Study in France

Ahmet Turgil, MSc Finance student 2009/10

Why did you choose to study in Rouen?

I was planning to improve my French and English levels in a completely English program of the French business schools. Rouen Business School had a reputation that was acknowledged not only by French business world but also by European business world. Ft.com rankings were an important reference point. I was expecting to study and live in a multicultural environment with the classmates from different cultures.  The MGM program was especially corresponding to my personal needs of study in a multicultural environment. Furthermore, I have discovered that Rouen would be a very conform city for a student.

What do you like about this town?

Life for a student is much a lot easier than the student life in a big city, less expensive, life without traffic jam. I can walk to my school in ten 10 minutes from my room. As it is a small city, everyone stays in touch in the evening or in the weekends. You can feel that you are living in a real global village where you can easily contact all your friends. In a very short period of time, you feel a part of this global village where the students speak more lots of different languages and also where they have lots of time for cultural exchange. Moreover, whenever you wish to participate in a much bigger city life, you can go in one hour to Paris. What I like about this global town is the fact that it creates space and time for all the university students to live together. This global town is like a big campus.

What are your hobbies in Rouen? What do you like to do in your spare time?

During the week, we try to create time with friends to go to downtown whenever we have free time. There are beautiful places for socializing, cinemas, cafés, restaurants, pubs where living is relatively less expensive than those in big cities. In our campus, we have also a small forest where we can have different occasions to do sport. We used to socialize in a place or in a room with the friends from the university. As we live in a small city, we do not lose time in the roads and we can watch films, listen to the music, and make parties together in a room or in a house. On the other hand, if you want to do on your own, you can stay in your room or you can go downtown and choose a social activity among different options that the city offers.

What contact do you have with the other students (socializing, cooking together, working together …)

From the beginning (the integration weekend and before it), we had lots of opportunities for socializing and to know each other. As we are part of different cultures, it would take time to understand each other.  During the group works within and outside the class, we learned lots of different things about different point of views to the life from each other. It was also a good introduction for each of us to the different cultures before our new business experiences. Personally, I have discovered the different specialties of Chinese, Colombian, German, French kitchen and I have tried to introduce to my friends some specialties from Turkish kitchen (even though I am not a good cooker). As we live in a global and small campus, we had lots of opportunities to make house parties or to go together outside.

Stefania Saaghy, MS Développement International des Entreprises 2009/10

You had the opportunity to visit the campus before coming to study here, what were your first impressions?

I clearly remember entering the hall of the main building which was really lively: full of students chatting, associations promoting, some music going on – there was a really great ambiance!

I was also impressed by the huge park the campus is situated on, which gives place to various sport activities too.

How has coming to study in Rouen changed your life? (for example if you had studied at home you may not have had the same opportunities/ more chance to speak French/ opportunity to see if you want to work in France..)

Thanks to my studies in Rouen I have been able to make lots of new friends from all over the world and as a result of studying in such a multicultural environment, I have been able to further develop my personal and cultural skills and learn to work efficiently with people from all sorts of origins.

In addition I have discovered a new country and learned a new foreign language, thanks to this, I have much many more opportunities to help me build a successful career.

What do you like about studying in France?

I am very happy with my choice not only because of the good reputation of the Rouen Business School and its programmes, but also because of the international society that I have become a part of in France. It is a charming country with a rich history, amazing architecture and very good food!

Have you done much travelling since you got here?

Yes, I visited the “Chateau de Chambord”, a famous castle at the Loire valley and participated in a trip to Saint-Malo, organized by the school. In addition I have discovered Paris also and we are planning with classmates to explore Normandy during the spring semester, as there are various lovely places to see like Honfleur or Deauville.