Back to News 17/07/2018

Meet Nicole, future student of the MSc in Management - European Triple Degree - Grande Ecole

Tell us a bit about your background: I am Mengqian (Nicole) and I was born and raised in mainland China. I love travelling and communicating with people from different countries and cultures. I studied biotechnology as my undergraduate major at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China. In university, I’ve spent a lot of time in the laboratory discovering the molecular mechanism of how the particular gene PINCH affects the generation and development of lung carcinoma. And I’ve taken pharmacology classes at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada in a summer programme.

Although science is fun, I got a little bit tired of being isolated for my experiments all day long with the ceaseless desire to communicate with the outer world. In the meantime, I got the opportunity to work at several international exhibitions as a sales assistant in Moscow, Chicago, Hanover, Shenzhen, etc. These business-related international experiences really opened a new world for me. I found it very exciting to constantly challenge myself in the dynamic environment of the business world. Compared with discovering fundamental scientific theories in laboratory, doing business makes me feel the fiery passion much more. During my work experiences in these exhibitions and in a biology company as a sales assistant for three months, I realized that business and management knowledge and practices are important to positions in marketing, sales, and many other departments. So I turned down the offer of New York University’s Master of Biology last year and applied to a business school instead.

Why did you decide to join the programme? The MSc in Management - European Triple Degree – Grande Ecole is the most unique programme I’ve ever seen. Several months earlier, the thought of taking my master in France had never crossed my mind: I was looking for suitable programmes in the UK. But when I first found this programme in Lancaster’s website, I knew that the MSc in Management - European Triple Degree – Grande Ecole was the programme I wanted the most!

There are plenty of reasons why I decided to join this programme. The curriculum for the first year includes many fundamental courses in management and business field. This is important for me because I haven’t taken any management related courses at university. And the opportunity of having a total one-year internship is another appealing point for me. This joint project will also provide a combined strength of global networks, which is an essential point for a business-world beginner like me. Based on the previous data, the class will represent a variety of nationalities and backgrounds, which will definitely create an advantage of understanding different cultural characteristics.

What do you expect from the programme? The MSc in Management - European Triple Degree – Grande Ecole is a programme gathering all the resources and intelligence from emlyon business school, Munich School of Management and Lancaster University Management School. Unsurprisingly, this programme can at least represent three different countries and cultures where these three institutions are located. Besides, it receives students from all over the world. I expect to immerse myself into this international environment and get to know how to approach things in today’s global business world, both theoretically and practically.

The courses in the first year will give me a basic understanding of management and business in a diverse and international way. And in the first internship, I hope I could gain some first-hand management and intercultural communication experiences. Besides, I expect to have a clearer career goal during the first-year experience. Overall, I expect the MSc in Management - European Triple Degree – Grande Ecole to be my springboard to start my career with a multinational corporation.