Voices from Abroad: Javid Aslanov

Stockholm (Sweden), CEMS MIM, Stockholm School of Economics

Exploring the magnificence of white Lapland

To begin with, my name is Javid Aslanov and I am a student from Baku, Azerbaijan. Already being an international student and one of the few representatives of my country at Università Bocconi, I decided to be part of one of the leading and most prestigious pre-experience Master Programs in the world – CEMS – and experience an even more international career. My journey took me to Stockholm, Sweden...

CEMS (The Global Alliance in Management Education) MIM is a top-level degree in International Management connecting leading students, universities and companies from all over the world to create an amazing network of future business leaders. As part of my CEMS Degree, I spent a term abroad at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), ranked as one of the top business schools in Europe by the FT. When it comes to educational facilities, corporate relations and teaching faculty, SSE can be proud of being one of the best and I can only express my satisfaction in terms of study processes and numerous corporate events.

During my first week as a CEMS student I took part in a 1-week Block Seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility including company visits, field trips, interesting discussions and an exciting project with a global leader in power and automation technologies, ABB. At the same time, numerous Skills Seminars by the CEMS committee and company events by SSE gave me the chance to meet representatives of various companies from around the world and build channels for my future career development. As an exchange student I got the chance to meet a group of really international students from all over the world contributing to fruitful cultural and idea exchange. This was the beginning of lifetime experience in the city of Stockholm.

CEMS Dance on the island (Stockholm)

Stockholm is a very beautiful and culturally rich city indeed. Despite experiencing the coldest winter of my life (-25 degrees), I really enjoyed this expensive and magnificent city. After living 1 year in Italy and experiencing the best coffee culture, I was surprised to see Swedish people's affiliation with coffee. The city is very international and there are many different activities for different target groups. At the same time Sweden is not all about Stockholm. One should definitely visit Swedish Lapland, which opened up an absolutely new world to me.

The Lapland experience was probably one of the most exciting trips in my life. Being almost in the north pole, living in an old-style wooden hotel, ice-fishing and dog sledding are the things one probably does not do every day and in every part of the world. As an exchange student in Sweden, it is a must activity to do. However, this would not be possible without the SSE Exchange Committee, which was very profession in organizing and taking care of organizational activities.

To summarize, my CEMS exchange in Stockholm contributed both to my academic knowledge and life experience, thanks to the Stockholm School of Economics, CEMS Club Sweden and the CEMS community. If I was asked to give tips to upcoming exchanges students regarding possible destinations for exchange, Stockholm would be the place to be.