PHILIPPINE ROBERT
"I DID A 10-MONTH INTERNSHIP AT NIKE"
Philippine Robert graduated from EDHEC Business School's Bachelor in Business Administration in 2020. As part of the Global Business track, she studied in Los Angeles and Singapore. She also worked as an intern for Hugo Boss and Nike, cumulating a total of 19 months professional experience. Today, she studies at IE Univesity in Spain.
MY FIRST YEAR AT EDHEC BUSINESS SCHOOL IN FRANCE
I decided to join EDHEC Business School to merge my desire to learn practical skills with academic excellence. Looking at the panel of Bachelor in Business Administration programmes available in France, EDHEC International BBA was definitely the one offering the most extensive international experience. Its Global Business track is structured as follows: one year at EDHEC in Nice (France), one year at UCLA Extension in Los Angeles (United States), and one year at Nanyang Technological University (NTU)in Singapore. Finally, three internships complete this programme.
During the first year at EDHEC (in Nice, France), I learned the basics of business management: accounting, management, communication, economics, finance, marketing, geopolitics, etc. These courses were meant to get me ready for UCLA Extension and NTU. In addition to these courses, I also had the opportunity to launch a non-profit organization, as well as organize a Model United Nations (MUN) conference with the responsibility of raising funds.
At the end of this first year and during an event organized by our BBA Career Centre, I found an internship at Hugo Boss. For two months, I worked as a sales assistant. My manager took me under her wing and taught me a lot about a big company’s business strategy.
MY SECOND-YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES
In early September of 2017, I moved to Los Angeles to start my studies at UCLA Extension. With the help of EDHEC and UCLA Extension’s staff, I managed to quickly find an apartment with local American students, subscribe to an international option with my bank, and choose a new mobile plan. Then, I started my courses and met with my new professors. Most of them were also active professionals running their own business on the side. Hence, classes and lectures were very interesting and based on case studies. Apart from my classes, I had the chance to take part in one of UCLA's students' clubs. I joined the UCLA tennis team with whom I travelled to California and Arizona for competitions.
After completing my certificate in International Trade and Commerce at UCLA Extension in June 2018, I started a 7-month internship at Court 16, a startup company based in Brooklyn, New York. This amazing opportunity taught me a lot about sales techniques, event management, and communications.
MY LAST YEAR IN SINGAPORE AND MY INTERNSHIP AT NIKE
In January 2019, I flew to Singapore to initiate my studies at Nanyang Technological University. The excitement of discovering another culture easily overcame the apprehension of moving far from home. After only a few days, I found great accommodation in the centre of Singapore. After I settled in, I was joined by my EDHEC classmates to discover NTU’s modern campus for the first time. We met our new professors and the class was unanimously impressed with our digital marketing teacher who received The world's best business professor award in 2013. Also, as part of our EDHEC International BBA programme, we worked on our bachelor’s thesis. This year-long team project has revealed itself to be very challenging and exciting at the same time. Finally, I once again joined NTU’s tennis team, as I previously did at UCLA.
I completed my Certificate in International Trade and Commerce from NTU in January 2020. A month later, and after a four-round recruitment process, I joined Nike’s European headquarters in the Netherlands for a 10-month internship, where I managed the tennis, golf, and lifestyle equipment sales department. In the meantime, I was actively looking for a Master's degree in a top-European business school. My application at IE Business School’s Master In Management received a positive answer and I moved to Spain in January 2021. I am planning on rejoining Nike after graduating from IE, hoping to kick start my professional career in this world-renowned company.
Overall, EDHEC International BBA has been an amazing experience. I learned and experienced so much more than what I could expect when joining EDHEC. The four years have not always been a walk in the park but the outcome is definitely worth it. Looking back at all these achievements helps me realize how proud and lucky I am to be an EDHEC alumni.
