It's been a challenging two and a half months for the Theseus-EDHEC MBA participants. Returning to student life after a period away from study is not always easy, so what is the general feeling now that the students have had time to settle into the way of things and get to know the School?

Jaime Pinto, a 30 year old Portuguese/French participant, explained his reasons for choosing EDHEC's MBA and expressed his feelings on the course so far.

"I had been working for Philips as a design engineer for 5 years, then as team leader for the R&D group for Bluetooth chips for another couple of years when I was approached by my manager. He made me understand that if I wanted to go further in my career I had to expand my management skills and he encouraged me to do an MBA.  As another Philips employee had recently graduated with a Theseus-EDHEC MBA and was more than satisfied with his training, I was attracted to the same programme. I discovered that EDHEC was offering exactly what I was looking for: small classes that privilege close relations and outstanding quality in the classroom. I negotiated a way with Philips to secure a place in the company on my return and maintain my salary during my studies. I was on my way!

My first feeling when I entered the school was how right it felt! It actually felt good to be back at school, probably because the group atmosphere in the classroom is so amazing. Here, we all know each other, we learn with each other and from each other. The discussions are really rich in the classrooms, not just because of the diverse cultural mix and the fact that we have all had professional experience (7 years on average) but because all the classes are interactive. They encourage participation and even those who were slightly reserved at the beginning are making themselves heard in every activity, we all just feel so comfortable. The professors know us by our first name and we have a really good contact with them. When I think that some MBA programmes have hundreds of students in them, I can't imagine that those students are experiencing the same closeness.

Another thing that really struck me and one which continues to impress, is the quality of the lecturers, whether they be from companies or EDHEC professors. I don't think I have ever been in contact with such interesting people; they seem to overflow with knowledge and speak about their field with such passion that you cannot fail to be drawn in. It's great to be so close to such inspiring people, you can almost feel their aura.

We have a motto in class Work hard, play hard and after our two and a half months hard work we are all looking forward to next week's our trip to Turkey as part of the Global Business Module. We'll be meeting some of the leading players in the country, visiting a number of companies while continuing courses. Although we don't consider it a holiday it is a welcome break as the MBA course is very demanding. It will be interesting to see how it compares with India, the second country we will visit in this module.

So far everything has lived up to my expectations and I'm impatient to see what's coming next!"