Finding the best undergraduate programme for you can be a daunting prospect. When it comes to the crunch, which factors should you consider when making your final decision? Choosing a degree that offers the opportunity to study abroad is a great way to get more from your three years at university.
In fact, studying abroad provides numerous personal and professional benefits, ultimately making you a more attractive candidate for companies eager to hire interns and graduates who are flexible, multilingual, and comfortable in a range of situations and settings.
An even better perspective is given to you by a programme that allows you to travel to a different country every year, always moving within the same institution. But does a three-year degree that gives you such a unique study and life experience even exist? Of course, we are talking about the Bachelor in Management (BSc), offered by one of the best educational institutions in the world, the ESCP Business School.
Study abroad. A bridge to your future
In personal and professional life, experience is the key to all success. And to earn it, it takes time, often more than we would like to spend, as we strive to achieve our goals and make our dreams come true.
Well, there is a way to gain many of the experiences you will need in the future already during your study years. Which way? Get yourself out of your comfort zone from day one. How? By changing country, studying in one or more foreign languages and immersing yourself in new cultures and ways of living and thinking.
Here are five ways studying abroad will change you for the better.
1) Experience Personal Growth
Studying abroad removes you from the usual support network you are accustomed to at home. As you learn to navigate and live comfortably in a different culture, you will become more independent, self-reliant and self-confident.
Whether it’s doing your laundry, making a trip to the supermarket or navigating public transport, you will learn to take more responsibility for your actions.
2) Learn How to Communicate Across Cultures
In our global society, it’s crucial to possess the skills to communicate across cultures, and this means understanding more than just a different language.
According to Maria-Fernanda De Alba Gutierrez, a third-year Bachelor in Management (BSc) student, this diversity is also incredibly precious when you find it in the classroom: “In our teams, during group work, we were intentionally mixed with other nationalities,” she told us. “This aspect indeed helped me improve my cross-cultural communication skills, my tolerance towards diversity, and made me adapt to new ways of working.”
Today, owning multicultural skills is not only a ‘nice thing to have‘ but a fundamental requirement for accessing high-profile job positions in top global companies.
READ ALSO: Three Freshmen in Paris. A Year as a Bachelor in Management (BSc) Student
3) Hone your Language Skills
Studying abroad also allows you to learn, improve or master the language of the country you are living in. In addition to the considerable language exercise you will get daily, some university programmes also give you the opportunity to study languages more formally, as part of the curriculum.
Speaking two or more languages is a key skill for students eager to work abroad or for international companies. According to the World Economic Forum, learning another language could also improve your all-round cognitive ability, help hone your soft skills and even increase the mastery of your mother tongue.
“During the Bachelor, I had a full immersion in my second language,” told us our Alumnus, Alexander Walden. “I grew up in Los Angeles, and learning Spanish is a requirement there because of the huge portion of the Hispanic population. Refreshing the language in Madrid was very helpful because languages are very much learning by doing.”
4) See the World
Travel has the power to rewire your brain. By consequence, one of the top reasons you should consider a programme that allows you to study abroad is the opportunity to see the world.
In fact, on a programme such as the Bachelor in Management (BSc) at ESCP Business School, you will live and study in three different countries in three years. The world truly is your oyster. Make new friends, try new cuisines, experience new customs, visit new landmarks, museums, theatres, bars and restaurants – the list is endless.
READ ALSO: Where can the ESCP Bachelor in Management (BSc) take you?
5) Advance your career
When interviewing for internships or jobs, you will stand out with skills that can only be gained through international experiences. Students that have studied abroad bring diversity and uniqueness to a workplace, and their experience shows that they aren’t afraid to seek out new challenges or put themselves in difficult situations. Studying in not just one but two or three countries during your degree will increase your international exposure further and separate you from other applicants.
To study abroad is an experience like no other, and it may turn out to be a once in a lifetime opportunity – so take it!
Contact us to find out more about the ESCP Bachelor in Management (BSc) and our Campuses located in some of the major European capitals.
