By Suraj K. Gupta
A semester abroad can be one of the most incredible, eye-opening experiences of your university career. It provides a once in a life time opportunity to live in a completely new environment, immerse yourself in a new culture, and study at some of the world’s most renowned business schools. It often forces one to leap out of their comfort zone, and under these circumstances one learns a great deal about themselves that would not otherwise be possible. It also proves to be an incredible opportunity to travel the world!
I myself attended HEC Paris, Europe’s top business school. Boasting alumni spanning from French Presidents and CEOs to directors of the UN and WTO, HEC is an incredible university that gave me some insight into European business. The courses in general seemed extremely in tune with current events and allowed students to keep up to date and dynamically analyze the global business environment. However, going into my exchange semester, I found most people tell me how European courses are a joke compared to the rigours of most North American programs.
Surprisingly, HEC offered a wider range of courses than at my home university, including studies on the strategic management of innovation, finance in emerging countries, and how to cope with a changing European Union. These courses also seemed to provide a more direct and causal connection between the classroom and the future workplace.
Personally, I found that North American education is difficult due to the workload amount, usually consisting of weekly assignments as well as final projects and midterms. European programs are a great deal more end-heavy, with an entire semester coming down to one final exam or project. These projects are often very unguided, forcing the student to perform his/her own research and find his/her own resources to solve the given problem. This provides a unique opportunity to tackle large projects in a more similar fashion to how they would come up on the job.
Outside of the classroom, an exchange semester provides for incredible networking and travel opportunities. Within my first few hours, I had met some of the world’s brightest budding minds spanning six different continents, and now my network has truly become global.
Also, I was provided with a unique opportunity to see a great deal of Europe while still being in school, whereas normally this amount of travelling would need to be done in one long and tiring stretch. Over my four month semester, I visited seventeen cities spanning ten countries and three continents, spanning from the far reaches of North Africa to the more secluded Eastern Europe. I was able to visit places and immerse myself in cultures many people can only dream of, while also sharpening multiple language skills.
I would wholeheartedly recommend an exchange semester to any student interested. No matter where you go, you will broaden your horizons, become more independent, meet some great people and learn a new perspective both in the classroom and out.
Suraj K. Gupta is a student at York University’s Schulich School of Business who just finished a semester as an exchange student at HEC Paris. He is also president of the York Investment Club (YIC).
