France, Italy and the UK: Student Profile

Tany-laure Lu Huynh, from France, has studied in three different countries over the past five years, giving her a truly holistic experience of different teaching approaches and lifestyles across Europe.

She has studied law in France, experienced an Erasmus year in Rome and completed an internship with Unilever in Paris. What is left for this ambitious student from France? A Masters in Management and Business Studies, that's what! And studying for her masters has taken Tany-laure to yet another country - the UK, where she is doing a master's degree at the University of Bradford.

Strong ambitions

Tany-laure's ambition is to become either a marketing or human resources manager. "I have knowledge in law, and I also know the business rules in France from both an HR point of view and a commercial point of view. Moreover, I like human contact, which is one skill required in both marketing and HR.

"During my internship experience at Unilever I discovered that I love marketing and more precisely, I like the sales support that I consider essential for the company."

To achieve her career goal Tany-laure decided that a master's from EM Lyon - with the opportunity to study abroad in the UK - would set her on the right track. “I chose the Masters in Management and Business Studies at EM Lyon because it is well-known for the quality of its lessons," she says.

However, her time studying abroad at the University of Bradford is providing her with additional experiences. “The style of teaching is very different at Bradford. Students usually study alone and a high personal standard of work is required. The final exam is usually an essay and a case study. In France, the same level of personal work is required when preparing for lectures, but the examination integrates many cases studied in groups."

Different experiences

Tany-laure says the students studying at Bradford tend to be younger than those at EM Lyon, the majority of who are studying for an MBA. Based on Bradford's School of Management campus, Tany-laure finds that the student life there is different than on the university's main campus, where parties are organized by students every Friday night.

Back home in France, the life of a student at EM Lyon is costing Tany-laure roughly €550 (about US$735) a month, which includes all of her accommodation, food, travel - and of course the occasional social outing.

"The cost of life is high, so I need to be careful with the purchases that I make. Some other students take a part-time job but it's hard to combine a part-time job when we need to study so much."

Tany-laure's favorite pastimes when she has a break from her 30 hours of lectures per week are working out at the gym or having drinks with friends.

“There are some cute pubs in Bradford and the student office organizes trips to a nearby town every three weeks. The last one went to York. But in Lyon my favorite place is Bellecour. Bellecour is Lyon's heart. It's a very central place and a practical area to meet friends. You can also walk in the Quartier which is very nice and there are a lot of restaurants."

Studying in a variety of countries, cities and institutions has made Tany-laure more aware of the differences between cultures and she says that the most important thing while studying abroad is to be open about the country's culture you are studying in.

“I think it's essential to live the reality of your country: to adopt the way of life and to learn every day."