Nowadays, business administration is most popular study in our society, so more and more students in Korea do an MBA and some of them are go abroad. This is not a phenomenon which occurs just in Korea. Also in France, many students are also interested in business administration and ESSEC is one of the most popular business schools in France. Therefore, The Sookmyung Times (SMT) visited ESSEC throughout Winter Global explore education.
All about ESSEC
ESSEC was founded in 1907 by the Institute Sainte-Geneviève to inculcate moral values in the business world and train a new generation of business leaders. There are three campuses; two of them are in France and another is in Singapore. Not only Europe and the West countries, but also ESSEC is opening their eyes in to Asia. Half of professors in ESSEC are foreigners and one third of students are comprised of foreigners, too. According to Monique Merizio, who is a person in charge of ESSEC Office N. & S. America, Emirates, Korea, other countries, ESSEC’s goal is to consist half of their enrolled student with foreigners. In ESSEC, there are various courses. For example, there is a course for who have field experience more than 6 or 7 years, and also course for who doesn’t have field experience. These subdivided courses made ESSEC’s effective management and support for students. Moreover, they are managing personal mentor system, so students can build their career and make their own color by getting advice form mentors.
What Make Them the Best?
ESSEC selects 550 high school graduates per a year after the national test, but foreign students are selected among the people who have degrees. ESSEC chooses not only students who studied business administration, but also various students they think special. Also, ESSEC wants younger and smarter students and especially prefers students who don’t have professional experience to the students who have field experience. It’s because they want to educate the zero-base students with their ways. Generally, students who have graduated from the school over the past 25 years have started their jobs with 70,000 dollars as a starting salary. It’s the highest salary that a rookie who takes the first step in society can get. Then what makes them the first? Although there are a lot of reasons about it, ESSEC’s internship program could be the best reason. ESSEC has a very special internship program that makes them the first. Intern program is done in this way, and students work in three different companies during all the three internship period. This intern period is treated as a two year career. Therefore, students should perform in the internship program for 18 months. ESSEC feels especially proud that the intern system is working as an executive, not doing chores. Because ESSEC is a very well known and renowned school, many companies offer
various jobs. There are almost 15,000 job offers and 20% are foreign companies. Job offers are made from globalized companies. Korean companies are included in these foreign companies, too. Students who experience this education and internship program are the talented people raised by not only school, but also companies. In other countries, this internship program is a very difficult program to be realized. It’s because for this program to be possible, the school should prepare and make plans about it from the first moment when it is established. From the beginning, ESSEC started as a cooperative relation with companies, and it enabled today’s ESSEC internship program.
What We Should Think Over...
With this professional class and intern program, ESSEC has another specialty in their course. The students have to participate in the club which teach them manage relationship with other people and how to apply it their carrier. From sports team to chocolate lover group, they get together with student who are interested in same things, and make a precious memory and experience which would be the good reflection to their future job. It is suited their right people for ESSEC, who has good personality to be executive. It is different with Korean students, who are just studying with blood in their eyes to make spec such as license or the score of TOEIC. While Korean students are studying just knowledge of carrier, ESSEC’s student would get other experience and wisdom which comes from experience as well as knowledge. Of course the sound knowledge is important for the future, but it is valueless if it doesn’t be used in the real. Through the club activity, ESSEC student can get the knowhow of the application of knowledge. Nowadays, there are many capable people who know just knowledge of job without wisdom or personality made from experience. Through the example of ESSEC, we can find answer of the problem we are faced.
