any info about french programme?

[Dhirah]

hyelo
i read about the french programme written by one of the members but im afraid im still blur about it. yup, they said that france is good in ME just like german. so, what if i wanna take EE? my uncle said that there are only 2 places that they are sending - colmar and la chorelle. is it true? what about other places? the medium of instruction is in french right? is it difficult to learn and master?

[chenchow]

dhirah, Congrats for getting the scholarships to France.

I believe that the program is pretty good. The 2 places that you mention is the preparatory center, after that, you would apply to go to universities there. I have a friend, who went to Colmar and then get into Lyon University, which is one of the pretty top engineering universities in France.

I believe that the initial learning period will be tough, but once you get to it, it will be fine. For French program, you will be studying together with all Malaysians in France at those 2 places, Colmar and la chorelle, and study together in a special class for 18 months or so, so that would be a good opportunity to learn the language there, with some interactions with French, plus learning together among you all. So, after 3 months of learniing in Malaysia and 18 months there, full time learning French, I believe your French will be fine. Imagine learning a language from 8am to 5pm for 21 months, I believe you can cope...

Try to speak to the native speakers, especially when you are there. The lecturer at INTEC are French, so speak to them... They will have the ascent of French as well.

[david_david]

I think it is La Rochelle....I got quite a lot of info from a gal from my hometown(Kuantan) who is one year my senior.However those a few batches ahead in France haven't replied yet( hehe Euro 2004 syndrom+ they have their finals-not sure over yet or not).

So here is the info, but it is mainly last year's , they could make ammendments.

Actually we can go to either to the grande Ecoles or university.Yup , everything is in French.

This year the programme coordinator told me that 40 ppl were offered the scholarship.I wonder how many go annually to the US for engi,chenchow.

For the three months at INTEC, the teachers were Miss Theresa Das and Mdm Adilutchmee.Not sure whether they are French or not ( dun sound French to me)plus this year they could change teachers.

La Rochelle and Colmar is for the Pre-U programme.La Rochelle is near the coast while Colmar is in the Hills.One is in the town/city(actually not really sure, could be a province) of Toulouse and the other is in Strasburg( not sure which is which, info overload)

In Colmar there is a batch of PETRONAS scholars too( spm 2003). they go to France straight without 3 months of lessons.I think they will start French classes there.


For pre-U,They'll teach us French first until it is good enough to take science lessons in French.Subjects include Mechanics, Maths,Thermodynamics,Optics,Computer studies,Chemistry,Electrics..Initially it would be a bit like SPM stuff coz most ppl would have forgot what they learnt.

However the senior's batch b4 us will not be there.They rotate places, currently they are in Tours and Angouleme( both these places are near La Rochelle, Colmar is futher away).However I heard they plan to visit us at INTEC with some "great-grand seniors too" and they'll tell us more about the towns,etc.

there is an Interview by SFERE( the guy's working with JPA) , INFORMALLY AND IN ENGLISH( YIPPEE!!)However last year they rejected 2 students saying no motivation..............their scholarship wasn't terminated but they were no longer under the programme as SFERE rejected them.They could either go to the Malaysian France Institute(MFI-2 years-later go to France university)or to KBU for GERMAN A-level(then to Germany) although there is a similiar programme in INTEC.Last year both choose MFI.

Actually it is the interviewers who decide which place( Colmar 0r La Rochelle) we go. Last year someone asked to be with a friend and she got her request.Most of them were indifferent as they didn't know about the places then.

for the university/ecole part i dunno much as Teik Siang hasn't replied yet( he said he would answer my questions later as he has finals, for the other 4 there was no reply at all yet......ai..so sad).But there is some info I gathered from the Internet.Thanks chenchow and janewai for the contacts and help.

The Grande Ecoles are prestigious engineering schools and that's where JPA actually wants to send us.There are about 100+ ecoles for engineering( but I think those who wanna study science, maths, computing also go there).It is an elitism system, as there are entrance exams to go in( Maths, Science,and french i think).
Most of the CEOs , Government officials ,scientists in France were from the Ecoles and are highly respected( however JPA scholars need not take this exam , they merely look at our Pre-U results).the French students prepare 2 years for this compitetive entrance exam( after pre-U), and it is not unusual for ppl to re-sit the exam to better their results( so it is 3 years in total).And there is also an unwritten hierachy among the Ecoles as the best students go to the best ecoles.i think the top is the Paristech group of ecoles( top 10) from the Info EUROPA sent me, but not sure whether JPA send their scholars there.

however there are also ecoles for other stuff like public administration(Jac Chirac was from there), Business Management, etc.

In the ecoles there is an emphasis on the fundamentals of maths and science, so prepare for lots of theory, I like theory.There is also practicals and industrial attachments and also emphasis on economics and business.

For the universities, they say that there is no real ranking system among them as all degrees from France are of erm...... equal standards, .......hehehe.but I think if you ask around, you would be able to find out which ones are better/prefered.i think they are Lyon,Paris and Marseilles, not too sure.


By the way who told you That France was good for Mechanical engineering, website?friends?relatives?

What about Aerospace/Aeronautical engi......the French have Airbus,Mirage, and the European space Programme....what was it Airean rocket..not sure???.........., but maybe not many such jobs in Malaysia.]

Also I visited NUS's website and there is a double degree Programme with the Grandes Ecoles......says it is open to application to only the top 5%.( engineering, science and computing students cohort)
(2 year S'pore+2 year Grandes Ecoles+1year S'pore).......and they get M Sc/Eng, B Eng/Sc (both by NUS)+ the Diplom d'ingeniur( from the ecoles)......freaky right...3 degrees in 5 years.

this is my longest post ever, so please forgive me for taking up so much space.....:P

[chenchow]

david_david, thanks a lot for the detailed post. It will help clear the airs of others.

On your question of how many to US, it fluctuates, the biggest batch was about 312 (SPM2000, including 45 from Mara) and 150 (SPM2002). This year, including Mara, it is about 200, 150 JPA and 50 Mara.

I am not sure the breakdown, but during my time, majority of scholars are on engineering. My batch (SPM99) is about 196, and of which about 5 are actuary, 10 international relations, a few economics, a few biochem, the rest 170+ are engineering.

However, there have been much emphasis on biotech, actuary in the past few years. So, engineering students are not that much anymore. Not sure about the proportion, but I think for SPM 2002 batch, there are 30 for actuary.

Guess it has diverted from the French program discussion. Sorry.

Strasburg is near Switzerland, I heard from Teik Siang, that they sometimes go for ski trip in Switzerland.

Another thing is that if you guys want to have a taste of France, there is a Colmar-styled resort at Bukit Tinggi, Pahang.
http://www.holidaycity.com/colmar-tropicale-pahang/

[TCC20]

erm....i'm currently a petronas scholar and gonna leave for france next week......i'll share what i know so far......so far there are 5 petronas scholars sent there to do accounting n finance n another 5 telekom scholars sent there to do engineering....apparently another 20 jpa scholars will be goin as well but only in october..which means they'll be learning french locally first then will be joining us later.....we'll be sent to colmar for pre-u for 15 months..where the 1st 2 months will be pure french classes...n the hours of french classes will decrease after that n more hours of maths n science subjects will be taught gradually...its a mixture of a levels but with french classes...erm....as far as i know..this pre-u is specially organised fer international students...we wont be mixin with the french....furthermore..there's this company named sfere that's hired to help n guide us there...so we wont have trouble adapting.....hmm i think thats all i noe now... i'll tell u guys more once i get there...

[naoj]

sounds intimidating but fun.

[david_david]

could you elaborate"intimidating but fun"
You mean studtying in France or The NUS thing

[david_david]

Who else is going to France????

Maybe could let us know here...JPA/Petronas/Telekom...doesn't matter

[david_david]

just got a reply from senior in france...
He's in one of the engineering ecoles

Says that if ur results are not good enough you still can go to the IUT...some sort of technical institute...ur scholarship won't be terminated......


Yup ,he says that the standard of maths and physics there is kinda high..about 60-70% of the engi course is about those 2 in the first 2 years.
Have a great deal of problems to solve.

Also there are other things like communication,management,english,german or spanish,computers,assignments,multimedia projects....

timetable is packed......35 hrs of classes a week...how's it in other countries???

Says that they do have a great time there. you can travel around europe without showing your passport, except to England, Switzerland and a few other countries.Although the studies are not easy, it is a great experience to be there.

And the French culture is really different.

The Polytech of Paris is the best ecole...............but.............

[chenchow]

On the hours of studies that david_david mention, in US, it is up to the students to decide. Minimum requirement is 12 credit hours, but students can take as many as they want. I know of students who take up to 60 credit hours. Generally, most of the Malaysians in my university here take around 20-23 credit hours. For each credit hour, it is about 1 hour of lecture, or if it is lab, it is about 3 hours of lab per credit hour. However, attending lectures and tutorials are optional in US. It is to help you learning. you can learn on your own online.

David_david, invite those seniors that reply to you to come to ReCom~!

[david_david]

Teik Siang knows about the forum, but he can't remember whether he joined or not.

In any case, he says that he is to busy to participate :(

[wpyeoh]

Hi, I'm in my first year in France. About the teachers in INTEC, Miss Das had studied in France, while Mdm Adi is from Mauritius. I know that Miss Das will be teaching this year, but I'm not sure about Mdm Adi.

About the language, you don't have to worry too much. But you'll find that at first, the dictionary is your best friend :-)

For the first 2 years (I'm speaking for the JPA programme) we don't need computers for studies, so it's not really necessary to bring it. It's more a luxury.

As for books, there's no real need either, unless if you feel that you'll need to refer to your old notes; I brought my Add Maths notes, that's all. Some of my friends brought other books.

Oh yeah, from the 40 people who were offered the scholarship last year, there are only 21 of us in France (4th batch) now 'cos some didn't accept, etc.

For the jpa programme, the teachers know by now that our spm level is slightly lower than the French bac level, but I don't know about Petronas, so if the teachers start teaching stuff that you can't understand, you'd better make sure that they don't think you have bac level. (did I make sense? :? )

[The_Observer]

I have a lecturer from the Sorbonne....

Man, I really respect that place... :P~~~

[Dhirah]

wow, that's a lot of replies. thank u so much for it! i really appreciate it a lot. :D who ever is enrolling to intec this coming 22nd june, see you guys there! :lol: one more question, so after the 2 years pre-u, jpa will send us to any universities in france? erm, any preparation other than academically before going? thank you!!!!!


dhirah

[chenchow]

dhirah, i think you will fly to France after 3 months right? I believe that you can go to as good a university as you can. So, basically what you can get in is the limitation, rather than what JPA can allow you to go.

[TCC20]

hmm....i was just wondering...recently the report in the papers about the jpa scholar being not recognised for his medical degree from japan.....well......is the accounting n finance degree from france recognised in malaysia?...i'll be leavin for france very soon.......

[wpyeoh]

In the first 2 years you'll be learning about French culture as well, such as some regions and their specialities.

[chenchow]

TCC20, check here. http://www.eghrmis.gov.my/indeks.asp?url=iktiraf

[saser_sp]

hello ...i'm new here ...and i want to introduce myself
my name is mohd fauzi b. suwarno and i'm ex-saser (sains seremban) ..~~ i got an offer from MARA to france (engineering) ....
i was placed at UNIKL-MFI ...for my foundation program ...i wish .. someone here can tell me ...info about my foundation program ~~
(i hope someone here know) ... ~~ that's all thank you

[david_david]

How long is ur foundation programme?

If it's short then it should be mainly language classes.

If it's long then I think u will be doing ur Pre-U here....

you could check the site : www.mfi.edu.my ,under students to france

i think your's is a technical programme n u will be sent to an IUT

Sorry, i dun know much.

[saser_sp]

sorry coz i give just a simple info about my foundation ~~
i think my foundation is pre-u ...because it took 20 MONTHS!!!
hurm ...any info about my program ?? (i don't know what to expect)

[The_Observer]

Hmm...can anybody help me get some Cognac or some Burgundian wine for me?
Willing to pay via Paypal....

NB: You think I serious is it? Nah...probably next year....

[saser_sp]

help2 ....

[ElansarGelmir]

Hehe... for the French program juniors, are u all using text books currently? Where did you guys get them from? how much?

[saser_sp]

huhu~~ where is the answer ~~ answer ~~ ??

[Wan_G]

How long is ur foundation programme?

If it's short then it should be mainly language classes.

If it's long then I think u will be doing ur Pre-U here....

you could check the site : www.mfi.edu.my ,under students to france

i think your's is a technical programme n u will be sent to an IUT

Sorry, i dun know much.

what ??

whoaaa !!!

IUT ?? where do u know?

i'm aiming to further my study to grande eccole... as we all know..(by the intruc of recomers previously) .. IUT is likely the second option (alternative place) 4 the ppl who got not too good in thier result...

so ...?? is it MARA want us (include saser_sp) to further our study into IUT only??

explain !!...

pls... i need more xplanation... isk...

WA

[wpyeoh]

I think you can get the most accurate info from your sponsors or seniors. I'm under jpa, so I have no idea what plans mara has.

[Boyz_Zoo]

can anyone tell whether JPA's France Engineering offers civil engineering course?