No two students who embark on the ESSEC MSc Marketing Management and Digital (MMD) start their journey the same way.

Antoine Habay from France saw the MMD as a way to jump-start his career in luxury marketing, while Wenting Huang from China wanted to hone her business skills in hopes of finding a marketing role.

Leaving their home countries to take up the MMD at ESSEC Asia Pacific was a big step for them, but looking back at what they’ve gained, it’s one they highly recommend.

They share their top three takeaways from their year in Singapore.

1 | They Built a Strong Portfolio

For both, a major highlight was the program’s focus on industry exposure. During Wenting’s luxury brand modules, she participated in the L’Oreal Brandstorm.

She worked with Vogue to help bring the brand into the metaverse—gaining valuable skills and insights that she has been able to apply to her internship at L’occitane.

On the other hand, Antoine spent six weeks working on the Digital Marketing Challenge (DMC) with the German luxury brand Montblanc. The DMC allows students to apply their digital marketing skills as they work with diverse global companies on real business problems.

He says this added to his portfolio and taught him invaluable presentation skills, such as “being clear, consistent, and realistic when bringing recommendations to the table, and that attitude matters a great deal when presenting.”

2 | They Uncovered the World of Luxury

Having secured his dream job as a Client Relations and Experience assistant at Louis Vuitton, Antoine is also grateful for the MMD program’s specialized focus on luxury branding, which offered him the insights and experience needed for the role.

“The MMD program has imparted to me a profound understanding of how luxury brands are established, nurtured, and safeguarded, and this has been instrumental for me in my role today,” he testifies.

Learning about the niche sector has also benefited Wenting, who never imagined herself working in the luxury world before coming to ESSEC.

Besides broadening her career search to include luxury brands, she says that understanding that “luxury is about the experience and lifestyle it brings a customer” has also shaped her marketing approach overall.

3 | They Embraced Diversity as a Strength

One of the MMD’s greatest strengths, according to both Antoine and Wenting, is the diversity in the student population. Their cohort had students from over ten countries, offering ample opportunity for cross-cultural exchange.

“My top tip to incoming students is to make lots of friends from different countries because the different perspectives are inspirational,” says Wenting.

Acknowledging that some may be concerned about moving abroad, she adds encouragingly, “There will be opportunities to bond with each other, and this will help open communication. I remember our cohort went to Sentosa for a beach outing and dinner, which helped us form close friendships.”

Antoine concurs, citing diversity as a key factor that enriched his journey and prepared him for work in Asia.

“I appreciate how meeting new people from different backgrounds has helped me broaden my intellectual horizons and become more open-minded,” he shares gratefully.