LSE experience - London, United Kingdom
University
LSE is located in
Holborn, in the heart of London and can be easily accessed by public transport
(Bus and Tube, Holborn and Temple tube stations). It is a campus composed of
several buildings very close to each other and courses take place all over the
campus. The buildings are not beautiful, but modern and offer all the
conditions for a fruitful learning environment. The library is huge and you can
find any resources you need for the courses. Also, most of the computers
available (also for printing) are located in there. However, throughout the
whole semester, it can be hard to find available learn space and computers.
This is even more complicated with groups and towards the end of the term.
The main strength of
LSE is certainly is the brand and the ability to attract both, interesting
corporate partners (IB, consulting and some other) and highly renowned speakers
to hold networking events, career fairs, presentations and speeches every day.
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| LSE Library |
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| New Academic Building (Block Seminar and some classes take place here) |
Block Seminar
The block seminar took
place at LSE in Holborn and was titled “Leadership in organisations”. It was a
great opportunity to meet fellow CEMS students (many of which are Germans).
There were some readings to do but overall workload was rather soft and allowed
enough time to discover London’s perks. It also hosted several guest speakers
from, both, LSE and corporate partners, e.g. Google and P&G which seems to
be LSE’s favourite partner ;-) Presentations took place on the last day of the
seminar and due to the fact that all presentations were so good, all groups
received an A.
During that week, the CEMS Club and CEMS team also provided for
social events such as a bowling evening and a networking event with alumni and
corporate partners. During lunch breaks, food was provided, but quantity and
quality are rather low and it turned out to be the same on several days.
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At the CEMS Block
Seminar
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Courses
Course choice takes
place during the first week of LSE and it can be really messy because it is not
always clear which courses you will get in the end (of those that you applied
for) and which you have to attend. For some classes, you need to write a cover
letter or take an exam. In addition to courses, seminars (practical classes)
have to be chosen for most of the courses.
Grades and the type of
assessment can vary greatly dependent on the courses you choose. In general,
contents are very theoretical (a lot of readings and essays) and there are mostly
no group works. Workload is not especially high and tends to come up towards
the end of the term. Usually, exams are in the summer term after the academic
year. As Nova CEMS students won’t be able to attend, assessment was based on
essays or, for some courses, exams during the term.
In the following, some
courses that we have taken:
Business in the
Global Environment (mandatory strategy course): Not a strategy course at all!!! It can be
rather compared to a basic macroeconomic course, but with a focus on pragmatic
cases instead of an analytical perspective. In the end of the semester, we had
to write one exam (rather simple) and hand in an essay in January to moodle
(3000 words on one topic of the course).
The Analysis of
Strategy A: More strategy than
the previous course, it is mainly founded in microeconomics and game theory
concepts, so it should be easy if you have taken these courses at Nova. Towards
the end of the term there are some case discussions. To be enrolled in this
course, you have to do an exam in the first week (no studying is required or
even possible), but many people were unable to get the required grade in this.
Course assessment is 50% a game theory problem set and 50% an exam in the last
week, both of which are very easy. Classes can be boring, though, and the pace
is very slow.
Accounting,
Strategy and Control: Not
really an accounting course (there are almost no numbers there), it is more
related to governance and how to design effective control systems/performance
evaluation. The professor is very good and classes are interesting. There is a
case study to discuss in each practical seminar. Assessment is based on 4
essays done throughout the semester, and depending on the effort you put in it,
the workload can get considerable. Grades are not great in this course (as it
is usually the case with essay assessments at LSE, where you never get full
points for a “right” answer, so don’t be fooled by the translation of a 70% to
A, because this is not easy to achieve).
Financial
Reporting, Capital Markets and Business Combinations: Not an accounting course either.
Focus is rather on general reporting issues such as accounting for value
creation with special emphasis on cash flows and revenues, business
combinations, corporate disclosure, capital markets efficiency, and corporate
governance. The course was interesting and assessment was based on one
assignment during the semester (some calculations and a small essay) and a
presentation on one case study for CEMS students. Overall, the course is not
very difficult.
Principles
of Decision Science:
This course focuses on human’s decision capability in a descriptive and
normative way, both, in a practical and theoretical way. It covers the foundations
of decision theory; models and theories describing how people form preferences,
make judgments, deal with conflicting objectives, uncertainty, and risk. It is
highly interesting, but some formative coursework (essays and problem sets)
have to be handed in, although not graded. For CEMS students, assessment is
based on an essay that has to be written after the semester (3000-4000 words).
Negotiation
Analysis: Classes are very
theoretical and reading-based, whereas practical seminars are very interesting
and interactive, consisting of negotiations among students. Assessment was 100%
exam and requires several readings.
Life in London
As you expect, London
is a very expensive city to live in, and be prepared to spend enormous amounts
on everything, especially accommodation! Supply of rooms for less than 6 months
is very scarce and rents can be 30% higher than regular, long-term rents. Please
pay attention to the fact that rents are presented on a weekly, not monthly
basis.
The transportation
network works very well, although it is very crowded during peak hours; and
during weekends some tube stations were closed for maintenance and you have to
take the bus, which can take longer due to traffic but also run frequently. If
you miss a tube, don’t worry, the next one arrives in 2-4 minutes (sometimes 5-7
at night)! The tube is also connected to Heathrow airport, although you can
take more comfortable ways (much more expensive) to the airport if you carry a
lot of luggage! Tube services close shortly after midnight, but there are
plenty of night buses (if you live in a nice location!) For 81£ (~100€) you can
buy the monthly pass for tube & bus (already with student discount!).
Taking a cab is very expensive!
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| Canary Wharf – London’s new financial centre |
The city is huge and
there is a lot to do and discover, and you never get bored. However, that also
means that travel time is not negligible. Social life takes place all over the
city. However, there is also an LSE pub which is relatively cheap and suits for
an after-class pint of beer (or two or more). Covent Garden which is very close
to LSE is also a nice area with restaurants and bars (can be pricy as
everywhere!).
Pubs usually close at 11 or midnight and if you want to go out afterwards,
there are several areas to go out. Usually, places in the east and north
(Shoreditch, Camden) are much cheaper while bars and clubs towards the west and
the centre are more suited to wealthy individuals. Fabric (close to Barbican)
and Ministry of Sound (Elephant & Castle, south of the Thames) are probably
the most famous clubs and host well-known DJs, but are also expensive. It is
rather seldom the case that all CEMS student are joining because accommodation
is widespread over the city and there haven’t been many CEMS Club activities
during the term (actually none at all). That might result from the fact that
all LSE CEMS students are abroad during the first term.
Regarding football
matches, it is not easy to get ticket although not impossible. From my personal
perspective, teams in the east exhibit a better atmosphere in the stadium and
are a worthwhile alternative (e.g. Tottenham at White Hart Lane).
If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact Carlos Mirpuri or Trieu Pham.
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