[September-December 2011]
EMAE Programme
Reception and first impressionsEMAE Programme
After arriving in Paris and enjoying some nice couple of days with Samuel & Claire (+ Camile and Thomas), I met up with the EMAE group on August 24th and we were off to Poitiers. We were very well welcomed by the program committee. Sophie Levesque, the person in charge of our group, has done her best to make us feel at home. Our group is very international, composed of 19 students from all around the world: Ukraine, Turkey, U.K., United States, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Spain, Brazil (4 of them!), South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Canada, Germany, India, Singapore, New Zealand and Poland. All speak English, in a variety of accents. It all adds to make it quite the life experience…
In our fist weeks we mainly had presentations (of the university, the course and the city), socializing (picnics and tours in Poitiers and surrounding cities) and much paper work (university registration, opening bank account, immigration office, residency, health insurance, etc.).
Visit to La Rochelle, 1:30h from Poitiers
We have also had meetings with the dean of the University of Poitiers, with representatives of the consortium and partner universities (9 institutions - http://www.master-emae.org/EMAE_consortium2.php) and even with the Minister of Higher Education and Research of France himself. This master program seems to be very well respected here in Europe.
Above: meeting with Laurent Wauquiez, French Minister of Superior Education and Research.
Below: meeting with the dean of the Univ. of Poitiers and representatives from partner institutions.
Poitiers is a very pleasing city by the way. With a population of around 90,000; it is a typical university city, but with a touch of charm. Besides all the modern attractions for students, it hosts nice old architecture buildings and interesting historical sites. But what delights me the most is to visit the traditional open market held in the town center square every Saturday morning, with the products the farmers bring from the outskirts of the county. Winter makes its way through, but until early October the weather was very pleasing, even for a Brazilian.
Life in Poitier
The course
Our course is all in English. So far so good. The most difficult thing has really been to learn French in order to do all other activities here. The schedule on the subjects we have can be seen thought the link: http://www.master-emae.org/Download/EMAE_Table_of_units.pdf
We already know where we'll be living and studying for these next two years. My agenda is as follows:
Year
|
Period
|
Institution
|
2011
|
September-December
|
University of Poitiers (France)
|
2012
|
January-March
|
University of East-Anglia (U.K.)
|
2012
|
April-July
|
Univesity of Kiel (Germany)
|
2012-2013
|
August-September
|
University of East-Anglia (U.K.)
|
We had a bit of a different experience on a field trip to a nature reserve, “Le Forêt de Chizet”, during the 19-23rd of September. There we learned a little more about the local nature, developed small projects and got to know the studies that are conducted in the “Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé” (http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/). It was very
Last days & a look back
I also made a lot of good friends in Poitiers, and that’s always so important in our lives. I can point out some I had more contact with, like my neighbors Wuhib (Ethiopia), Iulian, Valentin and Manuela (Romania), Miguel (Mexico), Rolince (Cameroon),, Devathi (India), Juliana (Brazil), Joah (Gabon), the Itervarsity group, people from church like the Hakoto family (Madagascar) that would have me over for a meal some times, besides, of course, all my classmates; a very international experience as you can see. You can see more pictures of my time in Poitiers HERE.
I spent a nice Christmas with
Samuel & family in Paris on my way to Norwich, and also stopped in London
for a couple of days, staying with some friends from Brazil, Alex, Lucy &
Cíntia I also got the chance to visit the WEC base at Bulstrode, and of course
that was fantastic!
Last days & a look back
My time in Poitiers, France,
ended around the 22nd of December. The final weeks there were all
very rushed for most of the coursework and tests were packed in the last week.
But I survived. Nevertheless, those 4 months in Poitiers were really important
for me. Looking back, I can see that it helped me grow in at least some
aspects: first time away from my family for so long I had to learn how to do it
all by my own, the paperwork, the cooking, the washing, the planning ahead and
organizing, the finances, the shopping, etc. Besides the module subjects, I
also learned a lot of French, which I think will be useful for me in th
e future.
e future.
Lab work, coursework, presentation, exams... student's life.
I also made a lot of good friends in Poitiers, and that’s always so important in our lives. I can point out some I had more contact with, like my neighbors Wuhib (Ethiopia), Iulian, Valentin and Manuela (Romania), Miguel (Mexico), Rolince (Cameroon),, Devathi (India), Juliana (Brazil), Joah (Gabon), the Itervarsity group, people from church like the Hakoto family (Madagascar) that would have me over for a meal some times, besides, of course, all my classmates; a very international experience as you can see. You can see more pictures of my time in Poitiers HERE.
(Still had time for some social life...)
I spent a nice Christmas with
Samuel & family in Paris on my way to Norwich, and also stopped in London
for a couple of days, staying with some friends from Brazil, Alex, Lucy &
Cíntia I also got the chance to visit the WEC base at Bulstrode, and of course
that was fantastic!
WEC U.K., Bulstrode