Details

• Italy
• MAMark-21
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 10 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

First try to go to the city before you apply to the specific university to really ensure that you like the vibe of the city and that you feel comfortable there. Also analyze the transport and the prices to evaluate the costs and the reliabilty of the system in the city. Get as many feedback from the students from the previous years to be as informed as possible and to gather some insights. My travel choice to get to Milan was via flight. There are a lot of airports and therefore the flights are cheap and convenient.

2. Accommodation

The search was intense but I consider myself lucky as I found an accomodaton that was a part of a hostel - QUO hostel. First, the process was fair - put myself and my friends on a waitlist in December and then had an online call with the manager in February and was selected within two following weeks. The location of the student accomodation was perfect - just 30 min walk or 15-20 min tram drive from the university. Also, the hostel is located across the street from a well known and very popular student bar that is almost always full - also the street. in general the part of the city is full of students and families. The service was good - as it was located in the building next to the hostel we had weekly apartment cleanings and in case of some urgency we could contact the service team almost anytime to get something fixed in our appartment or when we lost the key. Just FYI, in Milan it is very hard to get a maintenance for the first 3 days so this was a big plus. We lived - 5 roommates - in a huge appartment with a big terrace and paid 800 per month which was fair as it included cleaning sheets and maintenance. The rent in Milan is usually around 1000 Euros. We also got invitatons to the hostel events and were included in their activities if we wanted to and also had a student evening to get to now people from the other appartments as well.

3. Academic life at host university

in general every department is very business centered. Teaching methods are either highly theoretical or networking-focused, often involving slide presentations. Many students lack professional experience, and the large class sizes make it difficult to build personal relationships with professors, who often teach in a very hierarchical manner. However the projects gave us a bigger practical insight. Bocconi has very strong connections and networking among the companies and universities so there are many guest lecturers and also events with big spekaers. The campus facilities are older than those at WU - there is just one or two modern buildings.The university is crowded, with limited study spaces, but there are options nearby like Erbert or 21Hours Navigli coworking space. The library is not as huge as the one at WU. The food options are limited on the campus itself, you have to go outside - around 10 min walk to get some good food options. Also their student networking inside and outside the university offers a big opportunity to join some student associatons or similar. The parties are more considering the bachelor students - double degree and master programms have usually their own communities and are organizing other events. Regarding any questions and requests the school lets you do everything by yourself - you have to be persistent and patient at the same time and professors can't do much to help you. The school organization is responsible but so are you. For DD students - there is one thing to consider: for your Master Thesis you have to actvely approach the professors and it can be very draining as a lot of them will refuse - start early around Nov/Dec and have a topic prepared. Course recommendations: Event and Mega Event Management Luxury Companies in a global landscape

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport is not as reliable as in Vienna - a lot of cancellations and delays and bad solution for alternative transport in case of a construction. They also like to strike on Fridays and Saturdays so usually travelling is harder and complicated to plan because it is usually announced one week in advance. Safety wise it is comparable to Vienna, when you are in the good neighbourhood it is safe and there are beautiful parts that offer calm and good restaurants. Bocconi has its own gym which is a bit pricy but depending on how much one wants to do t could also pay off. But there are also other gyms that offer cheaper tariffs. Event wise there still something happening - highlight was Fashion Week and Design Week which also have some cool music events and a lot of concerts in general are happening in Milan.

6. Testimonial

Overall, the experience in Milan was good and taught me a lot about myself but also the italian culture, met a lot of interesting and inspiring people. The school provided me with a good basis and network opportunities. Milan is a beautiful city when you take a closer look and find your favourite spots and events. The food, various destinations and aperitivo culture are amazing and definitely the highlight.