At the age of 22, Nicolas decided to leave Belgium and join Montpellier Business School for the last year of his Master’s programme. After completing four years of higher education (Bac +4), which would have allowed him to enter employment directly, he decided to extend his course, becoming one of the first students at his university to take advantage of the new Master’s degree exchange partnership with Ku Leuven Campus Brussels.

“In Belgium, studying is very theoretical, there is no practical element to it. This can become problematic when entering the professional market, as you inevitably find yourself up against candidates who have often amassed this type of experience.” Nicolas explains. “I absolutely wanted to join Montpellier Business School because, in addition to all the group projects that require solid reflection on real companies, the school also offers a 6-month internship at the end of your studies, which I think will be of great help in my professional integration.”

So, Nicolas applied to be one of the six students from his university to be admitted to Montpellier BS’s double degree course. “There was certainly a selection, but having the chance to obtain two Master’s-level degrees in one is an opportunity that you have to take advantage of! At Montpellier I think that you also have this opportunity as part of the International Business course!”

Among his fellow students, Nicolas was the only one to choose finance as his major. “Because I had already studied three years of international relations at Bachelor’s level and one year of international business at Master’s level, I wanted to expand my knowledge as much as possible and take advantage of the chance to improve in an area that I was least familiar with. It’s a real challenge!”
In this way, he will discover a new teaching method. “At Montpellier, the teachers are caring and the courses are always interesting. We sometimes work on an eLearning platform, which is completely novel for me. I find using it really practical! I also appreciate that our grades are taken from between our continuous work, homework and exams, which adds value to our everyday efforts and decreases the pressure when it comes to the subject’s final exam.”

This year, Nicolas will carry out his first corporate internship. Despite having a CV with little professional experience, it is certainly not lacking in assets that are sure to convince recruiters! “I have a good level of education, I feel enthusiastic about learning and forming part of a multicultural team. I speak three languages perfectly and so I hope that my profile will correspond to the needs of an international company. My aim is to form part of the purchasing department of a large company, ideally in the construction or pharmaceutical chemistry sector, but I am not closed off to other possibilities. I have already started researching and I am more motivated than ever to gain the professional experience that will mark the start of my career!”

José Manuel is an international student who was recruited in 2014 through the Outsourced International Recruitment Centre of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). Due to graduate in December, he is finishing his end-of-study internship, which he has carried out at the Riu Hotels & Resorts headquarters in Spain as junior commercial director for the implementation of star-rated establishments in the Asiatic continent.

“My previous professional experiences were all internationally orientated but I had otherwise never really considered working in the hotel industry. It was upon noticing the internship vacancy with the Spanish hotel chain, Riu, on LinkedIn, that I started to become interested in this sector. Three interviews later, I was certain that I wanted to join them, not just because this internship presented an opportunity to pave the way towards a position of responsibility in international business, but also because it was a chance to integrate into a family business that prioritises staff training.” explains José Manuel, who has been participating in Riu’s commercial training programme since the end of June (Riu has 105 hotels across 19 countries). 

“After training, which enabled me to understand the entire commercial department with its various functions and integration into the company culture, I assumed my duties with the Asian commercial department. I am working on the chain’s development in this continent, starting with Sri Lanka, a country whose tourism industry is currently booming. The challenge lies in adapting and standardising our hotel services in each country without loosing the essence of the Riu brand. It therefore requires an open mind and a great ability to adapt, as well as a willingness to travel extensively in order to monitor the progress of different hotels. I am currently working on prospecting new customers and continuing with our commercial strategy. On a day-to-day basis, I manage hotel occupancy forecasts and new contracts with travel agents.”

At the beginning of August, the first Riu hotel on the Asian continent opened in Ahungalla, Sri Lanka. It was a project that José Manuel was able to follow closely. “Of course I would like to thank my tutor Laura Malone, Pilar Sánchez and the entire commercial team, who guided me throughout this experience and continue supporting me on a daily basis. Carrying through the launch of a 5-star establishment in a country where the chain is not yet established was a real challenge with lots of pressure. I was able to realise it by spending three weeks on-site, following the business operations and meeting with our travel agency partners. The goal of the internship was to train me up for a permanent position in the company. In January I will set off for Mauritius with the mission of maintaining high levels of occupancy in our hotels and ensuring the effective management of our sales and revenue.”

Soon to graduate from the Master’s programme, José Manuel’s final words concern his time at Montpellier BS. “It has been a unique experience; I have met students from all over the world, in a country that I had never previously visited and knew nothing about its language or culture. During my two years at Montpellier, I never felt like an ex-pat, instead I felt as though I were part of a community in which people of all nationalities come together and are integrated as citizens of the world.”

Montpellier BS offers its national and international students various ways of obtaining an international double degree at either Bachelor’s or Master’s level, thanks to its cooperative agreements with partner universities both in Montpellier and abroad. This is the path that Przemysław chose after completing the first year of his Master’s in international business at the University of Economics in Kraków, Poland, a Montpellier BS partner !

This is not Przemysław’s first experience in France. Since his high school years, he has been visiting the Franche-Comté region as part of an exchange programme with a French high school student. In the last year of his Bachelor’s, he spent an Erasmus semester in France and completed a placement in the office of the Polish members of the European Parliament, an experience that made him want to come back and pursue studies in the field of international negotiations, an ideal vocation for someone who speaks four languages. 

With his successful academic background including several placements related to France at Heineken and the luxury hotel La Fontaine in Kraków, in December 2015, Przemysław applied at his University to complete the second year of his Master’s in English at Montpellier Business School. “I love diversity, whether in the cultures that I come across or in my professional experiences. I have always looked for challenge and discovery. To come to France for an exchange that contributes to a qualification is another challenge that I am jumping into. The difficulties and the amount of work don’t scare me!” he told us. “I realise that today there are many candidates for the same position and you need to maximise your chances of being selected.” With a double degree, I hope to differentiate myself, to stand out in the job market… I think that the ‘talent to be different’ is something you have to produce.”

Having just started his experience at Montpellier BS, Przemysław told us his impressions: “At the moment, I am delighted with the quality of teaching at the school. The subjects discussed are varied and cover the entire spectrum of business management. The teachers and lecturers are very professional and I find the course in global marketing management from Dr Paul Chiambaretto particularly exciting.”

Next February, Przemysław will complete a six-month placement, for which he has begun searching in Poland and in France. “My dream would be to do this placement at the French Embassy in Poland, but it is very hard to get accepted. My second choice would be to work in a hotel and participate in their international development missions. But I am open to other possibilities in the field of tourism, because I’m thinking of defining my professional plan this year according to the opportunities offered to me.”

Federica Ongetta, 22, is one of the 17 students in the new Master of Science in Finance offered by Montpellier Business School. Coming straight from Trevis in Italy, where she completed a Bachelor’s degree in international business over four years at the Ca Foscari Venezia University, she chose to continue with an MSc in France, in order to acquire in-depth knowledge of a specialised subject and enjoy a multicultural environment.

“I love the unknown and I love discoveries. Last year, I spent a ski season in Australia as a ski instructor and I loved getting to know another culture and opening up to others – it was very rewarding”, she explains. “So, after my Bachelor’s degree, it was time to finish my academic path abroad. I wanted to finish my studies by becoming an expert in a complex field, such as financial management, as well as by becoming more mature and opening up my mind. That’s why I wanted to pursue an MSc in a foreign country that appealed to me a lot : France !”

It was her finance professor in Australia who guided her choice of school : « When I talked about my plans to my finance professor, Guido Massimiliano Mantovani – who also teaches at Harvard – he was the one who recommended Montpellier Business School, for the quality of its teaching and its highly esteemed teachers. And I thank him for that because I have no regrets! » says Federica. « The courses at Montpellier Business School are very different from those that I could have taken in Italy! Here we do a lot of group work, so a spirit of cohesion develops very quickly between students. The teaching method is very communicative with an action-oriented approach. »

Always looking for diversity and opportunities to develop her language skills, Federica is not disappointed: « Coming to France to pursue specialised training, taught entirely in English – it’s double immersion! Not to mention the multicultural environment of Montpellier Business School. The student body is international, everyone is from a different country, whether it’s China, Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia, the Dominican Republic, or somewhere else. As well as academic sharing, there’s a true sharing of cultures. We also have the opportunity to interact with students of the Master Grande École Programme since we have courses in common, so we are not all separated, which is something I was concerned about at the beginning. »

Soon, Federica will have to find a placement that will be decisive for her future career. And she is eager to be able to complete her CV. « I don’t really have any professional experience related to finance in particular. Therefore, I’m really looking forward to diving into the field with a long-term placement that enables me to prove my skills as a future Financial Risk Manager. So, if you are looking for an intern in this area, please think of me ! »

After having completed her studies at MBS with the apprenticeship track and graduating from the Master Grande Ecole in 2015, Manon Favier has acquired a range of professional experience in France and New Zealand in the field of wine packaging. Last September, she chose to return to France to focus her career on research by beginning a thesis co-supervised by Dr Franck Celhay, teacher-researcher at Montpellier Business School.

How did your passion for research begin?
It’s actually thanks to the dissertation that I wrote during the second year of my Master’s degree at MBS. It was my first experience of research work and it made me want to take it further. At the same time, thanks to my apprenticeship at O-I, a world leader in glass packaging, I realised that I couldn’t answer some questions posed by customers because of a lack of studies. The dissertation I wrote on wine packaging allowed me to answer some questions, yet I wanted to take it even further in order to address other issues arising from the field. This was the main motivation behind my PhD project.

More specifically, how did you organise yourself to carry out this thesis project?
When I was in New Zealand, I started researching funding for the thesis with the help of Dr Franck Celhay, co-supervisor of my thesis, and Dr Gaëlle Pantin-Sohier, my thesis supervisor. There were several selection phases and last August I received a positive response from the Pays de la Loire region, which wants to address an issue regarding enhancing tourism in the Loire. So, I won the funding for my thesis work through a three-year contract that is paid by the Pays de la Loire region and the University of Angers.

What is the subject of your thesis and how does MBS support you in this project? 
My thesis will be on the influence of packaging design in the wine sector. I am only at the beginning and am currently identifying theories and trends. The aim is to fill a gap in the existing literature. This is the very principle of research, to provide something new. For this, I regularly come back to MBS for follow-ups of my work with Dr Franck Celhay. When I visit, there is an office at my disposal and I really feel like a PhD student with deadlines to meet in order to complete this thesis in three years.

During your time in New Zealand, you were able to present your work at the World Marketing Congress…
Yes. It is partly thanks to MBS, who agreed to finance my registration fee for this very important congress last June. My article, ‘Is using ornaments still a crime? Package design complexity and brand perception with application to Champagne labels’ was selected and for the first time I was able to present in English. Everything went well and I received some interesting comments that have since allowed me to expand my work. I was also able to meet international researchers, which is always rewarding.