Summer in Paris

Summer in Paris hits the city hard and swift. Our move to Cite U at the start of July coincided with the first heatwave of summer, so the air-conditioned luxury of our former hotel was sorely missed. It was a challenge to dress presentably for work in 36-degree heat, but as some coworkers showed up in shorts on these days, that was our cue to follow suit! Unfortunately the typical, century-old Haussmannian buildings that house most offices in the central districts are not equipped with modern conveniences like air-conditioning.

One of our favourite Sciences Po lectures to-date has been one on ‘The History of France through Paris landmarks’. Here we learnt how the city was first founded over 2,000 years ago in an area presently known as the Latin Quarter, the significance of the Louvre, Tuileries and Versailles as palaces, the relationship between the taxation system and socio-economic situation of its various residents, and present day renewal plans to expand beyond its borders in the ‘Le Grand Paris’ urban project.

Equally as interesting were a series of lectures on European identity issues, both past and present. Topics such as migration, security, solidarity and leadership opened our eyes to the multilayered complexities of the evolving European identity and its implications for existing and future member states.

So after all of this cultural education, some of us decided to kick off the weekend by watching a show at the Moulin Rouge. It was a spectacular performance filled with breathtaking acrobatics and the compact, big-top setting made the experience all the more intimate as we sat around dinner tables and mingled with people from all over the world. It reminded me of our lecture on identity issues and what it means to the French people, since this show clearly capitalised on its unique place in Parisian history. Photos were not allowed during the show for copyright reasons, but I can tell you there was a huge pool of water, python snakes and rollerskates!

Last weekend saw our entire class being treated to a day off work to attend a study trip to Brussels to learn about the EU Parliament. Coincidentally, Friday marked the start of the Bastille Day long weekend, so excitement levels were high as we would head off to other destinations (Amsterdam, Bruges and Aix-en-Provence) following the class trip. The EU institution buildings were quiet that day as EU officials and heads of state were scheduled to meet in Strasbourg instead - we were devastated about our missed opportunity to see Merkel, Tsipras, Hollande etc.! The parliamentarian role play game was interesting as was Brussels as a tourist destination. Thinking it would be a ‘European’ Canberra, the city surprised us with its fair share of tourist drawcards, from its official buildings, historic architecture, public parks, to a bustling town square serving up the must-try diet of Belgian fries, waffles and beer (though not all at once).

Finally, Bastille Day arrived. Being the conscientious students that we are, the morning was spent completing as much of our upcoming assessments as possible before heading to the supermarket to shop for our picnic on the Champ des Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower. We successfully secured a prime spot and spent almost 7 hours entertaining ourselves before the fireworks started at 11pm. Surprisingly, the crowds were not as severe as those during New Year’s Eve in Sydney, but perhaps it was an indication of how much larger Paris is as a city.

With just over two more weeks of the IPP left, it's time to power through all the touristy things on our to-do list!

Farah Tan
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France 

Our adventures in Paris begin

I write this blog post on the Eurostar as it zooms to London after surviving my first week of the Paris International Placement Program (IPP). Last weekend, twenty undergrads and postgrads from the Business School descended upon Paris, some even managing to squeeze in trips to Lisbon and Barcelona enroute. Travel is an obvious perk of the program and we intended to make the most of it!

Seine River, 9:30pm

But it’s not all play without hard work. The first days were long with work placements from 9am to 5pm and after that, French language classes and European Union studies lectures at Sciences Po until 9pm. Thankfully, summer is Paris means sunset at 10:30pm, so you’d hardly notice that you’ve just survived an intellectually stimulating and physical (walking, hopping on-off the Metro) 12-hour day. After class, we could still go for a wander to take photos, have dinner at a cafe (cheese and wine, if you prefer) and pick up groceries on the way back to our hotel. Unfortunately, shopping the mid-year sales is only possible on weekends. There’s only so much you can fit into a day in Paris!

Sciences Po

The first week of working aboard was eventful. My supervisor turned out be based in Berlin, which although unexpected, is beginning to teach me skills on remote working relationships. All my colleagues are French and speak only French during lunchtimes, which is good incentive to work harder on my French!

Sciences Po Courtyard

I get to walk past the Louvre every day (not many can say this!) enroute to classes at Sciences Po which start at 6pm. French architecture is spectacular and you have to experience the scale of the buildings, boulevards and bridges in person, as photos taken on your iPhone fail to do it justice. The city is steeped in history - my office shares the same laneway as the house where Mozart spent his last days, while famous European treaties were signed merely a few blocks away from our classroom in Sciences Po.

Lourve

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the week for all of us was the visit to the Australian Embassy where we met with Ambassador Stephen Brady, who graciously hosted us at his residence and was very generous with his time. He shared his insights on the globalisation of the workforce for our generation and candidly took us through his career path and the complexities of his role in the hopes of encouraging us to consider an intellectually rewarding career in international relations. We spent over two hours at the 800m2 residence which overlooked the Tour Eiffel and admired the stunning Aboriginal and modern Australian art and interior design which was truly representative of Australian identity. A special thank you from all of us to Carson for making the meeting with Ambassador Brady possible!

Australian Embassy

Bon weekend as we venture off on our first weekend in Europe - London, Munich, Prague, Rouen and Versailles are just some of the destinations that our group will cover in the next 48 hours. Next week we will be moving from our hotel accommodation to Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (Cité U for short) to immerse ourselves in Parisian student life. A bientot!

Farah Tan
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France

Adventures in Paris: Student Reflections on the International Placement Program

Week 3 and 4: All good things have to come to an end…
The final week is up and we celebrated graduation at SciencesPo by going out together with the teaching staff. It was very sad, as we have enjoyed our classes and our time together over the last five weeks. We enjoyed dinner and drinks and later, the class handed over some nice treats for the coordinators of the European Studies Programme. We all decided to stay in touch via LinkedIn.

After the dinner we were given an academic diploma for the completion of the European Studies Programme at SciencesPo. It is a great addition to my resume and adds value as I seek to reach my aspirations of acquiring an international career.

After finishing classes which have taken up most of our evenings, more free time opened up. As we were pretty used to the fast pace, we suddenly had lots of time spare for sightseeing. Bring on Paris!!

One thing I have noticed which differs a lot from Australia is the amount of people enjoying lovely picnics in the parks. We went several times per week for picnics at various locations in Paris, and we were (clearly) not the only ones! People of all ages enjoy prosciutto ham, brie, wine and baguettes. I do not want to think about all the damage that needs some repair when I return to my trainer in Sydney!

One of my favourite spots was the Luxembourg Gardens. It closes at 9pm, so we had to hurry up after work or go and visit during the weekends. Although Sydney is wonderful, it doesn’t beat the wonderful nature you can find throughout the heart of Paris!

 

It was not very tempting to spend a whole day standing in a queue, so we went to have a look at the Louvre during the evening. Hardly anyone was there and it was really cool to see it in person.

As this was our last weekend, we decided that a trip to Disneyland was a must. We bought tickets online and jumped on a train in the morning which did not take more than 45 minutes. This had been my dream ever since early childhood and it was finally an opportunity for some childhood closure!

We were super lucky with the weather and enjoyed the day. However, Disneyland was in general very over-priced, so I recommend bringing lots of spare cash! Unfortunately it is still a long time until Christmas, as this is a paradise for Christmas shopping (and any other random merchandise you might ‘need’!).

We did not exactly have a lack of activities ahead of us so we decided to stay until the fireworks at the end of the day, at 11pm… and it turned out that was a very good idea!

On a light-hearted note, as a final remark to future IPP students:
Although it is pretty nice to get some international work experience and an extra university diploma, it hardly beat the feeling of having this:

Panne au chocolat/chocolate croissant for breakfast

…..and crepes for lunch:

... and this is even without having anyone looking at you in a strange way!
Au revoir!!

Anette Hansen
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France

Adventures in Paris: Student Reflections on the International Placement Program

Despite the pre-departure orientation, nothing could quite prepare our group of 16 Business School students for what it really means to be an intern in Paris! Armed with French phrasebooks and Excel cheat sheets to help us manage whatever came our way, most of us began our placements feeling reasonably confident we were up to the task.

What quickly became clear is that the true challenge of being an intern in France is not so much adapting our skills and knowledge, which most of us found reasonably easily done, but rather to get used to the huge differences between doing business in Australia and in France. This experience of course varied among the group, as we are in placements of many different kinds of French and international organisations, all with their own distinctive style of work.

However, there are definitely some common themes! For starters, le déjeuner (lunch) is one of the most important parts of the day, and team members usually eat out together at a nearby restaurant. Sometimes business is discussed, but it’s often just a nice way to socialise. It’s wonderful as an intern to be included in this kind of thing (especially for the chance to try some more Parisian food)! Lessons I’ve learned over business lunch is not to order Orangina, which is apparently akin to ordering a chocolate milk at a fancy restaurant, and not to eat too much so as to avoid spending the rest of the afternoon in a food coma! While the French have a career’s worth of experience eating a huge lunch and heading straight back to work, inexperienced Australians may find themselves nodding off in an afternoon meeting if they’re not careful!

Another difference between the French and Australian style of doing business is more subtle, but very important to understand. The French adopt a much more consultative approach to projects, spending a lot of time discussing and debating, and trying a few things out before concrete decisions are made. To an Australian used to ticking boxes and meeting targets this may seem like a waste of time, but the French are used to their style and may regard schedules and fixed goals as impediments to good results. That being said, the French appreciate Australians’ motivation to get the job done on time, which seems to go down well with the boss!

There’s often talk of Parisians behaving rudely to people who don’t speak French, and with a group of students with varying abilities in the language some of us were a little apprehensive about this! Fortunately, it quickly became clear at work that a friendly bonjour in the morning and an à demain in the afternoon (and an apparent French fondness for Australian accents!) smoothed the way.

Office attire, especially for the girls, has also been an interesting one. Preparing for the bipolar weather, finding something clean and then attempting to dress as glamorously as the Parisians is of course the goal, but it’s usually a matter of picking one or two of the three!

While adapting to the French style of doing business has involved many a faux pas, we have come a long way in four weeks and can’t believe there are only two more to go! 

Iona Main

Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France, interning with Kimberly Wealth Management   

Adventures in Paris: Student Reflections on the International Placement Program

Week 3
My supervisor presented some of the work that I have been involved in with all member countries present. Therefore, I got to come along and listen to the discussion and questions all the member countries had with my supervisor regarding the 2015 budget allocation. This time I was very prepared and I kept track of the entire discussion without feeling lost (which I did at my first budget committee meeting on my first day). It was such a great feeling to be able to keep track of the discussion and know what everyone was talking about, in detail. After the committee, my supervisors and I went for lunch at a restaurant nearby. We had a pleasant conversation which involved my future career prospects. I could really see myself working for the OECD, and my supervisor suggested that I should apply for the Young Professionals Programme after my graduation. It is certainly something I will consider.

 View of the Budget Committee Room - I was seated behind the Executive Director, Anthony Rottier.

Friday morning we went for a field trip to visit the European Commission and the European Parliament. We took the train early in the morning in order to be in Brussels at 9 am. The train ride did not take more than 90 minutes(ish)!

Representatives from the European External Action Service (EEAS) came to greet us and held presentations about the EU and what they do, before they opened up for an informal discussion regarding the internal work at the EU. First, we met the Head of Sector Correspondence, Corporate Board Secretariat, before Mr Tamas Macazac came and spoke about Australian Trade Relations. It was very interesting to get an understanding of how the EU works from a senior employee’s perspective, and how Australia interacts with European Affairs.

The second part of our field trip was engaging in a role play at the Parlamentarium. It was a location with a set and equipment where we had to go through the same procedures as the official elected parliament representatives when they discuss official matters, negotiate with other parties and come to a consensus. It was harder than I anticipated but great fun!

At the end of the day the group went for dinner locally in Brussels before the travelling to Paris, Amsterdam, London, Rome or Berlin - we had a long weekend which we wanted to take advantage of! First, it was time to taste Belgium waffles, beer and frites!

After returning safely to Paris we celebrated Bastille Day on the 14th which is equivalent to Australia Day. We enjoyed a beautiful picnic during the day and when the fireworks were to begin, we had a stunning view to the Eiffel Tower while we enjoyed Champagne, macaroons and other French nibbles.  The fireworks were fantastic and it represented four significant highlights in the last century: the First and Second World War, the fallen soldiers and peace.

Anette Hansen
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France 

Adventures in Paris: Student Reflections on the International Placement Program

Week 2: So far so good!
Finally the jetlag and the feeling of being slightly overwhelmed is disappearing and I am starting to become eager to explore Paris! The first weekend after work we decided to see what Paris had to offer. After a long week at work and classes we decided that we still had energy to check out Paris Pride 2015 - which is equivalent to Sydney Mardi Gras - and we were not disappointed!

On the following day we decided to visit a famous leading macaroon maker in Paris, Laduree, for lunch and dessert. It was so exquisite that it was well worth the 40 Euros for an omelette and a few macaroons!

The rest of the day was spent visiting Notre Dame, going on a boat ride on the Seine, watching Paris from a hilltop in Montmatre and generally enjoy the amazing atmosphere here. We also realised that the sun sets at 10-11pm which gave us an opportunity to sit by the waterfront at the Seine enjoying wine, food and snacks after a long day at work followed by classes.

Picnic at Pont Neuf

Notre Dame

At work things are starting to add up. I have been given three projects to complete by the end of my placement which is very challenging, but teaching me so much. I might even have to adjust my enrolment as I am receiving training in a software program that I planned on learning through ‘Enterprise Systems Management’ during my studies next year. Therefore, I can already consider my placement a ‘win’!

The classes at SciencesPo are very interesting. We have new teachers with different backgrounds at every lecture which gives us a broad perspective of European history and how the Union become the way it did from multiple angles. As an international student from Europe, I now realise how important it is to understand the politics and the economics of Europe for my future career prospects in the Shipping Industry. This unit should be mandatory for everyone who is interested in getting involved in European trade and business.

We also moved into our accommodation at Citè Universitaire and it is stunning. It is a few train stops away from the city but yet it feels like it is rural, as it is surrounded by nature and fresh air. We have our own rooms with bathrooms, which feels really nice after sharing tiny rooms for a week! Au Revoir- So long (now)!

Citè Universitaire Campus

To end, this is our adorable uni-cat which belongs to the SciencesPo. His name is Marcel and he makes the classes a little more interesting!

Anette Hansen
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France