68 students attended the Budapest Summer Programme 2009, which has become an important yearly fixture for our Indian partners, who clearly supplied the majority of the participants.

ESSCA Hungary lays strong emphasis on the importance of field visits and project works. The three theoretical courses (Cross Cultural Management, Doing Business in Hungary and Performance Management and Marketing) were thus completed by a course called « Project Work – Field Study », in which students had to select a specific industry among five different options (Marketing and Retailing, Logistics, Automobiles, E-business, Finances and Banking).

During the programme at least five companies in the respective industries were visited and students worked on business and problem related projects provided by senior managers of the different firms. At the end of their stay at ESSCA Hungary the students had to present their projects which were evaluated by a jury composed of professors and the company managers.

Apart from their obligatory tasks at the school, some of the students had the opportunity to work on further business projects offered by one of the leading consultancy companies in Hungary. Those students who were motivated to have a deeper insight into how organisations work in Hungary and how the economic, political and social conditions influence the businesses in the region were thus able to benefit from the continuous assistance and explanations of the company while preparing their projects.

A visit to the Parliament where the students could meet and talk to several MPs further helped the students’ evaluation of the country as well as of the business opportunities of companies and individuals.

In order to develop sensitivity for similarities and differences between countries of Central and Eastern Europe ESSCA Hungary also organised a study trip to Bratislava. The tour included a company visit to a multinational company, a tour to one of the most prestigious private universities and a demonstration of the different retail store concepts.

The participants expressed great satisfaction with this intensive and very business focused programme. But their satisfaction went beyond a purely professional perspective, as they also found it beneficial from a social point of view : working with different people in a very different environment is always a culturally enriching experience. Several students have already enquired about opportunities to come back to Hungary and work at Hungarian or international companies.

Reported by Zsuzsa Deli-Gray