Report of Student Exchange with Kedge Business School, Marseille, France in 2013 from
Dona Niethammer, Student ID 1164011
This report is composed by Dona Niethammer, who spent one year at Kedge as an exchange
student, studying for the qualification of IMM, International Master in Management.
Organisation
My studies in Marseille commenced in early January, 2013 with a three day orientation. In
these days all the formalities, such as registration, access to the internet, visa and health
insurance requirements, familiarisation with the school surroundings were taken care of. I
was impressed with the level of English spoken by all the people involved with this process,
which seemed to be conducted smoothly. In addition, the school organised a half-day bus
tour through Marseille, which was great to get your bearings.
In the first days I dealt mostly with Mme Veronique Spanu from the Office of International
Partnerships. She was always friendly and approachable, whenever I had a query. When my
enrolment for the Master level was confirmed, I dealt predominantly with Mme Maria
Moreno, again, an extremely helpful and competent woman. She was very supportive
regarding my paper selection, trying to accommodate my wishes whenever it was possible. It
was a real pleasure dealing with her.
Accommodation
Before my arrival in France, representatives of Kedge had made contact with me in regards to
accommodation. As I did not want to stay in a student hall, they helped me to establish
contact with a local resident, where I was able to rent a room privately. Even though Kedge
students provide a pick-up service to accompany arriving students to their accommodation –
great way to make contacts right from the beginning! - , I accepted the offer of my landlord to
come and collect me from the train station Gare St. Charles.
All new students are given the opportunity to join various student associations, which allows
to make contacts not only with the French, but also other international students. During the
semester they organised many parties and trips, e.g. a weekend in Barcelona. I think every
student can make new friends fairly quickly.
Marseille
In my opinion Marseille is a wonderful city, offering a variety of things to do and to see. .
Due to the high percentage of Muslims living in the South of France, the street life is
colourful and vibrant. Not only is it close to the Spanish and Italian border, but also only a
short plane trip away from Northern Africa. And the French TGV connects Marseille fast and
fairly inexpensive - if booked in advance - with all major cities in France and the South of
Germany.
Studies, Courses, and Professors
First of all, not to speak French is not an obstacle as all classes are taught in English.
However, as English is not the mother tongue for most students, the mastery of the language
and the intensity of accents varies. I guess with English being a universal language one has to
expect that when dealing on an international platform.
Some of my papers I could choose, others where mandatory. All papers followed the same
basic structure. The grades were composed by individual contributions in class, lots of team
work with a PPT group presentation at the end of the course, and usually a three-hour exam.
The class members came from all parts of the world, with a strong emphasis on India and
China. For the studies of the IMM, working in international teams was an integral part of the
programme. I think that this was actually one of the strongest learning curves for me. In
class we talked about stereotypes and the consequences when lacking awareness, but it was in
during team meetings where students had the opportunity to put the theory into practice and
make it work. Team work made up a great percentage of an individual’s mark, and thus is
was important to overcome whatever difficulties arose, as the team was graded as an entity.
A very challenging process indeed, as cultural differences do matter.
In the beginning the professors were a bit confused with my presence in class, as the concept
of adult students is non-existent in France. However, once they knew that I was not there to
appraise their teaching skills, they were most approachable and helpful in many ways. In
regards to their language skills I was very impressed, as some of them spoke five languages
fluently! Yes, some of them had an accent, but I have experienced worse.
Promotion of New Zealand
During my stay I was asked to write a report about New Zealand for a student association at
Kedge, which was well received amongst the students. I was also invited to visit a primary
school in Marseille and talk to three classes about my country. I prepared a PPT presentation
and the teachers and pupils made me very welcome. Thanks to the teachers being fluent in
English and a teacher aid from Ireland I spent a wonderful half-day with the children.
I had the opportunity to look at international management from many different business
aspects, such as marketing, law, importance and influence of cultural differences as well as
international politics. As teams we wrote business reports for countries, such as Myanmar
and doing business with junta regimes, Ethiopia as a business opportunity, viability of
exporting tea from California to India, Role of WTO for international trade and issues it dealt
with, such as the shrimp dispute between India and USA, and the lemon dispute between
Argentina and USA.
Overall, it was a great experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and my studies in
Marseille, and extend my sincere thanks to everybody at Waikato involved in making it
happen.
Thank you very much!
Kind Regards
Dona Niethammer