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Student Report of Sciences Po Exchange Program

Time : 2017-03-29
Reported by Ning Jiaxing
 
           It is when the airplane was slowly taxiing down the runway and my passport was stamped on the red mark that I suddenly realized that I was no longer in France. With all those people and places became memories, I understand that what I experienced in the past four months would remain so unbelievable and unforgettable. The brand new ways of education, thinking and culture that I had contact with are bound to alter my course of life in the future in an insensible way. I am really gratitude for such an amazing experience offered by Shantou University.

           As an extraordinary school that has nourished so many French presidents, there is no doubt that Sciences Po has solid strength in education of politics.  Even though there were not so many business courses in Reims campus, we were offered another option of choosing courses that were not limited with the field of business, but related to sociology, international relations, laws, etc.  

            Most of the courses are seminars in Sciences Po, where students were taking up plenty of time in class to discuss about the topic of the week after the brief introduction from the professor. As for the detailed information like theories and cases, students were assigned quite a pile of readings every week so that they could make more contributions in class discussion. Even though professors in STU are also paying lots of attention on class discussion, it is under such an international atmosphere as in Sciences Po that makes it likely to inspire more ideas from different cultural backgrounds. There are more than half of the students from outside France, which generates a big melting pot of a different race. After the usually intense debates in class, we were gaining more in thinking from a different perspective.

             Take the course Business of Wine, Champagne and luxury that was chosen as an elective course by us, three exchange students from STU as example. In the first class the professor encouraged us to form groups with students from different culture to finish the final project. So what’s the final project? To create a Champagne company in 2030, design three marketing strategies and write a business plan for it. It is so challenging yet interesting, with the fact that we needed to imagine what the world and business environment would be like after a decade. In a group, a girl from France might come up with something romantic, while a Germany boy would think in a logical way that whether a strategy was feasible.  Cooperating with these guys certainly brought many inspirations for us to finish this task, and after all of these, we were growing more global-minded.

             It is for sure that we were not studying every minute on such a land with glorious scenery. After the mid-term exam, we enjoyed a nine-day fall break. During this period, we stepped on Prague, Vienna, Paris and other stunning cities, experiencing the beauty of European culture. While we were travelling and arriving another country, we were also appealed by what we saw and listened, which drew us thinking about what we were learning. When listening to the traditional orchestra concert in Vienna, we were so amazed by the history and artistry of the Austrian music industry. What about the culture industry in China? What’s the future for Chinese traditional culture in the context of digital world? We were so eager to discover the mystery of those history museum that successfully be both interactive and informing, and saw what we could possibly apply in China. Learning from experience is a far more impressive way than boring handouts and textbooks.

            Last but not least, we are so grateful for this valuable opportunity of studying abroad, and all of those lovely people that have helped and supported us through this far-away journey.
             
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