Details

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

1. Preparation

Since Italy is an EU country, not much preparation was required ahead of the exchange. However, it is important to check the available courses and specific language requirements early. I would also recommend finalizing your Learning Agreement as soon as possible to ensure your credits will transfer back home smoothly.

2. Accommodation

Finding accommodation was difficult. There are multiple WhatsApp groups for students looking for housing in Rome, and you might get lucky there and find someone willing to share a place with you. However, I would recommend starting your search early and checking sites such as HousingAnywhere or Uniplaces, where I found my own accommodation. Be aware that public transportation in Rome - especially buses, though also the metro due to frequent strikes - can be unreliable. Make sure you have a reasonable commute to university if you do not want to spend too much time sitting in city traffic.

3. Academic life at host university

Overall, I found the academic quality a lot lower than at WU, though this varies greatly depending on the courses you take at Luiss. Group work, in particular, can be a challenge, as local students often lack prior work experience and therefore have very basic research and presentation skills. I also felt that some professors struggled significantly when teaching in English, which sometimes limited the quality of instruction. Other teachers, however, invested a lot of effort into making their classes engaging and insightful (this was especially true for the strategic negotiations and luxury management courses). The campus overall is quite beautiful. There are multiple locations depending on the faculty (e.g., Law and Business) and there is a free, frequent shuttle service connecting them. The cafés on campus are also really good and the outdoor areas are quite nice when the weather is good. What I found lacking was that there were no real study spaces on campus. The spaces that are there are used more for recreational purposes by the local students, so you will have to visit a café outside the university if you actually want to study properly for exams.

5. Every day life in the host country

Overall, life in Rome was great! The weather remained quite nice until around mid-November. When I arrived, it was very hot both day and night, so I would advise packing accordingly. In winter, temperatures can drop to around 10 degrees, so it is advisable to bring some warmer clothing as well. Public transport was a challenge. Getting a monthly ticket is quite a process. While the metro is generally reliable, there were frequent strikes (roughly once every two weeks) during my stay. The buses, however, can be a pain; timings are unreliable and buses are frequently cancelled altogether. Taking electric scooters is often more convenient, though Roman traffic can get quite intense. I would advise driving carefully and allowing enough time to reach your destination. Culturally, Rome is fantastic; you will never run out of things to see or do. The food is also amazing, and excellent restaurants are often very reasonably priced. The same applies to most bars and cafés, especially if you avoid the touristy areas. You can also take many trips to nearby regions, which I would definitely recommend. If you sign up with ESN, you get a Ryanair discount, and train travel is also very affordable. The Erasmus society at the university is very passionate about ensuring you have a good time. The 'Welcome Week' tickets can be quite expensive for what they offer, so I wouldn’t rush into buying them early - they usually get cheaper later on. The society also organizes several multi-day trips, which are a great way to get to know everyone. Lastly, the university offers a variety of sports activities that I would definitely recommend taking advantage of. There is a regular soccer league for Erasmus students, as well as padel, tennis, yoga classes, and various other activities.

6. Testimonial

Overall, my exchange was really great and pretty much exactly how I imagined it. I specifically chose Rome for its location; culturally, I believe it was the best option offered for my degree. The wealth of beautiful sights, the abundance of amazing cafés, restaurants, and bars, and the fantastic people I met there really made the months I spent abroad special. The academic quality and the daily hassles of city life were also pretty much in line with my expectations, and were greatly offset by the vast number of positives. Overall, I highly recommend an exchange here to anyone.