Details

• Portugal
• MASIMC-17
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

I would suggest booking flights fairly in advance as prices can be quite hefty if you are flying out of Vienna. It is also a good idea to start looking for accommodation early on, Lisbon is fairly popular and accommodation in the nice locations can become quite expensive. The course selection process for us was in mid July, we got a list of course a few weeks in advance. Course selection kind of works like the "Atomuhr Prinzip" at WU, so try to login immediately at the start of the window as sometimes time slots are full early on.

2. Accommodation

I shared a private apartment with two other SIMCies which we found via Spotahome a few months prior for c.600€ (excluding utilities) per person. The Apartment came pre-furnished and fully equipped, however we had to get our own internet contract which was a bit difficult since you need a Portuguese tax identification number. I would advise to start looking as early as possible as demand is high. The location was close to Catolica (20 min walk) and well connected to the city centre as we lived next to a subway stop. However, for a better Erasmus experience I would recommend trying to find an apartment closer to the city centre (e.g. in Santos, Avenida, Marques de Pombal, Alfama) as our part of the city did not really have the typical lisbon look and feel and was also quite far away from the beaches. Generally I would try to find an apartment close to one of the metro lines, as all other means of transportation are rather unreliable.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is somewhat old and small compared to WU, so be prepared for a bit of a downgrade. The lecture rooms are alright overall but usually do not have power outlets so always charge your laptop before class. The library is rather small as well, but I usually managed to find a spot even during the exam periods. There is a cafeteria that offers meals for about 5€ and a student menu for 6€. From what I have heard the cafeteria has improved a lot this year and most of the time the food was alright. Especially the vegetarian options usually were a lot better than at the WU Mensa. Teaching was mostly frontal, some teachers tried to create some class room discussions or do small case studies, but overall there was less interaction than at WU. There was group work in every course I had, it usually made up about 30-40% of the grade and groups were assigned by the instructors most of the time. Course quality and teaching highly depended on the course and the instructor, some courses were fairly engaging and enjoyable while others were a bit below WU standard. Overall, the management courses I took were interesting and the workload was manageable. However, I would strongly advise against taking any finance courses; teaching in these was chaotic, academic quality overall was subpar, and the workload necessary for a 17 (1.0 at WU) was way too high considering the courses were only 3.5 ECTS. Furthermore, the group work in these courses (with pre-assigned group members) was outright horrible. The semester was split into two "Trimesters" so you will have two periods of courses and two exam periods (one in October and one in December).

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport is a bit hit or miss in Lisbon. Metros and commuter trains usually were reliable, albeit not as frequent as in Vienna. All other modes of public transport, especially buses were unreliable and sometimes would not show up at all. A monthly ticket (Navegante card) is 40€ for the entire metropolitan area or 30€ just for Lisbon. If you are 23 or younger, you can get the Navegante card for free. To get the free card, you need to get a Portuguese tax number (NIF), the process can be quite a hassle so I would recommend doing it through an agency (NIF4Erasmus is the cheapest and was very fast). Ubers and Bolts are super cheap, so we often used these to go places, especially when going home from a night out as the metro only runs until 1am. Lisbon overall is safe, there are same areas that are a bit shady at night (particularly Martim Moniz) but not too dangerous. However you should beware of pickpockets, especially around the bars. There is a ton of activities you can do, for instance night outs in Bairro Alto or Santos, surfing, exploring the old town or watching the sunset at one of the many miradouros. Rental cars are very cheap (15€ a day) so I would recommend to take as many day or weekend trips as possible as Portugal has a lot to offer. Flights to Madeira and the Azores are highly affordable, especially if you book a little in advance, so I would recommend to do weekend trips there. There are events almost every week and a lot of clubs as well.

6. Testimonial

Overall I had a good experience in Lisbon. The city has a very unique charm and especially during the warmer months up until mid October there is so much to see and do. Lisbon is very different from any other European capital I have been in so far, with its hilly streets, tiled houses and the sea close by. The surrounding part of the country and Portugal in general also have a lot to offer. Nazaré, Porto or Faro are all reachable by car or a few-hours bus ride so there is a lot to explore. However one thing I want to note is that fall and winter get colder than one would expect. Starting in late October, temperatures dropped to 10-12 degrees most days. While this is still warmer than Vienna, Lisbon gets very humid and windy so 10 degrees can easily feel like 5 and houses are barely insulated. However an upside is that Lisbon gets about an hour more daylight than Vienna during these months and the sun never set before 5 PM. So while it did get colder than I expected, I did still feel like I escaped winter.