Details

• Spain
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

All of my desired destinations were places with warm weather, to escape the cold in January and February, which is why I put Esade at the top of my list. Generally, you need a good score in both the GPA and motivation categories. It was the number one choice for every outbound WU student who went to Esade that semester. My interview process was quite relaxed and quick — more of a casual conversation with Professor Mohr than a "hard" interview. Just be yourself and explain honestly why you chose Esade/Barcelona as your destination. For me, the reasons were the weather, the nightlife, the culture (and football) and the international environment at Esade.

2. Accommodation

I found my flat through Spotahome, but many of my friends used HousingAnywhere, Uniplaces, etc. I would recommend comparing prices across platforms and being aware of the Esade discount codes that can save you around 20% on the booking fee. If you haven't received information from the Esade coordinators by the time you want to book, feel free to contact them or me. My apartment itself wasn’t particularly special, but it's important to live near a train station, as the commute from the city centre is at least 40 minutes. I paid €740 per month and lived right on Plaça de Catalunya, which was great for commuting, but it could get packed with annoying tourists. If I had to choose now, I would live in Eixample, near the Provença train station.

3. Academic life at host university

I was very happy with the classes I selected through the bidding system, even though I didn’t get into all the classes I wanted. In my opinion, the teaching style is generally quite interactive, involving submissions, participation and presentations. If you’re doing the SBWL International Business programme, you will find it quite familiar. What was annoying was that most of the classes consisted of exchange students, and apart from us WU students and a few Italian and US students, almost everyone just needed to pass, with the grade not counting. This issue can probably be seen at every university, but bear in mind that you might have to take responsibility in the group for the output. Nevertheless, I had two really interesting classes: Social Impact Entrepreneurship, which brought a new perspective to impact investing and impactful work; and Strategies to Increase the Value of a Company, which was a proper private equity class. The focus was on thinking of strategies for a potential target to increase its value, building LBOs, and ultimately deciding which strategies to execute. I would highly recommend avoiding 8 am classes, as it's simply too early.

5. Every day life in the host country

Living in Barcelona is a completely different experience. There are amazing restaurants, bars and parties. The nightlife is probably the thing that stands out the most. Most clubs offered free entry via guest lists. Le Cyrano is an amazing spot for pregaming, and outdoor parties begin to pop up in spring and summer. Apart from partying, there are amazing sports opportunities such as running and football (CeleBreak is a good app for booking pitches), as well as outdoor gyms on the beach. I would recommend staying an additional two weeks after the university has officially finished, as that is when you can really enjoy life with daily beach visits, etc.

6. Testimonial

Barcelona was one of the best times of my life. I met a lot of funny people who I would call friends, and I plan to visit them after the exchange. Try to go everywhere at the beginning to meet as many people as possible.