HEC Paris (France)
Masako Tsuchida
Exchange Programs
September 2023 - March 2024
Tell us the reason why you decided to join the program.
Farewell party for a friend returning to Japan in March (author in the front right)
I had always regretted not having studied abroad as an undergraduate student, so I thought now was the time to do it.
The reason for my regret was that after becoming a working adult, I realized the importance of getting out of Japan and relativizing myself and my background culture from the outside. I also wanted to test how well I would do at a top school in the world. Additionally, I wanted to live in Europe.
The reason for my regret was that after becoming a working adult, I realized the importance of getting out of Japan and relativizing myself and my background culture from the outside. I also wanted to test how well I would do at a top school in the world. Additionally, I wanted to live in Europe.
Sample of courses you took
Specialization: Marketing
Electives:
Boosting creativity
Leading in the Diverse world
Managing Listed companies
Strategy implementation
Circular economy
Power and Influence
Electives:
Boosting creativity
Leading in the Diverse world
Managing Listed companies
Strategy implementation
Circular economy
Power and Influence
Tell us about the classes and research during your study abroad.
The lectures were interactive and involved a lot of individual and group work. After explaining the key concepts of universal theory in the lecture, each participant and group was encouraged to digest and practice the concepts, and to create their own learning through their actions.
Tell us about the school’s environment (Facilities, faculty and staff members, students, etc.).
HEC was relocated from the city of Paris to farmland near Versailles about 50 years ago. So the environment is idyllic, or you could say it is located in a remote area, surrounded by fields and pastures and new residential areas. That said, the campus is spacious and offers a relaxed learning environment.
The faculty members are friendly, super professional, and enthusiastic.
The students are all friendly and easy to integrate.
The faculty members are friendly, super professional, and enthusiastic.
The students are all friendly and easy to integrate.
Reflect your study abroad and tell us about your thoughts.
From my apartment window in early autumn. Square in front of church crowded with neighbors at town bazaar.
Looking back on the past seven months, I feel as if I have gone through it all at once.
I have been to Europe many times on trips, including France, but this was my first time to live there, much less to attend a university there. The process was just a lot of fun. I have had friends from school over for home parties, been treated to international cuisine at the homes of friends from China and India, been invited to Apero at the home of a neighborhood madam, exchanged gifts from travels, compared French society and Japan, had exciting classes, toured Michelin restaurants, looked for delicious chocolatiers, and enjoyed the company of friends both at home and abroad. I have countless episodes, but I enjoyed all of them.
I have zero bad memories. There were moments when I felt sorry for myself and almost cried, and there were moments when I was in trouble, but it was so overwhelmingly enjoyable that those memories are blown away.
I have been to Europe many times on trips, including France, but this was my first time to live there, much less to attend a university there. The process was just a lot of fun. I have had friends from school over for home parties, been treated to international cuisine at the homes of friends from China and India, been invited to Apero at the home of a neighborhood madam, exchanged gifts from travels, compared French society and Japan, had exciting classes, toured Michelin restaurants, looked for delicious chocolatiers, and enjoyed the company of friends both at home and abroad. I have countless episodes, but I enjoyed all of them.
I have zero bad memories. There were moments when I felt sorry for myself and almost cried, and there were moments when I was in trouble, but it was so overwhelmingly enjoyable that those memories are blown away.
What kind of impact or changes has your experience of studying abroad given you? (Finding a job, future vision, point of view, etc.)
I feel that the fusion of the rich learning at Kyoto University GSM and what I have gained from the fulfilling life and classes at HEC has completed my axis, which is no longer lost or blurred. As for my work, I was able to clarify the direction of my consulting work for small and medium-sized enterprises as a small and medium-sized enterprise diagnostician. This is due in large part to the knowledge I gained in the GSM and general education courses at Kyoto University prior to my study abroad. I feel that the knowledge in various fields that I gained through the wide range of classes at Kyoto University, combined with the specific direction of my consulting work in the practical classes at HEC Paris, crystallized after spending time slowly facing myself without family or work. I now have no hesitation in narrowing my focus to consulting for new business development after graduation, and I have sorted out everything: what impact my work will have on Japanese companies and society, what my strengths are, and what values and aesthetics of who I am are driving me to make this choice. I think it was a very fruitful detour.