Details

• France
• MASIMC-17
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

Start the housing search as soon as possible, ideally at least 2 months in advance for rental accommodations and 3-4+ months in advance for private student residences in Lyon. Also start learning about possible bureaucracy processes to go through, such as the Garant for housing contracts and also the most convenient insurance if it asked by the landlord. Moreover, try to ask the exchange university in advance for information about the housing supply and related bureaucracy, insurance, medical assistance, etc.. The university may have some partners for all these things with cheaper prices for students.

2. Accommodation

As mentioned before, start looking for housing as early as possible, especially for private or public student residences, which often are completely booked out already in June. Lyon's average rents are EUR 600-700 for a studio. Look for housing partners of Emlyon which may prioritize your application over other students or offer discounts. Emlyon also offers student guides and info sessions on Teams about housing and administrative matters which I found very useful. Lyon is a very nice city with very good public transport, especially the tram and metro lines rather than the bus lines, so look at areas well connected by metro or tram. Beware of loud street noises, if considering renting a room close to famous squares or tourist spots (i.e. Place des Terraux or Vieux Lyon).

3. Academic life at host university

Emlyon has a brand new campus in the 7th Arrondissement, which is amazing inside and well connected to the rest of the city. The academic culture is similar to the Business School style with limited class sizes and high in-class participation required from the students. The difficulty of the courses and overall academic experience totally depends on your choice of electives: both very analytical courses or more soft-skills courses can be found. I really enjoyed how international classes were, with students from all over the world and many opportunities to build meaningful connections and exchange ideas. I had a very good experience with all professors, who spoke very good English and were very professional. I also enjoyed the small class size and coursework load, which was not excessive but also proved to be of good quality, allowing me to learn about new topics I was not familiar with. Course registration for electives on the Emlyon portal took place at the beginning of July, and in mid July we have a drop off window for any course. The semester is composed by two periods, each period with maximum of 3 courses that can be taken in different time slots. I took 5 courses, all of which were in English. They covered topics ranging from Operations and Supply Chain Management to Sustainability, Business Analytics and International Business. Emlyon also provided the opportunity to register for language courses up to the B1 Advanced Level, which I was enrolled in.

5. Every day life in the host country

There are many social and leisure activities in Lyon, as the city is a huge cultural hub in France with music events, museums and sightseeing options. The city has also good nightlife and is the gastronomy capital of France. There are also many sports events in the city throughout the year, especially in football, basketball, and rugby. Emlyon organizes many events, starting from the Welcome week events, which I found very well organized, and there are many events through the student associations organized each month. Emlyon also offers the possibility to do sports, covering all major team and individual sports. The public transport works very well, especially the metro and tram system. The city is very well connected to most other major cities in France and is in a central position, close both to the Alps and the Provence coast. With regards to safety, the standard measures apply especially at night in the transport stations and central tourist areas.

6. Testimonial

Emlyon Business School has been a fantastic host university. I was lucky to experience studying one of the top business schools in France, where I met excellent professors, classmates and studied in great facilities. Lyon has been an amazing home for 4 months, where I learned more about French culture and gastronomy, and improved my knowledge of French. The city itself is stunning, with good climate, and the people are very friendly. The 4 months of my exchange went by so fast, and I am very glad to have taken part in this experience, wholeheartedly recommending both Emlyon and Lyon as an exchange destination.