Nikita Masurkar, Martin Bouchet, and Shiyi Huang may have come from different backgrounds—Nikita from accounting, Martin from engineering, and Shiyi from economics—but their experiences share certain commonalities.

Their undergraduate days were spent in their home countries with a large cohort of students, and doing a curriculum was highly theoretical.

How are they faring in the ESSEC Master in Management (MiM) program, which has a new focus on business and is offered at the diverse but close-knit Asia-Pacific campus?

A Smooth Transition into the World of Business

Very well, they say.

“We have some outstanding professors teaching us the basics in finance, marketing, and accounting for our refresher courses, and we have classes like a financial modeling course, where we can see how to connect what we’ve learned during the refresher into real life,” Martin, who comes from France, shares.

China national Shiyi, who is angling for a role in finance or consulting, adds that she has been particularly grateful to learn about financial modeling.

She believes the skill is important for finance professionals and was disappointed not to have a chance to cover it during her undergraduate days or internships.

A New Applied Focus

The MiM’s emphasis on learning by doing has also been beneficial. Nikita, who is from India, cites a strategy class by Arijit Chatterjee, Professor of Management, as incredibly enlightening.

“I’ve studied strategy before, but it was very theoretical. In contrast, Professor Arijit was able to share many stories and frameworks to help us understand how things work in the real world,” she recalls.

Within the program’s first few months, she and her classmates also participated in the Junior Consulting Experience (JCE). This allowed them to work as consultants with startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurs to help solve a real-world business challenge.

“We’re implementing what we propose and talking directly to the people in charge who can execute our solutions. That makes a lot of difference in our learning,” she says.

Impressed by the Dedication of the Professors

All three believe these insightful experiences have been made possible by professors’ expertise. Many have a wealth of industry experience, Martin shares.

For example, Rick Marchese, Professor of Management Practice and teacher-in-charge of the financial modeling class, has an established career in investment banking and, even today, works in private equity alongside teaching at ESSEC.

“I’ve just started learning about finance, but Prof Rick’s stories make me want to understand more about companies and how the global world works. He has high expectations of us, and I intend to do my best to meet them,” Martin says.

Shiyi chimes in that having extremely international professors is also a benefit.

“They have worked in countries like the United States and Australia and also often invite industry speakers from all over the world to share with the class,” she says, sharing that these glimpses of real-world exposure they’ve brought into the classroom have helped enhance her understanding of how concepts apply in the real world.

However, the most significant difference she’s seen among the professors at ESSEC Asia-Pacific is their availability.

In part, perhaps because of the cohort size in Singapore, they are “accommodating and willing to answer your questions,” Shiyi says.

She, Nikita, and Martin may be in their early days of the MiM program, but they are confident with the support and curriculum at ESSEC Asia-Pacific, they will be more than equipped to take on the global business world.