Saying goodbye to your hometown and getting ready for your flight: studying abroad here you come! It is without a doubt the journey of a lifetime, but it can fly by so fast without realizing what you’ve missed.
Following these 5 tips will help any international student make the most of their studying abroad experience!
Living La Vida “Local”
Being an international student means staying for a long period of time in a new country that will become a new home for the next couple of months or years. This means that getting familiar and more comfortable with the new surrounding is a great first step.
Although travel sites and guides are great sources for learning about the local culture, the best way to integrate by being open to local encounters and experiences. Some examples can range from finding books, movies, food, and music for some inspiration; it will create a deeper connection from the get-go with the new home and neighbourhood: they also make awesome conversation starters.
Setting Goals While Studying Abroad
Wanting to reach certain objectives and attain certain goals is a way to immerse oneself in a freeing journey. It can be learning and mastering a foreign language, diving on it with some readings into the major of study; after all, no one should remove the “study” out of “studying abroad” because pursuing a programme is a chance to obtain important skills that will serve you in the future career.
As a matter of fact, EMLV business school noticed the high demand for soft skills and created a combination of courses that combine the academic content with projects that train students in developing their soft skills through group presentations, reports, and pitches.
This combo helps students sharpen their self-awareness, judgment, and decision-making skills, while expanding their abilities to solve problems by dealing with multiple types of personalities, sometimes cultures, and work backgrounds of the individuals within the same group.
Developing and Educational Plan for Studying Abroad
An educational plan is like a road-map to get organised. It should include long-term goals and the necessary tactical steps to achieve them. It will go through many drafts, revisions, and update as students go along. So guiding questions can be:
- What do you want to improve? On a soft skills and hard skills level.
- What will be your biggest challenge? Is it within or beyond your control?
- What resources should you utilize? Support groups, adviser, mentor…
This also includes attending orientation week and participating in career fairs that help students find their internships or even a potential job and better networking with employers and recruiters. This year’s career fair at Pôle Universitaire Léonard De Vinci was an opportunity for employers on campus to recruit trainees and consolidate their image with a target population of future professionals that are highly sought after by companies.
Devinci Career Fair 2019: over 100 employers rolled out 3000 jobs for students
Being Spontaneous
The most memorable moments students never forget are the last-minute plans, late-night group studies, unexpected discoveries, first-time taste of a new cuisine, getting off on the wrong métro exit.
A wanderlust spirit is what gives international students the chance to make memories. Recording videos, snapping pictures add to the archive of amazing experiences, whether alone or with new friends from the hosting country.
Breaking the Routine
And this has nothing to do with being committed to studies. Dedication and ambition are the core of any student, especially international students who have more at stake and left everything to embark on a new adventure. However, once routine sets it, it’s good to remember where students are: Paris! Which means a lot to do and even more to see.
Ready for a new adventure abroad? Grab your student guide now!
