Sina T.
Germany
Previous studies/experience: International business and management studies & working in marketing field
Current career plan: Work in intercultural diversity management
It’s very enriching and fun to be part of such a truly international group; I can expand on my previous experiences and learn from everyone’s diverse backgrounds. We are gaining valuable in depth knowledge and practical skills to work in intercultural management and related fields – for example through leading our own intercultural workshops, project work or debating complex issues about managing diversity. I’m looking forward to my exchange to Helsinki and the practical semester in the 2nd year.
Update from October 2019:
Current Position: Customer Support Specialist in the financial sector
« My job requires excellent communication and conflict resolution skills, which ICM helped me build through theory and practice. Understanding the (business) culture of both my home country and my new home helps me navigate not just the day to day (work) life. I can anticipate intercultural issues and facilitate understanding and solutions between the company and its clients as well as in my own private life. »
Antonella Santi
Italy
Future career plans: Work in intercultural field as a mediator, trainer or project manager
I enrolled in this course in 2016 and belong to the second generation of ICM students. This master’s has given me the opportunity to be confronted daily with perspectives that are different from mine, therefore enriching my vision of the world. This process has been possible thanks to both my fellow ICM students and the wide array of subjects that is presented in this course. Having a background mainly in languages and linguistics, I feel that I have acquired not only knowledge but more importantly skills both in the interculturality and management fields. This master’s program is adapted to people who are open-minded, curious and flexible and who already have experience in working in an international team and/or living abroad. ICM can be challenging at times, but for me it was worth it.
Update from November 2019:
Current Position: HR Project Manager
« I am currently working as a project manager in Human Resources in Philips. The program trained me to navigate the diversity and challenges of a big corporate environment and equipped me with a flexible can-do mentality and very good communication skills. »
Rakesh Dumaru
Nepal
Previous studies: Bachelor’s in Sociology (Université de Nantes, France) and Bachelor’s (2nd year) in English Literature (St Xavier’s College, Nepal). I’ve been doing my studies in France since 2010.
After acquiring different work experiences and also travel experiences, I’ve decided to choose this master’s in intercultural management which suits my career plan. This course provides a good opportunity for everyone who is interested in working abroad with people from different cultures in the management field (HR/project management).
Something which I’ve found very interesting in this master’s is that you do not only get to study and work with students from various countries with professional work experiences but it also allows you to understand the importance of having knowledge about the presence of cultures in the professional domain and how they are handled. It’s more than just about cultures as you’ll see, this master’s course is well designed to guide you to your career path.
Looking forward to the exchange program in Tokyo in the 3rd semester.
Valentina Boskovic
Serbia
I’m a first-year ICM student. I’m 28 years old and I come from Belgrade, Serbia. I earned my BAs in English Language and Literature (University of Belgrade) and Engineering Management (Singidunum University in Belgrade). I previously worked in Emirates Airline, the UAE, for 3 years, and that’s where my desire to study Interculaturality stems from. I have also worked in the hospitality sector, marketing & sales, and I’ve been teaching English to different second language learners for the past 2 years. I’m interested in how important a strong corporate culture is when dealing with a multicultural working environment and how to handle it. With this master’s program, I aim to broaden my knowledge and gain new insights in order to be able to successfully manage and inspire thriving intercultural environments.
What I think of ICM: I would describe it as a challenging and rewarding experience. As intercultural communication teaches us, we all have different perceptions of what education should be like and what I like about ICM is that it allows you plenty of liberty to further research into your area of interest, to learn to study and live ‘French way’ and to excel in group work and different fields related to the subject.
Update from October 2019:
Current Position: Intercultural Trainer Recruiter
« I was scouted on LinkedIn thanks to the field of my Master’s, so the degree to which it helped my current work position is great. In my current job, the knowledge acquired during my Master’s allows me to assess candidate’s suitability and knowledge to deliver this type of training, as well as to find and develop the best talent in a given location. »
Daria Plotkina
Russia
Previous experience: Bachelor’s degree in international relations, working as a translator and a journalist
Career plan: working in the sphere of geopolitical risk management.
ICM is a perfect opportunity to meet people from all over the world, get to know each other’s cultures and develop truly priceless skills necessary for working in any international team.
Monika A.
Germany
Previous studies: Bachelor’s in Comparative European Ethnology
Career plan: Project Manager in an international organisation
What I think of ICM:
ICM offers students the opportunity to study with many international students and experience in France, not just in daily life, but also within an university environment. In this master’s, I learned more about intercultural encounters, project work as well as management techniques and therefore, this program helped me to prepare for my future career plans.
Bingyu Lai
People’s Republic of China
Previous studies: Bachelor’s degree in English interpretation
Previous experience: Attended most of the representative Model United Nations conferences held in Asia and chaired some of them. Volunteered in an orphanage and kindergarten in Nepal.
Career plan: Aspiring to work at organizations like UNICEF
ICM to me: It offers me a chance which I appreciate much to meet different friends from every possible corner around the world and through whom I am able to get access to interculturality studies in a truly intercultural environment.
The exchange program offered in Tokyo, Japan and Helsinki, Finland is a highlight of the course, through which we can travel to different places and expand our intercultural horizon.
Update from February 2020:
Current Position: Program Officer in the field of Environmental Protection
« I’m working as program officer at Global Environmental Institute based in Beijing, China, coordinating environmental protection projects in Southeast Asia and Africa. Through ICM, I was exposed to multicultural environment for two years with better cultural awareness and sensitiveness that I managed to take two internships with UN offices. Also, I got the chance to exchange in Japan, when I was able to improve my Japanese language and passed a crucial language test, which benefited me with an edge that I ended up getting a job in an international organization. »
Daniel
People’s Republic of China
Previous studies: Translation and second language education
Previous international experience: Internship in Spain and working holiday in New Zealand
What I think of ICM:
ICM offers a truly international learning experience even if it is located in a small but pretty French city. The programme emphasises academics and also pragmatism—we have to organise various activities, seminars, workshops, etc. I simply indulge myself in my studies in Dijon!
Andrew Stow
United Kingdom
Previous studies/experience: I have a BA in History; 5+ years in academic publishing and editing. I worked for 5 years in Japan in an office of roughly equal numbers of Japanese and non-Japanese staff. There, I became interested in various aspects of intercultural communication, and how intercultural teams can be effectively managed to meet a range of goals and maintain employees’ job satisfaction and motivation.
Career plan: I’m hoping to return to Japan and work in consultancy/HR management to help multinational companies
Update from March 2020:
Current Position: Trainer/ Consultant
Kyle Martin
United States of America
Previous studies/experience: BA in Teaching English as a Second language
Career plan: I hope to continue research in Intercultural Studies after the completion of this program.
The ICM program is enlightening and the students are truly international. The program offers a diverse mix of topics and teachers that I have found stimulating and challenging. I look forward to my remaining time in Dijon and studying in Helsinki in the fall.
Olena Kocharyan
Ukraine
Previous studies: Bachelor’s in Applied Foreign Languages (English-Russian)
I was born in Ukraine in a Ukrainian-Armenian family and at the age of 13 I moved to France. I have had experience of intercultural exchanges since my childhood and during my bachelor’s I had the chance to spend 1 year in Canada. I realized how hard I wanted to work in the intercultural field in this globalized world. ICM master’s program gives me a great opportunity to study ‘interculturality’, develop my intercultural competence and study management at the same time with great people from around the world. My future project is to build an interesting and exciting international Human Resources career path because of the great variety of languages, cultures, human connections and locations I want to engage in.
Anna Abdykerimova
Russia
I am originally from Moscow, however, for the last three years I have lived abroad. I participated in my first exchange program in 2010 when I went to Paris for 1 semester, where I studied management and political sciences. I graduated from the Moscow State University in 2012 with a master’s in management, and worked for 2 years as a PR manager with international and local clients. At the same time, I was interested in languages, so I organised several conversation clubs. My interest in international exchange increased over time, and I moved to Beijing where I taught English and organised English-speaking events. I completed my TEFL certification, and moved the following year to continue teaching in Shanghai, while also taking on responsibilities within the company to train new foreign employees. This inspired me to continue my education, and enroll in my current studies. The ICM program helps me to look at management from an EU perspective, moreover it encourages me to consider things in a global way. I am working to expand my intercultural and management competencies, and broaden my knowledge about different cultures every day.
Plans for the future: I am interested in continuing to work with expats in an international team on a new professional level.
