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30-11-11
International excellence recognized at Montpellier Business School
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These two students will study for two full years in Montpellier Business School's Grande Ecole master's program, while benefiting from a scholarship of 9,000 euros (paid in monthly installments to cover their living expenses), with all course fees waived.
How did you feel when you heard you had been selected for the Excellence Scholarship?
Hanh Dung Nguyen Phuoc: I was very happy and very surprised. It's very difficult to get this award because of its competitiveness. I think I was very lucky. It's an honor to be chosen.
Olivier Esaie Tonde: I'm very happy. It wasn't easy for me. I applied for the scholarship but without much hope. I feel very proud knowing that I can compete internationally. You have to have confidence in your abilities.
How did your arrival go?
HDNP: We arrived in Montpellier on September 2 and were greeted by Caroline Cazi and Sophie Gosselin [sustainable development manager and assistant, respectively]. We were then presented to the school's director, Didier Jourdan, before moving into our accommodations, in the Residence des Moulins. We're very comfortable there.
OET: I had some difficulties during the Spanish course because I've never studied Spanish before. Other than that, everything is well organized and well explained. Any problems are solved quickly, and the school functions smoothly. I have a very good impression of the school.
What are your career plans?
HDNP: Montpellier Business School's program provides access to lots of job opportunities. It also has the advantage of having partnerships with businesses. I would like to specialize in logistics/supply chain. In my country, these are still new subjects – there are no higher education programs covering these topics, and therefore we lack logistics managers. My experience will allow me to manage logistics at an international level, such as managing the importation of French products to Vietnam.
OET: I'd like to specialize in finance, which is an area that fascinates me. It's an area that is more developed in France than in Burkina Faso, where education is very general. I think it's an essential industry to develop in my country, where the processing of paperwork is still very slow and the population doesn't trust banks. My ambition is to develop an international career, then to return to Burkina, strengthened by this experience.
What are your first impressions of the city?
HDNP: I watched the weather forecast before coming and they announced 21° C, which is very cold for me. But September was warm and sunny, which helped me to adjust. The historic part of town with its old houses is very pretty -- I love its feudal feeling. But what I like most is the sea!
OET: The climate is favorable, the city is pleasant, there are a lot of young people and lots of things for them to do, it's easy to get around. And there's the sea, which is not the case in Burkina Faso!
THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP
The foundation's international scholarship is awarded to a deserving foreign student every year. Founded in 2009, the scholarship is awarded by the school's foundation through a process that relies on the network of French embassies. The embassies in the target countries previously selected by the foundation communicate with local institutions of higher education, collect the applications and select one or more candidates whose records are then submitted to the foundation. Retaining the scholarship depends on the students' academic success.
THEIR CVS
Hanh Dung Nguyen Phuoc, 22, is a Vietnamese student who obtained a degree in economics at the University of Science in Ho Chi Minh City in 2011. He was selected on the basis of academic excellence and merit, as well as his career plans, which are to contribute to his country's development of foreign trade in wood, one of Vietnam's major resources.
Winner of seven different national and international awards (Gemadept scholarship, IDECAF competition, Professor Odon Vallet award, “Discover and Win” Incentive Award, first prize in the economics mathematics olympics, award from the Embassy of France in Vietnam, first prize in the national French language competition), she was selected from 222 candidates by the Embassy of France in Hanoi.
Olivier Esaie Tonde, 23, is a Burkinabe student who obtained a professional degree in management science, with a focus on marketing, at the Higher Institute of Computer Science and Management in Ouagadougou in 2011. He hopes to contribute to the development of responsible finance activities in his country.
Selected from 250 candidates by the Embassy of France in Burkina Faso, his candidacy was strongly supported by the embassy, which emphasized the fact that in view of his humble background, it was outstanding that Olivier had pursued a higher education and that it was essential to find ways to continue his studies.
See photos of their arrival on our Facebook page.
