'Before coming to ESCP Europe Business School, I graduated with a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ghent. I have always been interested in the medical world, and therefore continued with a Master in Biomedical Engineering. I graduated in 2009 and decided to continue studying before going into work.
Despite my technical engineering education, I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to go for a technical job. I decided that continuing studying and taking a more business-oriented educational path would be of value to my future career. It would also give me an advantage over other graduating students while the job market was poor.
Two university friends enrolled in the MEB a year before I did and were very enthusiastic about it. They were especially lyrical about the network of friends and future colleagues built up around Europe.
One of the main reasons I chose ESCP Europe was the possibility of pursuing a one-year Masters in two different countries; aside from the business education, I wanted to improve my foreign languages. Other programmes take more than a year, and other schools mostly concentrate on one country/language. The combination of both in a short time and the multicultural identity of the School in general was what attracted me the most.
What strikes me the most is that there is almost no time to pause and reflect. The study and company projects have to be carried out simultaneously, with classes carrying on and exams popping up. Days can become very long if you are not good at managing your time.
A lot of nationalities come together, the majority of which are French, German and Italian. However, there’s no real grouping of nationalities, which is good, and as such friendship groups have a diverse content for the most part. I’ve learned that there are some important differences in how different cultures work (timing, communication etc).
I worked for The Grange Hotels group on a project which aimed to launch a new guest amenity product line. The project was successfully completed. Aside from myself, the team consisted of French, Hong Kong Chinese, Italian and German students.
I’ve mostly learnt how to deal with organising projects of this size and now consider myself result-oriented and resourceful. I learnt how to think more generally; to clarify first the structure (objectives, deliverables, etc.). I also learnt how different personalities need different approaches with regards to communication.
I am very interested in the medical and biomedical world. I hope to find an internship which combines the education from the MEB with my previous biomedical and engineering education. I’m also interested in renewable energy and currently exploring the possibilities. I don’t have a definite plan yet, but hope choosing to study with ESCP Europe will prove valuable in the long run.
It has been an interesting experience until now and certainly worth undertaking. I would recommend challenging yourself by not only following the courses in the language you know the best, but also in a second language. Doing so will greatly improve your language skills.'
For more information about the MEB, visit ESCP Europe's profile on this site or go to the ESCP Europe website.
In my view...
