Details

• Spain
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

Application process: - Prepare for the interview and be ready to answer questions about your goals and expectations - Think about your motivation for going abroad - Research the host university and the country, culture and way of life Preparing your semester abroad: - Organize all important documents (Learning agreement, acceptance letter etc.) - Arrange accommodation as early as possible - Learn basic language skills and cultural norms - Download useful apps (transportation, comillas app etc.) - Check your emails regularly

2. Accommodation

For me it was rather hard to find suitable accommodation. I lived in a shared flat with 6 other people. I lived in Chamberí, which is a very safe and clean location and it took me 30 minutes to get to the university with the metro. You can use different websites to find accommodation, like for example housinganywhere or spotahome and there are many more. You can also check out the website of citylife, which is a company that helps international students and young people to integrate and enjoy life in Madrid. They offer accommodation support and have a list of websites, that you can use to find accommodation.

3. Academic life at host university

The classes at the host university are really different compared to WU. They have a very strict attendance policy and the class sizes were smaller, usually around 30 to 60 students. The classes were also really interactive and we had a lot of group work, assignments and presentations. The campus of ICADE is really small, it's just one building and they don't really have a big library like WU. They only have a small one in the ICAI building, which is next to ICADE.

5. Every day life in the host country

The public transport is really cheap compared to Vienna. You can get the tarjeta de transporte público for Madrid and charge it every month. Madrid is a really safe city, even at night a lot of people are still out on the streets and it's a very vibrant city. There are many different fitness classes in Madrid, like for example pilates classes, where you can participate in. I also recommend to join different citylife whatsapp groups, because they organize many social events for international students like for example picnics or pub crawls. They also organize different trips like for example to Morocco, Egypt or the South of Spain.

6. Testimonial

My exchange was an amazing experience. Living in such a vibrant city and meeting people from all over the world really helped me grow and become more independent. Between the interesting classes, exploring the city and making new friends, it was definitely a special time.