Four more Renmin MBA students from the 2020 IMBA cohort have been admitted to the RMBS MBA -ESCP MIM dual degree program in November 2020. To better understand and get prepared for the ESCP Paris MIM program schedule and course arrangements starting in August 2021, Renmin IMBA Office organized a small Zoom meeting on 7 January 2021 and invited Li Dian (Lydia), one of the first batch of the RMBS-ESCP dual degree students to share her experience concerning the course enrollment, prerequisite courses, MIM course validation and others.

After a brief statement of why she applied for the dual degree program and a general introduction to the ESCP curriculum, Lydia, a senior IMBA student from Class of 2021 (as pictured above the sixth on the right), stressed that before taking the M2 classes in ESCP applicants have to finish some prerequisite or “catch-up” courses and core courses of M1, some of which can be validated if taken at Renmin. During the second master year, students will carry on with the career development plan by choosing up to two specializations out of eleven.  

Lydia also introduced that the first batch of the three RMBS-ESCP dual degree students haven’t made it to Paris yet due to the pandemic globally and have been conducting online courses since last September. ESCP MIM dual degree emphasizes on innovative pedagogical methods based on case study teaching & learning. This MIM program sets strict standards for each course, quiz, presentation and pre-reading is required. The same high standard requirements as well as teaching method have been applied to online delivery modes as much as possible. French language course is mandatory and it’s is recommended to better your French language skills for internship or jobs in France in the future. Unlike the MBA program with all students having at least three years of working experience, the MIM cohort at ESCP has much younger students and some are fresh out of undergraduates.

The newly admitted RMBS-ESCP dual degree students have also discussed their concerns with Lydia and shared their opinion and experience about pursuing the dual degree.

ESCP MIM program was one of the reasons that I applied for RMBS IMBA program. I am very interested in management and I am also a big fan of France the country, so ESCP dual degree program seems a good opportunity for me. Based on my application experience, there are several suggestions worth mentioning. First, filling the application form seriously. This step requires you to recall the past experience clearly and logically, including the studying experience, working experience and the overseas experience in detail. Here is a small tip: mark the question you think might be asked during the interview and get prepared for it. Second, you should grab every opportunity to show your determination for enrolling the ESCP degree program. I would like to tell an episode in my interview. I asked my friend to teach me how to say “Thank you. Have a nice day. See you” in French prior to the interview as I assumed that interviewers might be French. At the end of my interview, when I said “Merci beaucoup. Bonne journée et au revoir.” to the interviewers, they were obviously happy and surprised. I know my pronunciation in French was not perfect but it did not matter. When I heard that they said that “You can learn French now.” I know this was a good sign. Last but not least, when applying for dual degree program, always remember that the one you feel fits you is the best.

                                                      ----YANG Fei (China)

Back when I deciding to further my education, originally not having a management education, I decided that I want to know more about business management. At the same time, I also wanted to get as many international exposures as possible. Hence, I applied for a dual degree program at RMBS IMBA and ESCP Europe MIM program. After getting admitted into RMBS, I had to go through another application and interview processes to get into ESCP. To briefly explain about these processes, to begin with, I had to write essays about my experience and interests. Then I had to take a short interview with the school’s interviewers. Personally, these processes were not difficult. What made I think of them like this is because all of them are subjective, depending on how you think about management education and how you want to manage your international exposure. For me, both of them are my goals from the very beginning and I already had my answers prepared. Now that I have been admitted into ESCP, what I can do now is to prepare myself for another adventure there, and I am indeed very exciting about it. Despite some concerns about adapting to a new environment that I will have to face there, I know that I will be alright because I understand why I’m going there and what I want to get from such experience.

                                        ---- WATTANAPANICH TEMSINP (Thailand)

I feel like ESCP application is a reflection for my past life and a design for future development. As one of the top business school and the strategic partner of Renmin, ESCP offers well planned curriculum and very friendly application path. It was a quite fruitful journey for me. The most important engagement for doing an uneasy job is how strong the aspiration is. During the whole process, I have done reflections a lot and learnt and benefited from others, including the mentor of RMBS, the coordinator and interviewers of ESCP, help from the senior IMBA students, and my fellow classmates who also apply for the program. I appreciate all the communications with them, which triggered me to think deeper to figure out why it is meaningful for me, how to enhance its benefit at the most, and how to prepare for it more efficiently.

RMBS has great network and partnership nationally and internationally. Different kinds of dual degree programs and exchanging opportunities are offered to MBA/IMBA students. If there are bright dreams and ambitions in your heart, I strongly recommend you to include global opportunities into your individual development plan.

                                        ----  Xu Liyue (Monica)