Ling Tang
Summer Student Story
From study to work, I believe finding your own passion and self-motivation are the most important drivers in the early career stage.
As a graduate from London College of Fashion with a pure passion for the fashion world, an internship at Selfridges in London triggered my interests in the luxury retail environment. Consequently, I moved to Paris to pursue a master’s degree in Luxury Brand Management. Knowing that learning from teams, projects and challenges enhances individual growth in a collaborative way, I decided that the HEC Paris summer program in Luxury Management was a good fit to grow, to improve my professional credibility and gain new knowledge.
Taught by professors of one of the best business schools in Europe, the HEC summer program is an intensive and insightful opportunity for participants to strengthen personal knowledge and improve individual understandings in specific industries, such as the luxury business sector. The Luxury Management program covers main sectors in the luxury business from personal fashion, watches & jewellery, wine & spirits, beauty & perfume, selective retail, luxury cars and luxury hospitality etc.
The HEC professors are experienced industry leaders who are not only specialized in academic research but also experts in luxury company consultation. The participants are mostly bachelor or master’s students with excellent backgrounds in fashion, arts, design, business or marketing. There are also some young professionals who already have some years of experience in the luxury or marketing fields. The atmosphere of studying at HEC is very exciting as every day there are new topics and business cases to be shared in class.
The Luxury Management program utilized a blended teaching method that mixed online and in-person lectures in an intensive two weeks, alongside with a final group project presentation. Most classes are delivered face-to-face in the lecture room by professors, which allows students to have a real-time conversation and gain deep understanding of each topic. The online part of the course is an extensive “learning resource” that covers many useful academic frameworks and luxury brand case studies, which participants study in their free time. Therefore, the participants can deep dive into many industry-related topics and discuss future challenges in the luxury business with professors in class, hence establishing a well-constructed overall view about current luxury businesses.
The group work requires participants to positively contribute to the work and has to be completed in a very challenging and short time. The process was interesting, creative, and most importantly it was a knowledge sharing and teamwork process which helped me to learn from other participants who came from different countries and cultural backgrounds.
This summer program at HEC Paris was a very impactful and value-worthy investment as you not only acquire essential learning outcomes covering key topics in the luxury business sector, but also improve communication skills and at the same time make life-long friends. In addition, I’m convinced that this learning path will help accelerate my dream goal that one day I can become not only an expert in luxury but also a qualified and experienced brand manager.
For more information about the Summer Program Luxury Management