Why studying abroad has several benefits

For Bhanavi Sharma pursuing BSc in Management from ESCP is exciting as the institute has campuses in Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin, and Turin. Students have the liberty to pick any three countries and gain new business insights Studying abroad has several benefits. Firstly, an international education gives you the opportunity to experience life in another country and learn about its culture. Secondly, it broadens your horizon about the world, and increases your personal development. You learn to be independent, take upon responsibilities, and be self-reliant. You will feel the change in yourself just after a few months of living alone!Indian education system, unfortunately, lacks in the variety and quality of courses provided at the undergraduation level. On the other hand, universities in the US, UK, and Europe offer degree courses from something as unusual as Bakery Science to Bagpiping. The universities also encourage students to get practical experience by offering work and research opportunities.Having lived most of my life in Mumbai and Delhi, and eventually moving to Paris as a student of grade VI, I always wanted to study abroad. I learnt about ESCP Europe Business School through my father's French colleagues who worked with him, while we lived in Paris.With several European universities offering courses in English, this can be the best opportunity. These universities host students from all over the world which makes them extremely diverse. The tuition fee is low compared to other countries such as the US and Canada. They also offer students the opportunity to conduct research in their field of interest.COURSE STRUCTUREI am studying Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Management at ESCP Europe Business School. This course aims at providing students the unique experience of learning intercultural management by studying in three different countries over three years. ESCP has campuses in Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin, and Turin. The course combines management, liberal arts, and language courses to provide students a solid and well-rounded foundation for a career in business.ESCP requires students to learn two additional languages as part of the course to gain some level of proficiency in them by the end of the third year. Students are also encouraged to apply concepts learned in class in real-life situations by requiring them to complete a minimum of 24 weeks of internships or social impact projects during the programme.The class sizes are extremely small, which ensure that the students get to interact with the professors individually. My batch consists of only 300 students. Being a business school, we are expected to participate in group work. We have a group project for almost all of our courses and they account for a large percentage of our final grade. Our groups consist of 5-6 members from different nationalities so that we learn to work in a multicultural environment and adapt ourselves to each other's working style.In addition to normal group projects we also have to do one collective project each in our first and second year. In the first year, we were divided into groups of five and had to design a project with a social message. My group designed a website from scratch to help the graduates in the London campus. Our website had timetables, homework assignments, lecture notes etc. Other projects included: raising money for charity, organising business conferences for students of ESCP etc. This year, each group has been assigned a start-up in the campus city and we are working for them.JOB POSSIBILITIESAfter graduation there are endless possibilities available for management students. Europe has some of the best business schools which offer several courses like MBA, Executive MBA, and Master's in management.However, when it comes to working in Europe, UK being an exception, language is a barrier. Majority of the companies require you to speak the local language in addition to English to consider you for employment. There are very few multinational companies which may have positions that only require you to speak English, however these roles are quite rare and difficult to find.After graduation, I wish to pursue an MBA from either the UK or the US after I graduate from ESCP. After studying in London for my first year at ESCP, I fell in love with the country and the British culture. I would like to apply to London Business School and Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. The US, unquestionably, has the best business schools in the world such as Harvard Business School and Wharton Business School. It would be an honour to be accepted by them.Most of the campuses where I studied were extremely accommodating of international students. The locals try their best to help and communicate in English. As I have been learning Italian and German since my first year at ESCP, I have enough proficiency in the languages to get basic day-to-day tasks done.The cultural differences are not difficult to cope with in any of the cities as all of them are global cities. I believe that we should use the opportunity to experience living in a different culture to our advantage. We should incorporate the good parts of it into our lifestyle for our self-development. Additionally, the ESCP admissions offices in all the six campuses are an immense support for students. They help us with everything from finding accommodation to providing information about English-speaking doctors to opening bank accounts.ESCP allows you to choose which cities you want to study in every year. For the first year you have the option of studying in Paris or London, in the second year you can choose from Paris, Madrid and Turin, and for the final year you have an option between Paris and Berlin. We can choose Paris, the main ESCP campus, only once.For the second year, Paris and Madrid require you to have a B1 proficiency in the country's local language and for the third year, you need to speak French to finish your degree in Paris. This requirement is because some courses are taught in the country's local languages. The only all-English tracks are London-Turin-Berlin and Paris-Turin-Berlin.I am currently studying in Turin for my second year. Turin is small city that is surrounded by the Alps. Turin fosters a closeknit community feeling within ESCP and in the city due to its small size.Since ESCP does not provide accommodation, everyone is responsible to find themselves an apartment. Students share apartments with friends, rent a studio for themselves or live in student accommodation. During your time as an ESCP student you will learn essential skills like opening a bank account, paying the bills, cooking for yourself, and commuting around the city while managing college work and a social life.