Exchange Report: LSE Kitty Saikkonen Fall 2013 [ C o m p a n y A d d r e s s ]

Transcription

1 Exchange Report: LSE Kitty Saikkonen Fall 2013 [ C o m p a n y A d d r e s s ]

2 1. Preparing for the exchange semester I completed my exchange at London School of Economics as a part of the CEMS double degree offered by the Aalto School of Business. After receiving the confirmation for my CEMS exchange at LSE, the process of registering at LSE was quite straightforward. We received a comprehensive information package from the CEMS coordinator Maryane Mwaniki. During the summer, she asked us to provide a provisionary course selection list as she wanted to start securing spots for CEMS students on the courses they wished to attend. Maryane was swift in replying to s if we had any questions concerning our upcoming term in London. 2. Accommodation Reasonably priced accommodation is fairly difficult to find in London. The problem is that the demand for apartments is very high especially in September, so particularly landlords that allow short- term lets are few and far between as they can easily get other tenants that agree to rent their apartment for at least a year. The CEMSies that had done summer internships in London had managed to find more reasonably priced apartments than others as they were staying in London for a longer period of time. You should prepare to come to London well in advance to search for housing. The CEMS office at LSE had organized accommodation at LSE halls for the duration of the block seminar, which kicked off the fall semester. Keep an eye on s from the CEMS office, advertising apartments of

3 outgoing exchange students. I ed one outgoing exchange student from London and we agreed that I would rent her apartment with another CEMSie from Budapest for the duration of her exchange. However, in August we got to hear that a water pipe had burst in the apartment and we had to start searching for a new place to live. As the High Holborn residence was being renovated the year I was at LSE, CEMS students were not offered any places at LSE dorms, so everyone had to search for other kinds of accommodation options. LSE did not offer CEMS students the possibility to live in their halls for the duration of our stay, as High Holborn was being renovated at the time we were there. Normally rooms there cost pounds per week. The rooms were in quite poor condition, but I suppose that after the renovation they will be in a better shape. Due to this year s circumstances, the LSE CEMS coordinators had arranged a deal with a private student residence called Liberty Living, offering studios near Angel for 310 pounds per week. Some CEMS students decided to go for this option, but I found the deal a bit pricey and kept searching for something else. I finally managed to find an apartment on LSE Student PRS, a portal where private landlords post ads about apartments they are renting out. I managed to find a lovely studio in Pimlico, a 20- minute tube ride away from LSE. It turned out that is in fact illegal for landlords to rent apartments for a shorter period of time than one year in some parts of London, including Westminster. My landlord got around this problem by including a three- month break clause in my contract, so that I could move out after three

4 months. Two German students managed to get rooms at the International Lutheran Center. These were close to the school and cost only 180 pounds per week, which was also the cheapest rent that I heard about. One CEMSie also lived in the Graham house, right opposite the British Museum, for 190 pounds per week. The students said that there is a nice atmosphere in the halls, but they are in slightly poor condition and not recommended to asthmatics or people with allergies. I also heard about the Alexandra Mansions for girls, which is worth checking out if you are a girl. Other places to look for apartments include gumtree.com, zoopla and rightmove. 3. Flight and Arrival Travelling to London is quite easy, as there are numerous airlines operating direct flights from Helsinki to London. If you fly with British Airways, SAS or Finnair, you can take the Piccadilly tube line takes directly from Heathrow to the center of London. The ride takes about an hour. If you are in a hurry, you can also opt for the Heathrow express train service, which makes the trip to Paddington station in just 15 minutes. The LSE campus is located in Holborn, right in the heart of London. The campus is easily reached with buses and the tube. The nearest tube stations are Holborn and Temple, so it would be advisable to search for an apartment from where it is easy to take the District, Circle, Piccadilly or Central tube lines. The CEMS coordinator at LSE made us feel very welcome on our first day at LSE. She gave us information on the course registration process and other

5 practicalities. At the welcome event we also met other staff from the Department of Management, including the CEMS Academic Director Emma Soane. Unfortunately all the CEMS students at LSE are on their term abroad during the fall term, so there are no CEMS Club- run events during the fall term. Maryane had created a Facebook group for us, where we could connect with other CEMS students before the block seminar. 4. Time at the host school CEMS Course portfolio The selection of CEMS courses was quite wide, and we had a choice of taking courses from the Management, were also given the option to choose courses from practically any LSE department, outside the official selection. Maryane, the CEMS coordinator facilitated this to us and talked to some of the departments in advance in order to arrange CEMS students spots on the courses. Students are allowed to audit courses before choosing which courses to take, so the first few weeks at LSE can be quite busy if you want to try out a lot of different classes. The application for courses takes place through LSE for you and students are not guaranteed a spot on their desired course, but Maryane tries to negotiate spots for CEMS students. Some courses are so popular that even LSE home students are not guaranteed a spot and students are selected through a draw. I was very satisfied with the courses I ended up choosing. I got a spot on all of the courses that I had hoped for, including one that was not on the

6 original list of courses. AC 411 Accounting, strategy and control (7.5 ects) This course deals with a more strategic side of accounting, incentives and control systems. The class consisted of weekly lectures by Professor van der Stede and weekly seminars by Dr. Martin Gireaudeau, where we typically went through a case where we applied the theory that we had learned in class. CEMS students completed the course by writing four word essays out of eight possible topics. Do take the time to go to Gireaudeau s office hour in the essays they are looking for a specific kind of argumentation, and it may be helpful to discuss this with him. This was one of the two courses I was able to finish before returning back home. I highly recommend this course. MN425 Business in the global environment (7.5 ects) The compulsory CEMS Strategy course was lectured by Dr. Veronica Rappoport. The course was more of an introductory class to macroeconomics than a strategy class. However, the most interesting part of the course was the cases that we discussed interesting cases related to the topic at hand. The evaluation consisted of one essay of 3000 words (40%) and a final exam (60%). GY409 Globalization and Regional Development In this class lectured by Professor Michael Storper we learned about how the effects that globalization has on the world and whether it creates

7 divergence or convergence in living standards and technology levels. The grading was based on one essay of 5000 words. Professor Storper is an expert in his field and delivered enthusiastic lectures. I really enjoyed the course and would highly recommend it. ID433 Negotiation Analysis Tis course was lectured by Professor John Kelly and consisted of weekly lectures and seminars. During the lectures we went over negotiation theory and during the seminars we practiced negotiation techniques through different kinds of case- based simulations and roleplays. The best part of the course were definitely the seminars where we were able to out theory into practice, but the exam was still based 100% on an exam based mostly on academic articles and theory. 5. Living in the host country Once you arrive to the United Kingdom, you should order a student Oyster card for public transport. You can order one online and it is conveniently sent directly to home. You can only receive the student discount for transportation only with the Student Oyster card. When it comes to buying a local phone, Giffgaff offers the best deals for prepaid SIM cards, with monthly packages with unlimited internet. There are many different restaurants in the LSE campus area, and it is also within walking distance of Covent Garden. Some restaurants worth mentioning are Asadal, which is a Korean restaurant right by Holborn station. Another lovely café worth mentioning is Fleet River Bakery, a

8 charming café near New Academic Building. I also enjoyed the salad buffet on the 3rd floor of LSE Old Building. There is a branch of the NHS (National Health Service) on the LSE campus. You can register there and you will be assigned your own GP. After this, appointments with the doctor and nurses are free of charge. 6. Final comments I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the LSE. The course portfolio is wide and allows you to choose also courses that are very interdisciplinary in nature. LSE offers a community of internationally- minded, positively driven and inspiring people. The exceptional academics, career services, student community, public lectures make LSE a fantastic exchange destination. The city of London also offers the perfect setting for a term abroad!