Back in December, all MSc in Digital Marketing & Data Science students flew over to the US and settled for a busy week in Boston. This learning trip was a unique opportunity to discover how and why Boston remains a privileged spot to innovate and create value. It was also an opportunity to grasp the impact of the economic environment on business practices. And last but not least, it was a way for students to start developing their international professional network.
Yousra and Xiaojun, both students and current “embassadors” of the program, take us through this unique experience!

Sneak Peak on our Learning Trip in Boston by Yousra Saddi

“This learning trip was a great opportunity to have a better understanding of the Boston ecosystem. We had the chance to visit prodigious institutions as well as attend conferences about entrepreneurship, discover many start-ups, start-up accelerators, robotics and of course get deeper into “data science” and “digital marketing”.

 

Throughout the week, we met inspirational speakers sharing their experiences with us. Some of them took us through their journey from the conception of their idea, to its execution and the challenges that came with it. This allowed us to broaden our horizon and bring a creative eye to our future projects.

 

This trip was actually defined as a “learning” trip not only thanks to the tailor-made program developed for us but also for its cultural aspect. We got the chance to explore the city, the cuisine and interact with locals.

 

Finally, we had memorable moments mixing academics with leisure activities. It was a great experience to spend an entire week with our classmates outside the school environment. This was definitely enriching for all of us especially now that we know each other better.
Our learning trip ended on a good note attending the Harvard-Colgate Hockey Game.”

 

“Campus visits: from HULT Business School and MIT to Harvard" by Xiaojun Li

“Thanks to this learning trip, we had the chance to visit some of the best universities in the US and get a feeling of what the entrepreneurial environment is like in Boston.

 

We first visited HULT Business School which is a multi-cultural international business school welcoming mostly international students. They have 6 campuses all over the world, and have students from over 150 countries. There, we were able to attend a roundtable about Smart Cities with Michael Lake, CEO at Leading Cities, and Oliver Sanchez from Accelhub.

 

We then had the chance to visit MIT and the MIT museum along Charles River. A few teachers from the MIT design lab introduced the campus and told us about its history, tradition and architectural style. We were immersed in an atmosphere of excellence. We discovered new designs when visiting the MIT museum, which gave us many creative ideas and innovation thoughts.

 

Coffee Break Learning Trip Bston

We also stopped by the Harvard campus in Cambridge where we explored the historical campus. The dominant architectural color at Harvard is red, which is very unique compared to other universities. We were able to feel the intense studying rhythm in this school.

 

Finally we were also able to visit Boston University’s build lab and Innovation Center.

 

As early makers, emlyon business school gave us the chance to explore the most excellent schools in the US and become familiar with its special learning environment. We felt more motivated to study and explore the world than ever.”