By Khalid Al-Jalahma, Global MBA student 2012-2013, Qatar
From the moment I crawled through the 30 inch tall, pitch dark tunnel in the military camp Saint-Cyr, finding our way out for an hour and a half, I realized the message ESSEC wanted to send: it will be a challenging and exciting program, but it will be tough, it might be dark sometimes, but there will surely be an exit at the end of the tunnel. So far what can I say…exactly as expected! I was criticized when I decided to halt my career, and at some points I was hesitant, but now, five months after joining the program, it had definitely met my expectations and more. The tools that I am being equipped with, the leadership skills that I am learning, the knowledge I am gaining will definitely boost my career and all those overcome the investment of time, financials, and opportunities.
The program is well structured. In term one, we were looking at corporate strategy, nations’ economics, businesses’ financial performance and evaluations, etc… basically a holistic view of the business environment. Whereas, in term two we are confronted with the core of the business, and the means to reach a business sustainability level. Next, we will soon pull our knowledge together to apply what we learned in theory to real life projects, as we will be traveling to Singapore, South Africa and an emerging country to explore business cases.
Moreover, being surrounded by a variety of more than 10 nationalities from different continents for more than 8 hours every day is an experience in and of itself. Though in my home country of Qatar I have had the chance to interact people from different countries, it feels completely different than having them as peers and students. Here, I get to see the other side of the culture.
So when ESSEC names the program ‘Global’, they mean it! Global students, global professors, global cases, and global projects.
Additionally, living in Paris is quite fascinating. For those who can manage their time, almost every weekend there is something interesting and unusual to be done. Taking a break to refresh after the pressure of academics can always be done here!
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