometimes the extensive courses
start at 17-18 or later. The total amount of work during the semester is a lot more than what
we are used too, because of all the assignments, presentations and exams every week. The
classes usually consist of between 20-50 students.
Course registration
Before the school started we were told to choose the courses we wanted. This was in May, a
long time before we arrived Paris. The first day at school we were told to choose courses all
over again and we only had one day to do this. After the deadline, we had two weeks of add
and drop period.
Arrival
During the introduction week the international office held presentations about the school, and
other useful information for example what kind of metro card to purchase etc. The
International club, a group of French students arranges social events, trips and other social
happenings for the exchange students. During the first week they had arranged social events
for each day. This made socializing with other students a lot easier.
International office
If we had any problems or questions during our stay at IESEG, we could just go and talk with
someone from the international office. They helped us with our questions about the school,
but also if we had questions or problems considering housing, bank account or CAF (student
housing benefit from the French government) .
Promoting BI and Norway
During the semester there was one international day were we had to present and tell other
students about our school.
Social activities
The international club arranged social events during the introduction week, they had “after
work” at a pub every Wednesday, and they arranged trips to Brussels and Amsterdam.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style depends on the different professors/teachers, their background, origin of
country and experience in the field of their studies. Many professors have done their studies at
IESEG, while other is invited from other schools around the world and even some teachers
are directors of major companies.
Most of the teachers focus on theory and then solving cases. The grades are usually divided
by individual class activity, group work (such as presentations) and final exam. Therefore one
could freely ask any question and be interactive during class. In general, most teachers
communicate well and are willing to help you if one has any question or issues during the
courses.
Comparing with BI, IESEG is more intensive as one has more presentations and lots of
assignment. One week could be filled with presentation, assignment and exam. The workload
is often more during the whole semester at IESEG compared with BI, but looking at the
academic level, we believe that one learn more at BI as one doesn’t go in depth in the courses
at IESEG (as the courses last for just one week).
Course materials
In general, all classes were based on PowerPoint slides (that where published several days
before the course) and articles online. In some class preparation before coming to class was
important, while in other classes it wasn’t.
Exams and grades
The evaluation depended on the choosing of intensive or extensive courses. Intensive courses
had exams or presentations of Fridays or assignment for a week or two later. The intensive
courses could also consist of presentation, assignment and exam during that week.
For the extensive courses one had often a mid-term during the semester and a final exam
during the exam period. The final grade is generally based on different parts: class attendance,
class participation, presentations and a final written exam or home assignment
Description of courses
Course code &
name
Master/
Bachelo
r
Exam form
Prerequisite
s
Approved
as
Comments
Corporate
Investments
Master
Group project
None
Elective
Excel-oriented
course with a lot of
assignments along
the week. The
teacher was quite
young and
unexperienced
which affected the
course, but all over
an interesting and
educational course.
Latest Trends in ITuse, The business
approach
Master
Group
presentation
None
Elective
Fun and practical
oriented course
with a humane and
inspiring teacher.
The Secrets of an
effective
presentation
Master
Group
presentation
None
Elective
A fun and practical
course with an
inspiring but strict
teacher. She was
expecting a lot
from every single
student but knew
how to educate and
communicate with
young adults.
Retail Marketing
Strategy
Master
Group
presentation
None
Elective
Practical and group
oriented course
with a lot of
participation with
both the teacher
and classmates
along the week.
The teacher was
strict but fair.
Networks, Crowds
and Markets
Master
Group
presentation
None
Elective
Fun and practical
oriented course
with a humane and
inspiring teacher.
There was a test
every day of the
course and in
general a lot of
work but it was
well organised and
the work felt like it
had purpose.
New product design
and innovation
Master
Group Project
None
Elective
On paper this was
the most interesting
course I chose this
semester,
unfortunately that
was ruined by the
teacher. I will not
recommend this
course.
Integrated
Marketing
Communication
Strategy
Master
Group
presentation
None
Elective
Practical and group
oriented course
with a lot of
participation with
both the teacher
and classmates
along the week.
The teacher was
strict but fair. The
course curriculum
is something I feel
is useful for most
business and
marketing students
and I feel I learned
a lot that I will use
in the future.
Financial
Management
Master
2-hour written
exam
None
Elective
Fun and practical
oriented course
with a humane and
inspiring teacher.
Even though every
student can choose
this course I would
only recommend it
to people that feel
comfortable with
the BØK-1
curriculum at BI. If
you struggled with
that you are going
to struggle with
this because they
both focus on
solving cases in a
similar approach.
The curriculum is
also somewhat
similar and the
teacher goes
through everything
quickly.
A-Z of
Entrepreneurship
Master
2-hour written
exam
None
Elective
Young and
enthusiastic
teacher. The course
was interesting but
didn’t transmit that
much with the
exam. The course
was about
entrepreneurship
which is an
innovative and
creative topic but
we were
examination by a
2-hour multiple
choice exam that
didn’t allow us to
show more than
our ability to
memorise
curriculum.
Continuous
Innovation
Master
2-hour written
exam
None
Elective
Fun and practical
oriented course
with a humane and
inspiring teacher.
Managing Staff
Flows, an
Integrative HRM
approach
Master
Individual
project
None
Elective
An interesting and
educating course. It
was well organised
and the workload
was humane. The
teacher was nice
and knew what he
was doing.
Professional Selling
Skills and Personal
Sales Performance
Master
2-hour written
exam
None
Elective
Best course I had
all year. The
curriculum was
interesting and the
teacher was really
inspiring. There
was a lot of hard
work and the
teacher expects a
lot of participating
from his students
but it makes the
course fun and
collaborative. I
would really
recommend this
course.
Presentation,
written exam
and tests
during the
semester
None
Elective
This course was
great. The
curriculum was
really well
organised and the
teacher was both
inspiring and
professional. It did
not just help me
learn some of the
French language
French for beginners Master
that I could use in
my every day, it
also introduced me
to a lot of the
culture and made
me understand the
city of Paris in a
higher extent.
Search Engine
Marketing and
online advertising
Master
Group
presentation
None
Elective
Practical and group
oriented course
with a lot of
participation with
both the teacher
and classmates
along the week.
The teacher was
strict but talented.
The course was
presented trough
debates and
different games
that helped us
understand the
purpose of what we
learned during the
lecture time. I
would really
recommend this
course.