exchange report skema business school, sophia …
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EXCHANGE REPORT
SKEMA BUSINESS SCHOOL, SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, FRANCE
IP CHING YUE
IS & OM, YEAR 3
SPRING 2018
Monthly Activity Log
January
I arrived Nice on 7th Jan, and I joined other exchange students at our accommodation. After
we settled down, there was an orientation day on the next day. The official started day of
the semester is 9th, which was the day after the orientation day. During the second week of
the semester, I did not have any lessons, so I went to Italy with my friend. Four courses
started in this month, and one of the courses was ended quickly because it only used 3 days
to finish this course.
With other exchange students in Nice, France Cinque Terre, Italy
February
My class schedule was quite tight in this month. I had three final examinations as well as the
presentation and project. In the first two weeks, I spent most of the time on study. Although
this month was the busiest month in SKEMA, the workload was easy to handle compare
with studying in HKUST. After I finished them, three courses were ended. Luckily, there was
a long holiday starting from the late of February. I spent my time on traveling to Barcelona,
Copenhagen, Stockholm, Finland, and Norway. If you plan to go to Northern Europe in
winter, remember to bring some water-proof clothes.
Norway in a Nutshell Husky sled in Inari, Finaland
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March
The last two courses started in this month. The class schedule was weird and I only needed
to go to school on the first and last week. Therefore, there was two weeks for me to travel
again, and I went to Lisbon, London, Newcastle, and Edinburgh. After the trip, I had two final
examinations, and my semester was ended at 30th. Since the date of the final examination
of the last course was unknown until the course started (which was at 29th March), I
planned my afterward trip after the semester ended.
Cais das Colunas, Lisbon, Portugal Tower bridge, London, UK
April
I started traveling across Europe at 8th, and my first station is Amsterdam, Netherlands. If
you want to see the view of windmills, I recommend you to visit Kinderdijk (near Rotterdam)
rather than Zaanse Schans. I visited both windmill village, and Kinderdijk was less
commercialization. Afterward, I went to other countries including (Brugge, Brussels)
Belgium, (Berlin) Germany, and Switzerland. Switzerland is a good place to visit if you enjoy
nature and beautiful view.
Kinderdijk, Netherlands Matterhorn, Switzerland
May
I went to Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, and (Munich) Germany. Then I back Hong Kong at
mid-May.
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General Exchange Information
Visa Procedure
You should apply the long stay visa application at least one month in advance. Two
appointments should be made, an academic interview for Campus France and submit the
documents to the consulate. You just need to answer some simple questions during the
interview, and then submit the required documents, which can be found in the website. It
took 2 weeks and 455hkd to process my application.
Orientation Activities
There was an orientation day before the semester started. On this day, you can know more
about SKEMA, courses registration, and some essential information during studying in
France. There was also a campus tour to make yourself familiar with the school. I met other
exchange students and the academic counsellor, as well as the student clubs in SKEMA.
International Services & Activities
SKEMA does not have any buddy program for exchange students. However, a student
association, Interculture, will hold some activities for exchange students. It will post the
events on facebook page regularly, including Valentine’s day party, pub night and even trips
to Venice and Paris. Although I did not join any activities, I thought that this was a good
chance to know more friends and other cultures.
Accommodations
SKEMA provided a platform for students to find the accommodations, but the prices were
quite expensive, so I did not use that website. Instead, I rent an apartment from Airbnb with
other three UST exchange students. Antibes is a good town to live, where were just 25
minutes away from campus, and many SKEMA students are living there.
Antibes, France
Courses Registration
The course registration process is very different from UST. I received the course catalogue
and timetable a few weeks before the semester was started. And then, I needed to choose
maximum 10 courses and filled in the online form. Be careful when choosing the courses, it
is easy to have time clash with other classes because most of them are not in a regular
schedule. Luckily, SKEMA allows students to absence 2 classes. Finally, I met the academic
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counsellor on the orientation day, and submitted the final course list. You can make any
changes during the add-drop period.
Teaching & Assessment Methods
The class size of SKEMA is relatively smaller than UST, and normally take 3 hours for one
class with 15 minutes tea break. Having two classes in the same day is quite tired, but it is
good if you want to enjoy more day-off. Assessment methods are same as UST, which
include assignments, projects, quizzes, presentation, and final examinations. However,
attendances are required in all courses. The teaching method is also lecture, but comparing
with UST, students are encouraged to speak and discuss during lessons.
I have taken 6 courses in SKEMA, total 16 credits.
Big Data and Analytics (5 credits)
At the end of the course, you will be able to understand the value of Big Data and Analytics
for any public and private companies, specifically around the following topics: digital
marketing - customer analytics, risk and fraud management and operational efficiency. The
evaluation format is 40% final examination (MC and one short question), 30% project
(report and 10 minutes presentation), 20% assignment, and 10% attendance.
Design to Cost (2 credits)
Design-To-Cost is an important lever for enhancing the competitiveness of products and
services: it is about optimizing the ratio of incurred costs and delivered value, not about
reckless cost cutting. In practice, it is frequently observed that cost reduction and value
increase can go together and are not opponents. This hands-on course teaches students
how to put Design-To-Cost in practice. The evaluation format is 100% final examination (MC
and short questions, which is very easy).
Lean Management (2 credits)
Students will understand the history of lean management and its main principles as one of
the proven methodologies that are driving world-class supply chains with a specific focus on
how they can be applied across the entire supply chain domain, not just manufacturing. This
course is constructed based upon the basics of lean thinking, examining real case studies of
companies utilizing lean, and also by applied examples and in-class group exercises. Applied
exercises will transfer key practical skills such as Kaizen improvement techniques and
application of the lean techniques for driving supply chain efficiencies including the ability to
visualize the problem areas by value stream mapping. The evaluation format is 100% final
examination (MC and short questions).
Basic of Revenue Management (2 credits)
The main objective of this course is to understand the marketing concepts and the
organizational impacts of yield management in the hospitality and travel sectors with a
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special focus on hotels, airlines, trains and ferries. The content is included revenue
management concepts, revenue management in the tourism industry, distribution channels,
revenue management structure and culture, factor affecting revenue channels, and
productiveness. For exchange students, the evaluation format is two quizzes, including MC
and short questions.
Performance Improvement (2 credits)
This course focuses on IT organisation consulting: How to assist organisation in their
transformation. The course will be structured with 4 classes to give you an understanding of
the main domains linked to the transformation of your organization and your IT to reach
better performance. The evaluation format is 100% final examination (all MC, which is very
easy).
Negotiation Skills (3 credits)
The course will provide students with practical and cognitive techniques for an efficient
management of interpersonal relationships and negotiation situations. The evaluation
format is 20% attendance, 30% participation, and 50% final examination.
Sports & Recreation Facilities
I did not use any sports and recreation facilities in SKEMA. You can run next to the sea if you
want to do some exercise.
Finance and Banking
I did not open a bank account in France because it was quite annoying and took a long time
to process. If you do not bring enough money to Europe, you can take money from ATMs
which have Union Pay service. Remember to open the oversea service for your ATM card
before departure.
Health and Safety
There is a social security for students who are studying in France. You need to pay for it in
order to finish the registration. Also, an extra travel insurance is recommended to buy if you
want to travel around during exchange. Antibes or Nice is a safety city comparer with Paris,
but there is some homeless, so it is better not to stay in the street at night.
Food
There are snack shop and canteen in SKEMA, but I only tried once in the orientation day. I
usually prepared my own lunch box to school. Eating out is quite pricey, but it is worthy to
try some dessert in France.
Transportation
You can take Line 1 or 100 from Antibes to SKEMA. I paid 5 euros for a Line 100 bus pass,
that allowed me to take Line 100 for free within a year. This pass can be made in the bus
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office. If you want to travel to Nice or Cannes, or go to the airport, you can take Line 200. It
costs 1.5 euros per trip, and you can buy the ticket on board. Remember to check the
schedule of the bus, especially at night or during lunch time. Moovit is a useful app to check
the bus route in France.
Climate
The weather of Southern France is nice and warmer compared to other countries in Europe.
The lowest temperature in January is around 3 degree Celsius. Starting from end of March,
temperature will go up to 14-16 degree Celsius, which is very comfortable. It seldom rains
and there is always sunny with blue sky.
Communication
In the first month, I ordered the SIM card from Lycamobile on the website and it was mailed
to me within one week. The plan was cheap (around 72hkd), and included 10GB data in
France and 4GB in other European countries. For the other months, I used the SIM card
which was bought in Hong Kong before I came to France.
Most of the locals do not speak in English. I did not learn any French, but it was fine for me
since the people living here was nice. It is recommended to download the translation app
(e.g. Google translate) before arrival, it will be very useful when living in France or traveling
in other countries.
Cautionary Measure
Do not plan your trip too early. SKEMA will change the class schedule even the course is
started.
Spending
Items HKD
Air tickets 6200
Accommodation (around 3.5 months) 12000
Visa 455
Insurance 3000
Food 1000
Travel (19 countries) 50000
Others 1200
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Items to Bring
✓ Passport
✓ Laptop
✓ Cash
✓ Medicine
✓ Backpack
✓ Personal care stuff
✓ Adaptor
✓ Credit card and ATM card
✓ Warm clothes
✓ Passport-sized photos
Useful Links and Contacts
Campus France Hong Kong
http://www.hongkong.campusfrance.org/en/
VISA Application
http://www.consulfrance-hongkong.org/Visa-Application
SKEMA Business School
http://www.skema.edu/
SKEMA Student Portal
https://students.skema.edu/
If more information is needed, get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by emailing at
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