Student Report
Name of the University: ESG Management School
Exchange semester: Spring, 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
We received the first email from our school in October, after we had filled out and
registered the application. The first email from them had information about the
elective courses you can choose, an international exchange student guide etc. The
challenge was that we had to ask them for the course syllabus/description ourself.
They were not available online, we could only get them if we sent an email request. BI
needs these for approving the different courses.
Travel
We travelled to Paris by plane. Both SAS and Norwegian have some inexpensive
tickets. You can take the RER (train/metro) from both airports to the center of Paris.
We had a lot of luggage so we took a taxi as we arrived late. It was about 60 euros
from Charles de Gaulle to the centre of Paris.
Housing
Housing was not provided by the school. We did not get any support or help from the
school, but we did not ask them either. We found our small studio apartments on
renting websites called lodgis.com and book-a-flat.com. It was really expensive to rent
apartments in Paris.
Costs
Food
EUR 1100
EUR 150
(total)
EUR 300-400
Transport
Other
EUR 50
-
Rent
Books
Culture and language
We did not have any language problems with the faculty or the professors. They spoke
English quite well. The other students were also fluent in English – and there were
only a few that we had some problems communicating with.
When you live in Paris you have a lot of opportunities to experience the country and
the culture. Almost every museum is free for students as long as you have your student
card with you.
We only had school 3-4 days a week (mostly 3 days), and that provides you with a lot
of time where you can explore the city. We never had school on Fridays.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Description of the school:
ESG MS is located in the 13th arrondissement in Paris. The size of the school is
smaller compared to BI. We attended to classes with approximately 20 students. The
classes lasted for 1 ½ hours before 15 min break, 2-4 classes 3-4 days a week. The
school has no library, but silent reading areas. The cantine/cafeteria is very small, but
we could pay to sit at a café (called Anti café) located at school. We missed ares to do
teamwork. You have to be prepeared on to work in teams, we had to present 1-4 (6!)
presentations every week. A great way to get better in English!
Course registration
We registrered for the courses we where going to take trough course guidelines and
forms we got from ESG MS by email. The deadline for registration was before
Christmas 2014. We could find the papers a bit difficult to understand, because ESG
MS is a part of a school cooperation (ex. Paris School of Business). It was no problem
to send questions and get answers by mail to the exchange coordinator at ESG.
The forms had to be sent by email, plus some formalities by post (ex. copy of passport
and insurances).
Even though we sent all the papers and forms within the date, we did not know which
courses we where accepted for before school start in Paris. We felt this a bit
comfusing, but it was like this for all the exchange students.
Add and drop period:
The add/drop period lasted for 2 weeks after schoolstart. We got timetables for all the
courses we could take, so it was no problem to attend/try other courses in this period.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
05.01.2015
08.01.2015 (information
meeting)
Schoolstart: 19.01.2015
03.04.2015
08.04-17.04 2015
Spring break: Week 13.
Arrival
We came to Paris three days before the first information meeting. After this first
meeting we had to wait one more week for a new information meeting. This because
the other students at ESG MS had exam period the first weeks in January. But, even
though it was approximately two weeks with no lecures in the start of the semester this
was a good opportunity to start to learn Paris.
It was no “buddyweek” events. We felt a bit sad. First of all because we where new in
the city, and of course because we wanted to get to know the other students that we
where going to study with. But, luckily – most of the other exchange students felt the
same, so we made our own buddy events!
The International Office
Information:
Like mentioned over, we attended to information meetings, but we often felt that we
did not receive enough information, and that the information came a bit late. Ex. We
knew which week the examweek was, but just the week before we got the information
about which date we where going to have the different exams.
But still, we had a exchange coordinator we could contact, both my mail and at office.
She helped as good as she could!
Social activities
Like mentioned before, there was no buddy-week events, and since we where
attending in exchange classes, we felt it hard to get to know the other students at ESG
MS. It was arranged trips for the exchange studens to ex. Versailles, but we dit not
join this arrangements. We felt it hard to be a part of the student culture at ESG MS,
this maybe because we did’nt have any classes with the French students.
But the relationship between the students in the international class was good!
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching styles varied from professor to professor, but it mostly included lecturing
using Powerpoint and/or writing on the whiteboard, where we had to take down our
own notes. All the professors spoke English, the French professor as well.
Compared to BI we think the level of study was lower. We attended in small classes
(around 20-30 persons), so it felt like going back to high school compared to BI.
Group works were very common. In some periodes we had many presentations in a
short period of time and the workload got higher. The final exam counts 50% of the
final score, the remaning 50% is midterm, presentations, attendance etc.
Course materials
Branding for Luxury Products:
We didn’t have any books in this course, but the professor gave us a link to a PDF-file
with a book that was optional to read. Other than that she used Powerpoints in the
lectures.
International marketing:
We had to buy one book in this course. The professor used Powerpoint in the lectures
and the Powerpoints were based on the book. The tests were based on the book.
International business:
We had to buy one book in this course as well. We used the book throughout the
whole semester. In this course we made our own Powerpoints, which we presented
every week. The teacher wrote notes on the white board and the test was based on
these notes.
Intercultural communcation:
We didn’t have any books in this course. The teacher mostly used Powerpoint during
lectures.
French beginner:
We had a book in this course called “French for beginners”, but the teacher handed us
several photocopies with exercises in class. The tests were based on both the book and
these photocopies. The professor did not use Power Point, but wrote notes on the white
board.
Exams
Most of the exams were based on the lectures, and not so much on the course material
we were given. It was therefore important to have good notes.
The courses were evaluated on these things:
o Written final exam
o Written midterm exam (except the courses Branding for Luxury Products,
International business and Intercultural Communication)
o Group presentations with a written report
o Class attendance (three absences equals an F in the course)
o Overall motivation and attendance during discusions in class.
Library and technology
There was no library at our campus. There was a study room where you could read in
silent, but that was it. There was computers at campus, but we didn’t use these because
all of us brought our personal computers to school every day.
There was WiFi at campus, where you needed a personal username and password
which was given to us on our first day at school. The school has its own intranet. On
this intranet you could find your weekly schedule, which is necessary since the
classrooms often changed from week to week. The professors also uploaded
powerpoints and other course material to the intranet.
Description of courses
Course code & name
Branding for luxury
products
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
International
marketing
Bachelor
International business
Bachelor
Intercultural
communication
Bachelor
French beginner
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
Group
presentations +
written reports
every other
week, final
written exam
1 group
presentation,
written mid
term, final
written exam
Group
presentations
every week,
final written
exam
None
Approved
as
Elective
None
Elective
None
Elective
3 group
presentations +
written reports,
written final
exam
1 group
presentation,
written mid
term, written
final exam
None
Elective
Basic french
Elective
Comments
This course
was more
difficult
than
expected. It
was
expected
that you
had basic
knowledge
of French
beforehand.