Student report
Name of the University: HEC Montreal
Exchange semester:
Spring, 2012
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
1. Describe the school and its surroundings – very short
The school was new, and the classrooms were from 10 – 50 students. The location of the
school was very good, close to the metro and bus station.
2. Current faculty divisions and special areas.
They had two buildings, and we had classes in both of them.
3. Number of students - graduate and undergraduate – number of exchange students
We were approximately 100 exchange students, ant total around 12 000 students.
4. Study structure
The study structure was more like high school. Small classes and you get a more
personal contact with the professors.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
 When did you receive the information package from the University?
I think it was in October or November.
 Any difficulties?
No, or since Montreal is a part of the France area of Canada it was little bit hard to find
English courses.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
 What problems, if any did you encounter?
No, problems.
 Does the visa cost anything?
No, and you don’t need to search for at student Visa.
 How did you order your ticket – any problems?
At SAS.no
Academic Calendar
 Arrival date – introductory week
5. January
 First day of the semester?
9. January
 Last day of classes?
16. April
 Examination period?
The last exam was 28 of April.
 Any special events?
It was one masquerade ball, and other small events.
Reception
 How was the reception at the school?
Very god, they had an own team that took care of us. It was almost like “fadderullan”.
 Was the administration and faculty well prepared for your arrival?
Yes, no problems at all.
 Did the school’s students participate in the reception of the exchange students?
Yes, they did. But only a few our exchange team around 10 people.
Housing
 Did you have housing at your disposal or did you have to find your own housing?
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I had to find my own housing. But it was no problem to find. They opened a Facebook
group so I found someone
What support did you receive from the school in locating housing?
Nothing.
Any special issues or good ideas for prospective students?
Everything with the housing is easy, but don’t pay deposit before you sign the contract.
Costs
 Describe the most important expenses such as rent, books, food, etc.
The rent for apartment 3700 kr.
Books, total around 3000 kr.
Food prices are cheaper than Norway, but not that much.
The International Office
 Is there an international office?
Yes.
 Who is responsible for incoming exchange students?
The exchange team (students), and the international office.
 How does the international office function?
Sending e-mail with information or asking if everything is ok. They did a good job if you
had some problem.
 Do you receive all relevant information?
Yes, I did. They had an information meeting, about how to live in Montreal because of the
cold weather, where you can find doctors, police and everything you need to live.
Exchange promotion
 What kind of activity did you take part in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
They had one day called international BBQ. We were four Norwegian exchange students,
and we had our own stand and promoted exchange to Norway(BI and NHH)
Social Activities
 How is your relationship with other students?
Everybody are friends under the exchange, now I still have contact we some of the other
students. Most of them from Scandinavia, but also from other parts of the world.
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Is there a student organization, and if so, are the exchange students part of it?
There are many different student organizations and the exchange students can take a
part of it if they want to. I didn’t because the social activities between the exchange
students was enough for me.
Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students?
Yes it is. We traveled one time to Quebec and one time to Boston. Other activities were
snow sliding, party and normal social activities.
How do you like it at the school?
Very good, if someone asked me now if I want to go back my answer would be YES.
Culture and Language
 Do you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
I don’t speak French that was a problem, but at the school everybody spoke English.
 How are the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
The possibilities are very good; because of all the information the school gives the first
week. The culture is close to European and Norwegian, so I didn’t have to change any
way to live. I think this is special for the French part of Canada.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
 How do you think the exchange experience will affect you from a cultural and social point
of view?
One of the things I learned was that it is important to be open to everybody and you can’t
judge people before you get to know them.
 How do you think the exchange experience influences your future career possibilities?
Since I still have contact with some of the other exchange students my personal network
has increased and this can give me an opportunity that I didn’t have before. Also that I
have studied one semester in Canada, maybe gave me some experience that an
employer need.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
 In which language are the courses taught? Any problems?
French or English, I had mine in English because I don’t speak French. No problems at
all. The professors spoke very well.
 How would you evaluate the level of study in relationship to the level at BI?
I think the work I put down was the same, but I wasn’t used to study and write everything
in English so I personal had to put down some work in the language.
 Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical?
Both.
 Are the professors using cases, group work or lectures (or a mix)?
A good mix, and they often had a quiz.
 How is the workload compared to that at BI?
Almost the same, I had five courses, but the course was only 6 points and not 7,5 that we
have here in Norway.
 How is the relationship between faculty and students?
Good.
 What is the relationship between the students in the classroom?
Very good, it is smaller classes so you need to talk with everybody and work together
when you have group projects.
Required Literature
 Is the literature in English?
Yes.
 How do you estimate the level of the literature?
It was the same that we have on BI.
 Is the literature used for detailed knowledge or a broad overview?
It is detailed in some of the courses, and broader overview in courses with articles and
not calculation.
 Is exam based on the literature or on the lectures?
Both, it is important to go to class, because some of the questions on the exams will be
from discussion we had in classes.
Exams
 What types of exams were you given?
Written.
 What knowledge level was required to pass the exams?
I’m, not sure, but it was important to score well on all the quizzes and midterm.
Other
 Do students have easy access to the library and its resources?
Yes, better than we have in BI.
 How is the access to the computers?
Not that good, they didn’t have many computers. But it was easy to use your own laptop.
 How is IT used in the teaching or as a distributor of information?
They use something similar to its’learning. They used that server and send e-mail if they
had to give some urgency information.

Courses:
Course name:
208607 A
International Economic Environment.
Prereq.
Exam
None
Written
210705A
Consumer Behavior
None
Written
230097A
Human Resources Management
None
Written
250009A
Operation Management
None
Written
3610499A
Business Communication Level 4
Medium English
Knowledge
Major at BI
Written/Oral
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Any other experiences:
The semester was really good, and I will recommend other students to go to HEC
Montreal, pecially people that speak French.
Do not hesitate to contact the International Office here at BI if you would like to contact me.