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The IB program

LSM Louvain-La-Neuve, Mons

The academic program of the IB students will be the following one :

IB Progr

* The Theoritical Part must be done before the beginning of Term 3 and the practical part must be handed in with the final version of the master's thesis (Theoritical and Practical parts).

A specific compulsory IB major, in English, accessible for students selected to the IB program only, is composed of 6 courses with an international orientation:

  • Entrepreuneurial Finance (Q1)
  • International Financial Management (Q1)
  • International Marketing (Q1)
  • Industrial Relations in Europe (Q2)
  • Cross Cultural Competences and Management (Q2)
  • International Business (Q2)

The exchange will take place in annual block 2 during the first term, in the Fall.

Over 140 partner universities all over the world can welcome you for a 4-5 month academic exchange.

For the list of the LSM partner universities and the regular exchange procedure, please visit the Term Abroad webpages.

A 6-month immersion in an overseas setting represents a field learning process accompanied by intense coaching. Our experience is that, with such a long duration, high profile students will be considered as a Junior Manager, subject to normal business practices.

The IB internship must last at least 6 consecutive months after the January session of the annual block 2.

The intern is supervised throughout the internship duration; coaching is a major component of the programme :

  • Team building activities before departure.
  • Weekly progress reports during the first 4 weeks.
  • 4 progress reports afterwards.

The student can find an internship by her/himself or can benefit from the help of the LSM IB Internship Advisor. As the IB internship must take place outside Europe, the student can go either in Asia, in North or South America, in Africa or in Oceania.
Note that AWEX proposes internships in the frame of Explort.

Some companies where previous IB students have done their internship:
Solvay s.a (China), Henkel Japan, Ethnicraft (Malaysia), Exmar (USA), Biotec (Colombia), Wlit Brewery (South Africa), Arrazuriz (Chile), Muang Thai Li (Cambodia), Verifone (USA), Odoo (Hong-Kong), Rexel Development SAS (Australia), Lhoist Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Setter Investimentos Participacoes (Brazil), PT SAS Kreasindo Utama (Indonesia), Henkel Jebel Ali (Dubaï-UAE), Lu Rui & Co Services Pvt Ltd (India), GDTech S.A. (Oman), Henkel Home Care Korea, AWEX Belgique (Argentina), Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd (Singapore), NBM (Madagascar) etc.

IB students complete a Master's Thesis containing 2 distinct parts:

Theoritical part: Under the guidance of a LSM academic supervisor, the student will review the literature to highlight the state of the art and consider the available expertise on an international and intercultural management topic. This preliminary work leads to the formulation of some questions on a research topic.
This purely theoritical work (up to 40 pages) must be completed before and uploaded before going abroad on exchange.

Practical part: Under the guidance of another academic, here the IB academic supervisor Prof. Ch. Lejeune, the student writes a detailed report (max. 40 pages) where the proper methodology and the empirical results related to the topic are presented.

The UCL mobility grant is not an entitlement but a financial support for your exchange. This grant will not cover, at all, all of your expenses.

At UCL, there are two type of grants:

. "Mercator" for mobility outside Europe: grant financed by UCL sponsors only. This grant is available for your exchange OR your internship (not possible for both). Pay attention to the deadlines particularly difficult for the 2nd semester !! Small amount of grant !

. "Erasmus" for mobility inEurope: grant financed by the European Union. As IB students, it is only available if you are doing your exchange in Europe. Interesting amount of grant.

Note:

  • A request for additional support can be introduced in early July to the UCL Social Service (given based on family income).
  • Note that even if you have already received a mobility grant during your bachelor, you can still benefit from a mobility grant for an exchange during your master.
  • It happens that some companies wish to give money to the intern. What can you accept or not accept as UCL student?
    . Please note that you cannot have a salary, it is totally prohibited by the UCL unless the student or company provides the legal reference of the country od-f the internship when invoking a legal obligation to impose remuneration.
    . You can however accept some defrayal (accommodation, transports,…).
    . Pay attention to the amount of defrayal or salary vs your allocations familiales et déclaration impôt.