By Rafaela Echterdiek, 1st year MSc in Management student, Germany
Ni Pan is a 25 year old 1st year MSc in Management
student at ESSEC. Originally from China, she did a Bachelor in English
Interpreting and Translating at Nanjing Normal University. Thereafter,
Ni completed a Master in Interpreting and Translating at Bath University (United
Kingdom)
and a Master in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of
London (UK).
Why did you choose to come to ESSEC?
After I completed my studies in Interpreting and
Diplomacy in the UK, I still thought that there are more interesting areas to
explore. At the same time, I was thinking of going to a business school which
offers multi-dimensional career choices and comprehensive training for business
world beginners. Firstly, I focused my choices on France. The main reason for
choosing France is for its delicate way of living, the beautiful language and its
geographical location, which facilitate my understanding of the European
mentality and culture as a whole.
Through research and insight conversations with people
in different industries, I was looking for a higher education institution in France with
outstanding finance courses or business courses in general, a great reputation
and a strong alumni community. I actually applied for several business schools,
and eventually I chose to come to ESSEC because the programme offers a lot of
flexibility and freedom to shape my curriculum throughout my stay and the
student-supporting environment. Also, ESSEC has a very good reputation in finance.
Last but not least, I thought that being part of a community with fellow
students who share the same ambitions and challenges will help me with my
personal and professional growth.
Could
you specify what exactly you mean with that?
Well, at ESSEC we have a career service centre which
helps students to find a job, prepare application material and get ready for
job interviews. We have a career website in which a lot of internships,
apprenticeships and job offers are posted. In addition, we have regular job
fairs with different focuses, attracting the best employers to come to recruit.
How
do you like your stay at ESSEC so far?
I think it is one of the best decisions I made in my
life! For people who don’t come from a business background like me, the first
thing to acquire is the basics. I enjoy an excellent level of teaching at
ESSEC.
The first semester I had 8 pre-master courses
providing the basics of business, which were challenging but rewarding as
professors are not only informative but also engaging. The other thing I am
personally very attached to are the services available at the school (chairs,
career services, associations) which truly help me to adapt and grow.
In the second semester, I joined the Chair of
Therapeutic Innovation which is a group of courses specialised in the healthcare
industry. Its founder, Prof Katz, offers not only inspirational classes but also
brings high-level industry networks into the class. To give you an example, we
had 29 lectures covering all the different aspects of the healthcare industry.
They are taught mostly by industry professionals with insightful knowledge and very
often job offers for chair students.
Apart from classes and networks, we develop our
friendship within the associations, chairs and classes. This is a strong point
for ESSEC: I meet and work with many
students from different countries and backgrounds. It is a miniature of real
life environment. Learning how to reach out, make friends and word together are
essential for foreign students. In other words, soft skills are able to develop
given a diverse and international student body.
To sum up, I really enjoy my time spent at ESSEC and I am
certain that more exciting experiences will come over the next two years!
What
are your future professional ambitions?
Compared to other industries, I have developed a keen
interest in finance. Therefore, I would like to orient my future job search and
study in this field. At ESSEC, I have the choice to follow a finance track to
strengthen my knowledge in this particular domain.
Apart from finance, I have genuine interests in
different aspects in business. In order to explore more and take full advantage
of the diverse courses provided by ESSEC, I am planning on taking courses like
negotiation workshop, entrepreneurship, strategy management, health economics etc.
At this stage, broadening my business horizons is more essential for me than to
stick to only one career possibility. As far as I am concerned, business industries
are intertwined, and you never know which knowledge you acquire today will come
in handy in the future.
During my three years in the Grande Ecole programme, I have the flexibility to explore different
business functions by doing internships. Currently, I am working for a
consulting firm specialised in life sciences and for the next one, I would like
to try finance. I believe that at the end of my studies, I will be more
competitive and knowledgeable about my chosen career.
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