The city of Love, Romance and Fashion, Paris, is unique in more ways than one, and what could have been an interesting place for our International Immersion Program of XLRI than this city of the Eiffel Tower? The moment we landed at the Charles De Gaulle Airport, what struck us was the innate beauty of this city. We couldn’t wait to move out of the airport and as expected, the picturesque beauty seemed never ending! Our day ended with a dinner at an Indian Restaurant – and that perhaps was the last bit of Indian Food we tasted in France.
Late night first day walk followed by the misty morning walk was an experience beyond imagination, especially so as the famous “Mohabbatein” leaves adorned the roads with a red carpet for us to walk on. Our co-ordinator Mr. Ricky Young acquainted us with the campus and nearby places to eat, shop, party n drink! The IESEG School of management has campuses in Lille and Paris. We were welcomed by the Director and International Relations Team at IESEG. The Lille campus hosted classes for us on a gamut of topics ranging from the origin of French culture to the making of European Union; from Marketing and Decision Making the McDonald way to Production Operations- the globalised approach; with faculty from diverse geographies - French, English, German, Italian and Indian. A distinctive supply chain game organised by Prof Newman, emphasizing the importance of Just in Time will always remain at the back of our minds while working on Supply chain activities. The first ten days went in attending lectures and exploring the majestically architected city of Lille. We savoured the French cuisine which made us savour a variety of cheese flavours. Our co-ordinator rightly pointed out that if we want to taste all the French cheeses, it would take us more than a year!
The rendezvous with France began with a weekend trip to Paris. As if the grandeur of the city was not enough, the majestic Louvre Museum, beautiful Seine River and the imposing Notre Dame captured our imagination and evoked sheer admiration. The history books of the secondary standard quickly flashed in our memory as we saw the remains of the times of French revolution at Chateau De Versailles.
The college assigned us company projects at some of the best known French firms in domains which included Marketing, Production, HR and Logistics. Each project was unique and helped us develop competencies to conduct business in a global world.
Italy was the weekend destination for some of us, while it was “Spain calling” for the rest. Enthralled we were, on seeing the sight of the walls covered by the paintings of Michael Angelo at the Sistine Chapel, the majestic Colosseum, and the magnificence of the Leaning Tower of Pisa; some of the most astonishing marvels that history could have ever produced. Watching the live Football match and applying management concepts gave an adrenaline rush to some of the Spain weekenders.
Lucky were we to see the Choco-Late, the World Famous Bruges Chocolate Fest before our memorable three week trip came to an end. Though “Made in France” and “Made in Italy” do not sound as extraordinary as they did once for Indian shoppers, this immersion trip nevertheless will always remain close to our hearts and Europe will still be most preferred student exchange destination. Bon Voyage!
Article by:
Meenal Jain (GMP 2011-12)
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