Wukeh Egem-Odey-Sciences Po.

1.Why did you choose to be an exchange student in Guanghua School of Management of Peking University?

Originally, I did not. I chose China but I did not choose Guanghua. My university chose Guanghua and I was pretty disappointed because the initial program I had thought they would pick was a Public Policy program at Tsinghua since I am studying for an MPP. Now. I think I owe them! I say that because with all due respects to Tsinghua (whose students I have now interacted with and are amazing) I would not pick any school over Guanghua now that I have experienced it. The utter diversity! The prestige! The people! So honestly, that is the story, I did not choose Guanghua but God smiled on me and designed it to be the most immersing experience of people and ideas that I have ever had.

2.What impresses you the most during the exchange at Guanghua School of Management?

Impresses me the most? The thing about my time here is when something impresses you, it usually “impresses you the most” so the number one on the list never stays number 1 for long. For instance getting all your lecture notes in a hard copy textbook format (with extra reading materials and references) was amazing to me! I liked it from the first class I received one. I feel the extra attention and detail the school pays to each student and it makes me very confident in the system. I also got excited about the international students association (GISA). I think they impressed me for “the most times”. I visited a car company, a bike company and not to mention the other activities I may have passed on. I was impressed by their dedication to making a great experience out of a few months especially through the buddy system. It may be full of fun and play but it meant a lot to see such effort go in. I do not take that for granted.

3.What does the exchange experience mean to you? Or why do you go to an exchange program?

I think the word exchange says it all. It is give and take. You have something but its not so important if you do not share it like an unlighted candle. I GISA QUESTIONNAIRE believe our experiences are not as important as when we can exchange them for the experience of others especially when you know they probably would never have similar experiences as us because of our origin, backgrounds or disciplines. And the highlight is when we all then share the same experience together. It is the most unique sort of learning because so much is being learnt but so little is being taught. For me, I was eager to see how other people saw the world, how they studied, how they felt about their life and its contribution. I wanted to go so far away from comfort zone that I’d never even know the way back. An exchange is achieved when one student says to another: What? You too? I thought I was the only one! So I guess in that sense what it all means to me is a chance to give and the pleasure of receiving and the promise to never go back the same.

4.Which course do you like most and why？

Tough one. So I must wriggle my way out and say I liked Carbon Finance the most but it was too intensive to fall in love haha. Who wouldn’t want to learn how to use business to solve climate change? I am coming from a Public Policy background where Climate Change is the most discussed issue and businesses are seen as the stubborn children that need to be regulated. But this course, which was in partnership with University of Edinburgh Business School in UK showed that businesses can and are trying to behave by themselves. We learnt that it is “profitable” and “sustainable” to invest in “Global cooling”. That said, together with Asi, Karolina, Margaux and Kimon, we built the best business plan for the course in Entrepreneurship management and this was a major highlight and it MAY come to life. So maybe it could be one lasting product of a Guanghua exchange!

5.How did you get along with your teachers and classmates?

Great. I think when you are honest enough to realize that you are privileged to be amongst the people around you, you will get along well. I did not come to just “get along” haha. I came to “get up, get down, get in touch, get involved, get around and get away”. So with an open mind, I got down with different study cultures and habits and got along just fine with students and teachers. With an open heart, I got up from my sit and was genuinely interested in making good relationships and got along just fine. With respect and the humility to ask for help, I got around the hard stuff and got along just fine. By suspending all judgments, I got involved enough to see that my classmates were the most special people I had ever met in so short time. So with a QR code, respect and openness, I had my chance to build QR (Quality Relationships) among my students and teachers and I scanned it J haha.