This last one has been a tough one to write. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a place take me so off guard where I fell in love in such a short amount of time. St. Gallen, Switzerland has been that place for me. Tucked away between the Bodensee (Lake Constance) to its north, and the foothills of the alps to its south, St. Gallen (located in the easterly Canton of the same name) is a small gem unto itself. The city was once famous and became prosperous for its textile industry (long gone), and since has held a name for one of two things: it’s UNESCO World Heritage recognized Abbey (and Library) of St. Gall located at the stunning cathedral, and the University of St. Gallen (HSG) — Switzerland’s most reputable business school. Aside from the things it is known for St. Gallen is filled with old cobblestone streets, cute cafes, and gorgeous nature (trails and fantastic lookouts) just a few minutes walk up the hill.
“First picture I took in St. Gallen; that view got me every single day, walking up the stairs the university campus.”
“Did I mention the stairs? My walk up to campus included around 400 stairs that I walked up each day.”
When I moved to SG, I must say I had uncertain expectations. In my head I expected a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere with a university (renowned in the CEMS world for being difficult and a lot of work), but with nothing much to do. While some of this might be correct, “little” is arguable — St. Gallen is a full-fledged city at 75,000 inhabitants, “sleepy” is also arguable with one of the most lively student party scenes I’ve experienced, and “middle of nowhere” is always questionable when referring to Europe (it only takes an hour to get into Zurich: the next closest large city, and 3-4 hours takes you to Munich, Milano or France among other places). The only aspect of my preconceived notions that might be correct is the workload — at times during the semester I definitely understood why the university has the reputation it does.
“Trying out some fondue during my first weeks in Switzerland.”
The semester itself seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. My days were jam-packed with classes, meetings for various group projects (including the integral CEMS Business Project), side-jobs, excursions, and what seemed like endless events organized by the phenomenal local CEMS Club — CEMS Club St. Gallen. The very first week we were exposed to aspects of Swiss culture from being treated to traditional Swiss food during our Responsible Global Leadership (RGL) seminar to going on a short winter hike. From there, the semester just took off: a myriad of skills seminars, networking events, trips organized to different cities (within Switzerland and abroad), company visits, recruitment fairs, and other career-oriented activities ensured my days were busy.
“Ivey represent! Repping my school as best I can during our first day at RGL seminar.”
”All smiles before the work began. Our cohort: HSG Spring Semester 2018. CEMS Club St. Gallen looking fancy.”
“Presenting out breakdown of a case analysis at the Deloitte-run Skill seminar this spring.”
"Winter hiking with some CEMSies during a spare day in the spring!"
"CEMS takes Zurich!"
Academically, I had a difficult time choosing between the wide range of unique options provided to us CEMSies at HSG. We of course had the mandatory Global Management Practices (GMP) course and the CEMS Business Project — for me, a market research and entry strategy project for CEMS Social Partner CARE International based in Geneva. For my other courses I eventually settled on Managing Relations between Business and Government — a tribute to my former life as a public policy student, and taught by a former Swiss ambassador; Impact Investing — which involved valuing and structuring a deal for angel investors to become involved in a social enterprise, and visits and talks held at UBS HQ in Zürich overlooking the famous Paradeplatz; a German class; and Climate Change — a joint-CEMS class taught with 8 other CEMS universities across Europe. The course covers an aligned curriculum including the science behind climate change, current policy mechanisms, business potential and concludes with a two-day seminar/simulation where students from the 9 schools congregate at one of the universities and simulate what a UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) would look like. This year’s conference was hosted by ESADE so we made the trip over to beautiful Barcelona for an intense few days of negotiating (and of course enjoying the nightlife).
“Picture with my Impact Investing team from the rooftop terrace at UBS headquarters, overlooking the famous Paradeplatz.”
“Injecting a little humour into our Global Management Practices class.”
“HSG at the UNFCCC conference hosted by ESADE in Barcelona.”
“All smiles after Team CARE finishes the Business Project!”
I also had the opportunity to attend part of the St. Gallen Symposium — a student-organized conference held at the university which is a leading platform for fostering intergenerational and intercultural dialogue between the decision makers of today and tomorrow. The symposium’s goal is to contribute to the preservation and further development of a social and liberal economic order.
As part of a new initiative of including the voice of international students at HSG at the Symposium, I took part in filming short documentary pieces to be shown before the keynote speakers – intended to provoke discussion. With this involvement, I was granted the opportunity to attend the Symposium with the rest of the movers and shakers for the final day where I ran into fellow Ivey-alum Dhawal Tank, HBA ’11 and Future Leader at the Symposium. My lesson from that experience is, always say yes to volunteer opportunities – you never know what amazing perks they might come your way!
“Taking part in one of the interactive activities between speaker sessions at the St. Gallen Symposium.”
“Ivey alum Dhwawl Tank (HBA ’11) and I at the Symposium”
I also took the opportunity to celebrate Global Ivey Day in Switzerland in April. The Alumni Chapter in Switzerland organized a full-day affair beginning in Luzern, and including several stops before ending with apérol (Swizterland’s version of after work drinks) in Zürich. I even ran into CEMS alumnus Giovanni Barbarisi who did his CEMS-exchange at Ivey during my first semester which was a highlight.
“Holding the cheesy sign with Giovanni Global Ivey Day in Zürich!”
On the social side of things, the small size of St. Gallen and the relatively little to do compared to some of the other CEMS cities facilitated what I would argue is the closest bond I’ve ever seen in a CEMS cohort. There literally wasn’t a week that went by from beginning of the semester until end when we didn’t have at least one CCSG organized event. There was actually one week when nothing was planned, and a few people wrote to the social team asking if something could be organized. A few hours later someone’s apartment was volunteered, and a spontaneous games and karaoke evening was underway.
The CEMS Club also took it upon themselves to organize some “classic CEMS events” (held at almost every CEMS school) such as the semesterly Running Dinner (appetizer, main course and dessert each eaten at someone else’ house, and cooked in teams of two), International Potluck, day trips to surrounding cities, Multicultural Sports Day (together with refugees from surrounding cantons) and alumni networking events. These were coupled with some more unique events including the first ever Swiss CANTUS (a Dutch-Belgian tradition involving lots of singing and alcoholic beverages), a weekend-long trip to Milan in partnership with the CEMS Club Milano and a company visit to the watchmaking company Hublot in Nyon (on the other side of the country).
“Multicultural sports day!”
“Group picture at Hublot headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.”
“Trying the most expensive piece of jewelry I’ve held in my life: an 18,000 CHF watch covered with diamonds.”
“Happy CEMSies after spending the afternoon touring and tasting wine at the Lantieri Winery located in the Franciacorta region just a short drive from Milano.”
The event that will always stay dear to my heart, however, is the St. Gallen tradition of a “Farewell Weekend” — organized at the end of every semester. Those of us in S2 were lucky enough to experience the gorgeous Swiss spring, and traveled down to the Ticino region (Italian and Romish-speaking and close to the Italian border) — think Lake Lugano, for four days in the sun. We cooked, we ate, we explored, we hiked, we swam and jumped off bridges, we danced, we talked, we stayed up until the sun came up again. It was a weekend of epic proportions, concluding of course with the “CEMS Club Awards” that many CEMS schools give out to their cohorts each semester. Needless to say, lots of tears were shed on the last morning, but it was an experience I would go back and relive without a second of hesitation.
"Gorgeous view across Laggo Maggiore from our house in Ticino."
“Group pic in the Valle Verzasca where we spent an afternoon sunbathing and jumping off the bridge in the distance.”
“CEMSies hustle! Group pic of the crazy group that basically ran up Monte San Salvatore in 52 minutes (instead of the 2 ½ hours as suggested).”
Picturesque surroundings, academic challenges, incredible people and a ridiculous amount of fun, all rolled into a few short months. I still can’t believe that it’s over — and more so, that my degree and CEMS year are over as well. Though this may be the end of my formal education for now, I know that the adventures don’t stop here. My CEMS experience has convinced me to pursue my job search abroad, which I’m currently doing (while traveling and visiting some of the CEMSies I’ve met over this past year). We also have a graduation to look forward to in December which will act as a full-fledged CEMS reunion in Malta! Until then, I now have many friends to find time to visit, and a heart filled with happy memories from what I would call “the semester of a lifetime.”
“Aaaaand that’s a wrap!”
Thanks for following my IGL and CEMS-year experience through my various posts for the MSc page. That’s all from me. Over and out!
Katy
