Exchange Semester at ESCP Business School
Arseniy Churilov
2nd-Year Master’s Student in “International Management”, HSE Business School
My program, International Management, is still very new — I’m part of its very first cohort. One of the features that drew me to it in the first place was the mandatory student exchange semester.
Back in my undergraduate years (also at HSE), I never took advantage of the exchange opportunities — something I later regretted. Initially, I planned to go abroad in my first year of the Master’s program — I was accepted to the University of Münster in Germany. I was ready to start learning German from scratch, but the pandemic had other plans: a few months later, Münster announced that all classes would be held online.
Due to this change, I decided to postpone my exchange to the second year. Luckily, by that time I had a much better understanding of how the entire application process worked and what to look for when selecting a host university. With a more thoughtful approach, I realized I wanted to study in France. ESCP Business School — a highly regarded French institution — ended up being my second-choice university in the application, and that’s where I was eventually accepted.
While dealing with the usual paperwork, I also started learning French on my own. Summer flew by: I received my student visa quickly (within two weeks), and I found accommodation through Studapart. There was a small hiccup with the electricity bill, but with the help of some friends in Europe, everything got sorted out just in time. On September 1st, I flew to Paris.
One of the first things I did was get vaccinated with a European-approved vaccine. This was important since many venues in Paris required a local health pass. I had already received the Sputnik vaccine and had recovered from COVID, but I was told that a QR code could only be issued with a European vaccine. Sputnik or antibody certificates might be accepted, but often weren’t.
After a day of side effects from the Moderna shot — which I got for a couple of euros at a local pharmacy — I was free to explore Paris. I quickly connected with classmates from my program, and we began meeting more students. Despite the pandemic, a huge number of students from all over the world came to ESCP: we met people from Germany, Italy, the US, Brazil, Lebanon, China, Japan, and many more.
Classes started soon after. My schedule wasn’t too intense, so outside of lectures we’d continue meeting up at cafés and bars. The courses themselves were diverse and engaging. Since all classes were electives, each group was different, and we constantly worked in new team setups.
Over just three months at ESCP, I managed to complete a wide variety of tasks — from writing code in Excel VBA to conducting interviews with seasoned consultants, from leading a negotiation team to analyzing the French pasta market. During this time, I met an incredible number of students, built relationships with professors, and even found an internship in Paris — without knowing French. At the time of writing, I’m back in Moscow sorting out the paperwork needed to return to Paris and gain some international work experience.
To sum it up, my exchange experience was overwhelmingly positive. Without exaggeration, I can say it was a life-changing experience. I would wholeheartedly recommend student exchange to anyone lucky enough to have the opportunity.