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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.