New classes

Hey cuties!

Finally my schedule for this semester is set. After hoping the best for 2 weeks, I eventually got in all the classes I wanted. It's not so easy because usually exchange students are the last ones getting enrolled. So theoretically we can only choose from the free spots left. BUT luckily my supervisor and the professors are usually very helpful and trying the best to make everyone happy ;)

So these are my classes plus course desciptions:

Corporate and Cooperative Strategy: In this class, students integrate knowledge from the different functional areas and evaluate strategic decisions in a corporate context. This case-based course emphasizes the analysis of the drivers of value creation and value destruction in such corporate tools as mergers and acquisitions, alliances, and informal interorganizational networks. Students will learn to apply a set of tools that help them to make better corporate-level decisions addressing diversification, integration, and internal development issues facing modern multibusiness firms. The coursework includes a team project.

Environment, Society, and Capitalism: This course takes a strategic planning perspective to investigate environmental management issues in the context of assessing and responding to competitive and social forces. It examines a serious challenge to corporations competing in the global economy: How to maximize profitability and production in such a way that will allow the planet to support operations indefinitely. Emphasis will be on the company’s ability to use both traditional management concepts and new sustainability practices to build and sustain a competitive advantage. Students will learn how an enterprise can meet sustainability goals while still fulfilling its financial and market objectives.

French Society and Institutions: An introduction to French society and the institutions that shaped it. Using periodization to define particular historical movements such as the Gallo-Roman period, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Enlightenment, revolutionary France, and the Third Republic, the course focuses on historical and architectural sites in Paris and the provinces to consider issues of French identity. 

Introductory Spanish I: The overall goal of this course is developing proficiency in the 4 language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) essential to communicative language learning. The course uses a task-based approach which provides the learner with opportunities to use the language interactively. 

So far I cannot say a lot about my classes. For the Strategy class we have to read cases every week which we then discuss in class. I think it's going to be demanding but interesting. The french class seems a little dry but we are talking a lot and I guess it's really important for me because otherwise my french would get really rusty and I still need to take another tough french class at WU next semester. The spanish class is pretty intense (4 times a week) but so cool! Also we are only 12 students so i'm gonna improve really fast :) I can't credit this class though, so basically I'm taking it just for fun. But that's fine for me because it seems like a great opportunity, especially now that I'm living and hanging out with a lot of spanish speaking friends. Yeah and about the environmental class I can't really tell anything so far because I only had it once.

Also, I got a student job for 10 hours a week in the Computer lab. I basically have to take care of the printers and answer possible questions of other students. Not too hard and the good thing is, as long as I don't have anything to I'm allowed to study for my classes.

So far, hope everything is fine at home as well. Have a good one! XO