My summer school experience in Marseille, France

I’m Kamilla and I’m going into my final year of BA Business Management degree. I did a 2-week summer school in Marseille, France and wanted to share my experience with you.

The campus

My summer school was with KEDGE Business School at their Marseille campus. I chose the course Ethics, business, society and changes toward sustainability which ran from July 11 – 22. I had both morning and afternoon classes for two weeks, but you could easily pick and choose the courses to customise the length of your summer school.

You can also choose courses from different campuses of KEDGE. They have two more campuses in Bordeaux and Paris that also offer summer school courses. The biggest reason I chose the Marseille campus was because I wanted to do a sustainability related course. The beach at my doorstep was a bonus!

My favourite part of the campus was the beautiful view of the Calanques National Park from the Business School building. Every lunch break, we sat outside with our food and enjoyed a mini picnic with a beautiful view.

The city

Marseille is the third largest city in France and has a charm that’s difficult to find in other places. There is a blend of cultures including the African influence in the Noailles area. But you also find the beautiful French architecture, scenic beaches, and amazing street art all in one city. I loved how Marseille had so much to offer and would love to go back to experience more of it.

We also had plenty of activities organised by the local students to help us explore the city. For example, we visited Les Goudes beach which is also known as the “End of the World”. There was no better feeling than jumping in the water when we finally arrived. Since we would do a lot of the activities after our afternoon classes, we always caught beautiful views of the sunset. I don’t think there’s a better feeling than drying off from an evening swim whilst the sun is setting right in front of you.

Top memories from the summer school

1. They have “Maki Fromage” in France – sushi with only cheese as the filling!
2. The vineyard visit on the last day showed life from the local perspective. It was a family-run business and I loved seeing the photos of the different generations of the family over the years.
3. Enjoying a glass of wine on a sunset cruise that set off from the beautiful old port of Marseille.
4. All the amazing friends I made – I have friends I can visit across the world including Canada, Australia, France and much more!
5. Seeing how relevant and important the topic of Sustainability was – there was a heatwave across Europe during the summer school and it’s a scary reminder that climate change is very real and climate action is a necessity

I would recommend the summer school to everyone, especially if you can’t commit to a full year abroad but still want some global experience. I did mine during my year in industry, so the 2-weeks was the perfect length for me. Overall, I found the experience to be a great break from life at home but also very insightful since I learned so much on the course. I can confidently say the people I met were the best part and I can’t wait to visit them in the future.