Details

• Italy
• MAWiRe-21
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

I would recommend to look at the options carefully and only choose a university as one of the seven options, if you would actually be happy to be allocated there. For the preparation for the stay, the most important thing for me was to choose a good area to live. So, I would recommend to look at which areas are safe. I lived in the student home Aparto Giovenale, which was a good fit for me, as it is very close to the university, quite close to the centre and I felt safe. A lot of other exchange students live in Porta Romana or Navigli.

2. Accommodation

I didn't search for accomondation, as I lived in the student residence Aparto Giovenale. But it is not easy to get in, as there are only a few reserved places for exchange students. It was in the South of Milan and a 5 to 10 minute walk to the university. I felt relativley safe there even at night and I never encountered a worrying situation. It is fully furnished, but no dishes are included. It is quite expensive, but Milan in general is very expensive. No overnight guests are allowed. All in all it was a good experience, because finding a good apartment in a nice area at responable price is difficult and with Aparto you don't need to worry about that. It has some disadvantages but I would definetly recommend it.

3. Academic life at host university

Bocconi has two main buildings, in these the lectures are being held. It has two mensas and a few cafés. Around the Campus there are a lot of restraunts. The teaching is usually conducted through one lecturer and little contribution by the students, but depends on the course. There is usually one or two exams. The grading system is based on points and not grades from 1 to 5 like at WU. Studying for the courses is very different, as you are usually not allowed to have law codes at the exam, it is much more focused on memorizing. The exams itself differ from WU in the way that you write all of them on your own laptop.

5. Every day life in the host country

There are 5 metro lines, those usually run smoothly and are a good transport method. But there are strikes from time to time. The trams and buses aren't very reliable. I felt safe but you should mind certain areas at night like the main train station and be aware of pick pocketing. In the first two weeks ESN organises a lot of welcome activities. There are a lot of museums in Milan. Gyms are very expensive. The Bocconi Sport centre is also expensive but some exchange students use it.

6. Testimonial

I met a lot of different students from many different countries, which gave me very different perspectives. In addition, traveling through Italy and experiencing the Italian livestyle was very special to me. Milan has a great cultural offer and you will always find something interesting to do.