EXCHANGE REPORT SKEMA BUSINESS SCHOOL, FRANCE SPRING 2018

LIU SIN TUNG, FABIA

2

TABLE OF CONTENT

Page

Monthly Activity Log 3

General Exchange Information 6

Items to Bring 10

Useful Links and Contacts 11

3

MONTHLY CATALOG

January 2018

The long awaited exchange began in January 2018. I arrived Juan-les-pins a few days before orientation in order to settle down. The beautiful scenery in my neighborhood had won my heart at the first sight. It was really exciting to spend a semester in a new environment. The Sophia Antipolis campus of SKEMA Business School was a little bit smaller than I expected, but it is fairly enough to satisfy the needs of students. The first month of school seems to be more relaxing, so I was able wander around the neighborhood during my spare time and joined the house parties of local students. Besides, I travelled to Paris with my roommates.

February 2018

After a month of adapting to the environment, school work started to get heavier. For the first half of February, I devoted more time on revision for quizzes and preparation of group projects. Whenever I felt tired, I would have a little walk along the seaside or bring my lunchbox to the pier. There is a saying of “Let the ocean worries about being blue”. I found it really calming and peaceful to stay by the sea. After a short period of being nerdy, the mid-term break had come. My friend came visit me from Hong Kong and we travelled to Spain for 10 days. The architecture, food and sangria of Spain were really enjoyable.

4

March 2018

March probably was the busiest month of my exchange journey. Some of my courses ended in March, which also meant that there were projects presentation and finals in this month. I spent quite a lot of time preparing the exams and presentation with my groupmates. Besides, I made friends with some mainland students and discovered the Chinese supermarket in Antibes. This definitely cured my Chinese food craving. After the completion of some courses, I rewarded myself a 5-day trip to Milano. As there was no direct flight from Nice to Milano, I took 6 hours of bus there. This also marked my first time of staying in hostel.

April 2018

The remaining courses were completed in the beginning of April. My roommates and me checked out our Airbnb and resumed my travelling. In April, I visited Berlin, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Staying in hostel is not only a cheaper option, but a chance for me to meet people from all around the world and listen to their stories.

5

May 2018

As May is the strike season of France, some schedule of flight, train and bus were cancelled. Unfortunately, my flight from Nice to Paris was canceled. I had to stay in my friend’s place for an extra night. I waited for my family in Paris, and then we travelled to London by Eurostar. Luckily, the train was not canceled this time. We had a great time there before heading back to Hong Kong.

6

GENERAL INFORMATION

Visa Procedures

HKUST and SKEMA Business school would provide the documentary support for visa procedures. Applying for a French student visa is a two-step procedure. You are required to make an appointment for academic interview at the Campus France office first. Then, submit the visa application at the visa section. For the details of visa application and required documents, please refer to the website of Campus France. The whole application might take 1 month, please do apply the visa once you obtain the admission letter from the exchange institution.

Orientation Activities

As SKEMA Business School has campuses in France, China, USA and Brazil, their students are allowed to switch campuses. SKEMA provides a great cultural diversity. SKEMA organizes Orientation Day to welcome exchange students and helps familiarize with the campus. Besides, students will confirm their final course list on orientation day.

International Services & Activities

SKEMA Business School international services and several cultural activities for exchange students to participate in. Students can seek help from the International Office once they encounter any difficulties. Activities are generally organized by students groups, which some are sponsored by the school, so exchange students can enjoy at a lower cost.

Accomodations

Due to the limited places in dorms, SKEMA provides housing information in the welcoming package in order to help exchange students finding accomodations. By paying a little bit more to join the housing scheme, SKEMA will then help students to switch places until they find their ideal places. Most exchange students live in Juan-les-pins and Antibes, which are more convenient to get to the institution.

7

Course Registration

SKEMA pre-registers students in their courses before arrival. Some courses might require pre-approval before registering, details can be found in the course catalog. On the orientation day, SKEMA’s student office will meet exchange students individually to confirm the registered course list.

Teaching & Assessment Methods

Teachers at SKEMA Business School are well-experienced and come from various international backgrounds. For instance, the professor of my Strategy in Digital Economy is from MIT whereas teachers of my Big Data and Analytics are from IBM. Basically, students are assessed by homework, group projects, class performance, quizzes and exams.

Sports & Recreation Facilities

SKEMA only has one gym room in the campus, which is relatively small in scale. However, if you would like to participate in different sports, you might join the corresponding sports association. For instance, SKEMA has a yachting club, which students can experience yachting in Southern France.

Finance and Banking

The expenses will depend on how much a student travels during exchange. For the whole semester, I spent approximately HKD60000. The main currency used in France is Euros. I do not recommend a bank account if the duration of exchange is relatively short. You can easily take money from ATMs which have the logo of Union Pay. However, some banks might charge you transaction fees every time you take money. Besides, it is very convenient to pay by credit card in Europe, even vending machines accept credit card payments. If you would like to open a bank account, the committee of “Interculture” would be more than willing to help.

Social Clubs and Networking Opportunities

There is a student association called “Interculture”, which is responsible to take care and organize events for exchange students. For instance, the committee facilitate exchange students to open bank account, hold happy hour gathering every Thursday, as well as organize visiting tour to Paris and Venice. Therefore, there are plenty of opportunities to mingle with local students.

8

Health and Safety

SKEMA Business School does not have health and dental clinics located on-campus. Students can find information of doctors that can speak English in the Welcoming Pack given by SKEMA on Orientation Day. In general, the two neighborhood that most exchange students live in are fairly safe. Yet, students should always keep an eye on their personal belongings and stay home at night.

Food

There are one cafeteria and one canteen on the campus. The cafeteria is located in the academic building whereas the canteen is not. SKEMA provides microwave ovens for students to reheat their lunch. Therefore, I mostly prepared my own lunch.

Transportation

The main transportations in Nice are bus and train. To get around SKEMA Business School, you can take either bus 1 or bus 100. Off campus, train would be a faster option to get to Nice or Cannes. It is important to notice that the strike season of France is in April to June, the schedule of buses and trains might be changed.

Climate

Southern France is one of the most popular travelling destinations in summer, as you can enjoy sunbathing at the beach with sea breezes. However, it is quite cold and dry in winter. Sometimes, it might even rain for an entire week. Temperature could drop to 0oc. Students are recommended to bring hat, gloves, big coat and long socks with them.

Communication

Classes of SKEMA are conducted in English. It is fairly easy to communicate by using emails at the computer in the campus labs. Students are recommended to learn how to greet and say thank you in French as the locals in the neighborhood might not understand English. Installing some French-English translation apps in your mobile might help.

9

Cautionary Measures

As it always rain between January and February, it is a good idea to keep an umbrella in your bag and check weather forecast every day. The temperature shown in weather app might not be exactly the same as how it feels like. You should wear enough clothes to keep yourself warm. Besides, during April to June is the strike season of France, schedule of transportation might change, be aware to keep checking of the traffic status.

Other Notes

1. If you plan to purchase air tickets through the students special offer of Cathay Pacific, please be aware that there is no direct flight operated by Cathay to Nice. Thus, you have to buy air ticket from other airline for going to Nice from Paris.

2. The holder of French student visa can enjoy free entry to some museums, including musée du Louvre.

10

ITEMS TO BRING

Coat and jacket Personal care kit

Causal Wear Stationery

Formal Wear Chargers

Towel Notebooks

Camera Hair dryer

Passport Gloves and scarf (for winter)

ID Luggage lock

Cash and credit card Flip Flop

Medicine Sunglasses

First-aid kit Carry-on suitcase

Umbrella Travel-sized shower kit

11

USEFUL LINKS AND CONTACTS

1. French Visa Application (Campus France) http://www.hongkong.campusfrance.org/en/page/study-long-stay-more-3-months

2. Course Catalog http://www.skema.edu/Documents/International/course-catalogue-sophia-spring.pdf

3. SKEMA University Exchange Program Website (Sophia Campus) http://www.skema.edu/campus/sophia-campus

4. Transportation/ Map information http://www.envibus.fr/ https://www.trainline.eu/stations/nice-ville

5. Emergency Contact http://www.bestofniceblog.com/practical-information/emergencies/

If more information is needed, get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by emailing at bmugexch@ust.hk.

-END-