Undergraduate
Student Experience
Hello! My name is Dias Shakubay and I am an International undergraduate student from Kazakhstan. I was nominated to go to Audencia Business School in France and it was a pretty interesting experience to discover French culture, cuisine, learn French and Spanish, travel around and study in one of the top business schools of France.
Starting with the class registration it was a pretty simple and straightforward process to do. The registration starts a month before the official semester begins, and the school gives a wide range of classes regarding student’s preferences.
Most of French schools do not offer on-campus dormitories but there are a lot of different options to choose. Students may live in private/shared residents, apartment studios or together with a host family. The rent would depend on the location and the size, and average price would be around 400-450 euros per month. There are some agencies that work with Audencia Business School in case there is a problem to find an accommodation. The school also offers a list of host families who provide their rooms for International students. I personally wanted to learn French as quickly as possible, therefore chose a French host family to be able to talk to and experience the culture.
Food and groceries: There is a school cafeteria that offers different kinds of meals nearby Audencia Business School. Students should purchase a meal plan or a card that gives an access to eat inside the venue. The cafeteria does not accept cash, everything should be purchased using the cafeteria card.
Eating out could be a bit pricy depending on where and what to eat. There are a lot of restaurants starting with 15-20 euros per person and a bunch of bakeries, burger and kebab places which offer food for 5-7 euros. There is also an indoor cafeteria that offers some sandwiches and snacks in the business schools.
Best thing to do would be buying groceries in the supermarket. All of them have daily sales and discounts for the customers providing a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits. It would be relatively easier and economical to buy all the food for the week in the supermarket. Usually there are butcheries nearby big shopping areas with fresh meat. I would recommend buying meat there.
France is known for its amazing pastry and tasty bakeries. Do not forget to try out all of the offerings starting from a baguette and ending with jams. Baguettes are usually starts from 1 euro and French are crazy about them. Once I saw a guy, buying 25 baguettes at once.
IC Team. A community that is somehow similar to KUBS buddy program that helps and supports international students. At the beginning of the semester they have orientations and all the sessions providing essential tips and instructions ( for instance where to buy SIM cards, transportation, accommodation, life-hacks etc). During the semester they have field-trips, different daily or weekly activities. All of the people are friendly and very outgoing. Do join the IC team and you would have a chance for a more interesting semester abroad!
Audencia Business School has 10-15 different student clubs and all of the exchange students are welcome to join. Since I like music and outdoor activities, I was a member of a jazz club and I also joined soccer community and participated in the Audencia World Cup. No one would ever know or discover your abilities, unless you try out everything yourself first. Do not hesitate , do not worry and try to be an active member in the group.
Unfortunately, the school does not provide any scholarship to exchange students. Since KUBS offers a scholarship, there is nothing to worry about. Do not forget to check all the available scholarships at the KUBS office.
Before departure, it would be a good thing to bring your boots if you are interested in traveling around Europe, especially in mountain areas. A good quality tumbler is also a must have item in Europe throughout the year. I would also suggest not to bring a lot of clothes. There are a lot of places to buy if necessary. Even though there are some shops that sell Asian food, if you a true foodie that will not be able to live without a cup of ramen, it might be also a good thing to bring a package of신라면 for the first two-three weeks.
Visa and insurance.
Since I am a foreigner in Korea it took me relatively a longer to get my French visa. I know how sometimes it could be stressful with all of the bureaucracy and documents. The process consists of applying for the visa online in Campus France. It might take longer depending on the available spots for the interview in the embassy. After the application is submitted, Campus France would give a stamped document which allows to apply for the visa in the embassy. Try to get all the documents in advance, double check and go for your interview to the French embassy. After submission, the process of getting a visa might approximately take 5 to 10days.
Regarding the insurance I did have my Korea insurance and the one that Audencia asked me to have. French insurance was about 250euros. You may have your own insurance but according to French Ministry of Health, all of the students are obliged to have an insurance therefore, it would be better to have one. It is possible to pay in advance but I would suggest to pay in person in France.
One of the most interesting classes was from a former World Bank employee an Audencia professor who taught risk management and international finance. We are studying different case studies and discussing about different multinational projects. It was very fascinating and interesting lecture. I got to know a lot of valuable insights and knowledge in the field.
Starting with the class registration it was a pretty simple and straightforward process to do. The registration starts a month before the official semester begins, and the school gives a wide range of classes regarding student’s preferences.
Most of French schools do not offer on-campus dormitories but there are a lot of different options to choose. Students may live in private/shared residents, apartment studios or together with a host family. The rent would depend on the location and the size, and average price would be around 400-450 euros per month. There are some agencies that work with Audencia Business School in case there is a problem to find an accommodation. The school also offers a list of host families who provide their rooms for International students. I personally wanted to learn French as quickly as possible, therefore chose a French host family to be able to talk to and experience the culture.
Food and groceries: There is a school cafeteria that offers different kinds of meals nearby Audencia Business School. Students should purchase a meal plan or a card that gives an access to eat inside the venue. The cafeteria does not accept cash, everything should be purchased using the cafeteria card.
Eating out could be a bit pricy depending on where and what to eat. There are a lot of restaurants starting with 15-20 euros per person and a bunch of bakeries, burger and kebab places which offer food for 5-7 euros. There is also an indoor cafeteria that offers some sandwiches and snacks in the business schools.
Best thing to do would be buying groceries in the supermarket. All of them have daily sales and discounts for the customers providing a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits. It would be relatively easier and economical to buy all the food for the week in the supermarket. Usually there are butcheries nearby big shopping areas with fresh meat. I would recommend buying meat there.
France is known for its amazing pastry and tasty bakeries. Do not forget to try out all of the offerings starting from a baguette and ending with jams. Baguettes are usually starts from 1 euro and French are crazy about them. Once I saw a guy, buying 25 baguettes at once.
IC Team. A community that is somehow similar to KUBS buddy program that helps and supports international students. At the beginning of the semester they have orientations and all the sessions providing essential tips and instructions ( for instance where to buy SIM cards, transportation, accommodation, life-hacks etc). During the semester they have field-trips, different daily or weekly activities. All of the people are friendly and very outgoing. Do join the IC team and you would have a chance for a more interesting semester abroad!
Audencia Business School has 10-15 different student clubs and all of the exchange students are welcome to join. Since I like music and outdoor activities, I was a member of a jazz club and I also joined soccer community and participated in the Audencia World Cup. No one would ever know or discover your abilities, unless you try out everything yourself first. Do not hesitate , do not worry and try to be an active member in the group.
Unfortunately, the school does not provide any scholarship to exchange students. Since KUBS offers a scholarship, there is nothing to worry about. Do not forget to check all the available scholarships at the KUBS office.
Before departure, it would be a good thing to bring your boots if you are interested in traveling around Europe, especially in mountain areas. A good quality tumbler is also a must have item in Europe throughout the year. I would also suggest not to bring a lot of clothes. There are a lot of places to buy if necessary. Even though there are some shops that sell Asian food, if you a true foodie that will not be able to live without a cup of ramen, it might be also a good thing to bring a package of신라면 for the first two-three weeks.
Visa and insurance.
Since I am a foreigner in Korea it took me relatively a longer to get my French visa. I know how sometimes it could be stressful with all of the bureaucracy and documents. The process consists of applying for the visa online in Campus France. It might take longer depending on the available spots for the interview in the embassy. After the application is submitted, Campus France would give a stamped document which allows to apply for the visa in the embassy. Try to get all the documents in advance, double check and go for your interview to the French embassy. After submission, the process of getting a visa might approximately take 5 to 10days.
Regarding the insurance I did have my Korea insurance and the one that Audencia asked me to have. French insurance was about 250euros. You may have your own insurance but according to French Ministry of Health, all of the students are obliged to have an insurance therefore, it would be better to have one. It is possible to pay in advance but I would suggest to pay in person in France.
One of the most interesting classes was from a former World Bank employee an Audencia professor who taught risk management and international finance. We are studying different case studies and discussing about different multinational projects. It was very fascinating and interesting lecture. I got to know a lot of valuable insights and knowledge in the field.
Another interesting class was European business environment and culture. It was pretty interesting and enjoyable to study European history, culture in the business context. The American professor was giving out fresh news every lecture to discuss and debate about certain issue in the European business world. I like the lecture a lot.