ESSEC Master in Management (MiM) students enter the program with career goals ranging from finance to tech, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.

Yet those who find their way to the Asia-Pacific campus arrive with a similar intention: To immerse in Asian culture and acquire valuable cultural knowledge about a growing region.

Simply being able to live in a multicultural financial and business hub is half the battle won.

However, the ESSEC MiM program at the Asia-Pacific campus is also specially designed with a unique Asian focus to help students unlock their goals and prepare for a global career.

1 | Tracks Specific to ESSEC Asia-Pacific

For example, only at the Singapore campus can one take the Business Management in Asia, Corporate Finance, Fintech in Asia, or Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability tracks.

These tracks are designed around the needs of growing sectors in Asia, ensuring students are well-equipped with the cultural and technical knowledge needed when entering the working world.

The emphasis on understanding the region continues even in marketing, finance, economics, and more classes.

Case studies used in class draw on examples from Asia, encouraging students to develop awareness of the cultural nuances in business practices.

For Guillaume De Brito, who interned at global tech investment bank Drake Star right after his stint at ESSEC Asia-Pacific, this Asian knowledge proved to be an advantage.

“My experience allowed me to approach technology with a new perspective different from my European colleagues.

I believe the international experience differentiated me from my peers and helped break the ice during my interviews,” he shares.

2 | Real-world Experience with Businesses in Asia

MiM students in Singapore can also work directly with Asian companies through the Junior Consultant Experience (JCE) and Asian Strategy Consulting Project (ASCP).

In both instances, students are split into teams and paired with an ESSEC industry partner to help the organization resolve a real-world challenge.

“I found this a valuable challenge that helped my development tremendously,” Yuchen Wu, who completed the JCE in 2022, says.

Being paired with Bolloré Logistics, he explains, taught him volumes about client management and opened his eyes to how international firms operate in the region.

Melanie Ly, who worked with Accor hotels, services and payments platform Edenred, and NGO Dignity in Malaysia for the 2020 JCE, shares these sentiments.

“I was allowed to understand the challenges Asian businesses face, and this 360-degree perspective was helpful in my job interviews,” she affirms.

After leaving Singapore, she secured a consulting apprenticeship at Accenture Health & Public Services in Paris.

3 | Networks to Last a Lifetime

A final way the ESSEC MiM program supports students at the Asia-Pacific campus is simply through its close-knit, international community.

Rahul Sharma, who joined in 2022, was surprised at the sheer diversity of his classmates.

“I’ve had the chance to interact with students from France, Italy, Croatia, China, Spain, and more,” he says, noting that this is the complete opposite of when he was in his undergraduate days.

“Everyone here has a different experience and is eager to connect and share,” he explains.

Leela Ganesh, from the class of 2019, concurs. “For many of my classmates, it was the first time they were in Asia— yet they were so open-minded and willing to absorb all they could about the different cultures,” she says.

“I’m glad I started the program in Singapore because I was able to build a network of friends before going to France with them and expanding my connections further.”