Summer Schools : EWHA in Paris (Part 1)

As you may know, Korean students from EWHA
Woman University in Seoul spent ten days in Paris for EPITA’s Summer School
program, and left yesterday. The courses were focused on Web Security, and they
also made the most of their stay by visiting Paris. 

Here are interviews of HueiRi So, an EWHA Student, and
Philippe Meunier, professor at EWHA and accompanying the students during their
trip. Don’t miss out the two next interviews to come in a few days!

HueiRi So

Introduce yourself in a few words (ex:
nationality, academic background & professional aspirations).

 

       My name is HueiRi So, I’m from Seoul, Korea. I’m
studying at EWHA University and I want to work in the IT field.

 

Why did you want to be part of a Summer
School program like Epita’s? Why did you choose to come to France? Why choosing
EPITA (did you know Epita before?)

 

       I first heard about this school and this program from
friends of mine who already came here, I was really interested in visiting
France, so I decided to come. EWHA is a University with a lot of different
majors and specialties and I also wanted to know how it was to study in a
school focused on IT.

 

What’s your overall opinion on your stay
in France, for Epita Summer Schools? Did you like how you were welcomed? Did
you enjoy the activities submitted to you (on the campus and miscellaneous
activities in Paris)?

 

       It was amazing. I enjoyed most of the
courses we took here, it was a bit tough sometimes but the professors were very
kind to us and gave very detailed classes. The activities we did were fun,
visiting Paris, seeing the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre … We did a lot of
interesting things and we were very well welcomed at EPITA.

Is this Summer Schools program encouraging
you to apply for an International Master at EPITA?

 

       I don’t have a that much
information on EPITA’s others programs yet, but I will check!

 

What do you think of the content of the
classes you took? How has your relationship with the professors at EPITA been?

 

       Generally speaking, it wasn’t that hard. The
courses were very well taught by the professors, they made it very easy to
understand. I like their approach, with a lot of practice aside from the
theory. We weren’t that used to Unix for example, but we learnt fast thanks to
them. This Summer School was focused on Web Security, and during the practice
we also worked in the attacker’s point of view. It was really fun and
interesting.

 

What do you think of the conditions and
the general organization revolving around your stay and your activities here?
Do they match with your expectations?

 

       It was perfect, everyone treated us nicely,
we did a lot of activities: they took care of us, even providing lunch and
dinner !

 

Do
you have any anecdote you would like to share with us? (about French culture, a
visit, or something that happened when you were here)

 

       It’s not really an anecdote, but I was a
bit shocked by food differences. I expected it to be more narrowed on French
famous dishes, but it was really different.

 

 

 

 

 

Philippe
Meunier

 

What’s your overall opinion about this
stay with the Korean students? What do you think about the general organization
of the events?

 

       I liked it, and the students did too. They
had to deal with a lot, courses in the day, visits at night and weekend, in
addition to the cultural differences but that went very well. We are all
satisfied.

 

What do you think about the programs, were
the classes given useful, relevant? Did you like the way the classes were taught
in EPITA, from content to methodology?

 

       They chose to study Web Security, so it
went well: they were interested and the courses were interesting. They learnt
about Unix, security protocols, and the theoretical aspects were always backed
up with practice. They learnt a lot.

 

Concerning the cultural approach and the
activities submitted, what is your general comment on them? Do you think, for
example, that the students had too much/not enough free time to discover Paris
and French Culture and exploring?

 

       Even if it was tiring, they liked it a
lot. As I told you, they were studying the day and going out on for visits and
sightseeing in Paris on their free time: the schedule was tight. They spotted a
lot of cultural differences, the food was different, the way of life also, so
they had to adapt to that very quickly, and they managed well.

 

Did you have any feedback from EWHA
students so far? What did they think of their stay and classes during EPITA’s
Summer School program?

 

       I don’t have a really specific feedback
from them yet, maybe we’ll talk more about it when we come back, but generally
speaking they seem to be happy with their stay in Paris.

 

Do you have any anecdote you would like to
share with us?

 

       Yes, it’s a cultural difference that I
found a bit funny. Two days ago we were in a little supermarket to buy some
snacks, and they were so surprised and curious to see what we have here. They
were checking differences, and products we don’t have, or they don’t have. It
took almost half an hour!

 

Would you recommend EPITA’s Summer Schools
to other students? Why?

 

       Sure, we are trying to do the same thing
next year with future students. This trip went very well, and the students were
happy, so I hope I can come back.