The Suzhou campus is hosting 307 students of 23 nationalities and eight programmes this academic year. During the orientation ceremony held in the last week of August, Matthieu Dumont, director of SKEMA Suzhou, and Hua Lin, academic director of the campus, welcomed the students.
Qi Deng, a new faculty member, presented SKEMA Ventures, the school's entrepreneurship unit. The students also discovered the various services available to them such as the Student Life Centre, Talent and Careers, and SKEMA Alumni, watched a photo exhibition on the past and present of Suzhou, and enjoyed a riveting opera performance from Sichuan.
The event included a special speech about the Suzhou gardens and the Chinese culture by Haibo Gu from Soochow University. The students got a tour of the Lingering Garden (one of the most well known gardens in China) and a silk factory where they discovered the secrets of this traditional industry in Suzhou.
Watch the video of the orientation week at the Suzhou campus.
In Raleigh, USA, 216 students from five different programmes (BBA, ESDHEM, PGE M1, MSc IB and MSc FMI) began their academic year on 20 and 21 August. They were welcomed by Mohamed Desoky, programme director of the campus, Gisa Rollin, director of development, and the whole SKEMA USA team, along with the local academic and professional partners. The students learnt about SKEMA Ventures and the new SKEMA United Challenge launched by the school and explored their new study and living environment on the SKEMA and NC State University campuses. On 6 September, they participated in “SKEMA Day” which included outdoor team-building activities on the theme of leadership.
In Belo Horizonte, the orientation day was on 26 August, marking the beginning of the academic year for around 150 students representing 13 nationalities, from the BBA, ESDHEM, PGE M1, MSc 2-year, MSc International Business, MSc Corporate Financial Management, MSc International Marketing and Business Development, and MSc Project and Programme Management & Business Development programmes. Geneviève Poulingue, director of the campus, welcomed the new students along with the whole SKEMA Brazil team and local partners. The welcome presentations included information on local traditions and laws, security, health and sport. The students got to know about the HOPE association’s humanitarian projects in Belo Horizonte the initiatives of FDC Volunteer Programs and ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability). The event also included an exciting performance by a capoeira group and a tasting session of traditional cuisine from Minas Gerais.
Watch the video of the orientation day in Belo Horizonte.
At the Lille, Paris and Sophia Antipolis campuses, students from different programmes (ESDHEM, BBA, PGE, exchange students, 1- and 2-year MSc) attended an inaugural class in the multiplex with all the campuses. Representatives from the Belo Horizonte, Raleigh and Suzhou campuses presented the unique aspects of each campus, an indication of the global experience students can explore. Dean Alice Guilhon, vice-dean of programmes Patrice Houdayer, the heads of programmes and the professors welcomed the new students and congratulated them on being accepted into the school’s increasingly selective programmes. The speeches included guidance on how students can make the best use of their time at SKEMA.