Professional Growth Beyond the Classroom

EM Business School and Strasbourg itself have a lot to offer when it comes to professional opportunities and professional development. To begin with, the classes are very different from the classes that I was used to at Ohio State. Whether course content or lecture structure, it took some adjusting to; however, it has been a great way to gain insights into other cultures and their practices. Additionally, the content of the classes and the networking with professors and other business students in the school present great professional opportunities.

The class structure of the courses at EM consists of three-hour long lectures often broken up by a fifteen-minute break halfway through. This differs greatly from the 50–80-minute lectures that I was used to at Ohio State. In the beginning, I struggled to sit through the courses, often feeling like I was back in high school. My days would begin around 9am and end around 4pm, but I found that my schedule changed almost every week which was also different than what I was accustomed to at OSU.

Within the courses on my schedule, the professors often spent the first half of the course discussing lesson content in a lecture format similar to what professors do at home. During the second half of the lectures, we normally work on case studies or within groups on projects. Additionally, I found that many of my professors present us with questions where we must identify a specific problem area or subject of interest and then create a whole project around what we have chosen. This was difficult for me at first because I had trouble understanding what my professors wanted.

Although I found this difficult at first, I soon learned how important questioning and deductive reasoning was to the French culture. Additionally, this helped me better understand case studies and real-world business interactions within France. Interacting with my professors at EM has given me a great deal of professional insight into intercultural management. Many of my professors have held distinguished management positions in international companies and they they had to learn how to effectively manage people from cultures all over the world. Learning from their insights has helped me grow professionally as I have been introduced to a variety of management frameworks and theories that I will be able to apply to my interactions in the working force.

Furthermore, I was able to gain so many valuable insights into French culture and how management is executed through my professors and our group work. In France, there is a very rigid hierarchical structure which creates a large power distance between employees and managers. There is also an aspect of expectations lacking clarity as French managers think their employees should simply know what the manager wants them to do through their implicit communication. I’ve been able to learn how simply understanding even a few differences in culture and how those impact management can have a huge difference on the environment and how an outsider manager may be perceived. I’ve also learned that people genuinely appreciate when you learn about their culture, especially when it comes to business management and negotiations.

Another great professional element that has come from EM is the networking that occurs between other students. The school helps facilitate this by holding events for all of the international students to network and speak about their business interests. In addition, the school holds events for students from certain countries and country blocs to network. I have had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world ranging from Ireland and Spain to the Czech Republic and Venezuela. Being around so many hard-working people from different backgrounds is very motivating and inspiring. I have connected with so many individuals who have similar goals as me and are pursuing similar internships. Making these professional connections all over the world is invaluable as you never know where the future will take you!

Over the course of the semester, I have had an abundance of professional opportunities and have grown immensely. My global mindset has been widened exponentially, and the school has given me so many valuable skills that I know I can use in my future career whether it be managing people from different cultural backgrounds, or recognizing differences that exist across cultures. Although these professional development opportunities may sound a bit different than the ones present at Ohio State such as career fairs or interview prep, I truly believe the skills I have learned and developed during my time at EM are invaluable. With the school consisting of students from all over the world, you truly get the opportunity to learn about every culture in such a unique way, which is hard to replicate.