Details

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

1. Preparation

Preparation was not too complicated, as both WU and LUISS are very helpful and ready to help with any issue that might arise. Also through the Erasmus program I received enough information to prepare for my stay properly.

2. Accommodation

I recommend looking for accomodation as early as possible, as housing in Rome is generally scarce and can also become quite expensive. I started a bit late and ended up finding my room via Airbnb, which was quite costly. It was a shared apartment with 3 other people, located in Trieste, roughly 30 minutes from the Viale Romania campus. Since public transport in Rome can be quite chaotic and unreliable, I recommend looking for accomodation close to uni. Generally I also experienced the areas around uni to be very safe.

3. Academic life at host university

I had all my courses at the Viale Romania campus, which is very nice, but there are very few spaces to study. One part of the teaching that I enjoyed a lot was the high quality of guest speakers that we had in almost every course. Courses mostly consisted of group works, participation, and exams, both written and oral. In general, I felt like the workload was a bit less than in Vienna.

5. Every day life in the host country

Out of the means of public transport, the metro was the most reliable. Buses and trams were often delayed or would not come at all. Rome offers so much to do, from sightseeing to sports to events. The aperitivo culture is simply amazing, and the food is great and generally also cheaper than in Austria. The Erasmus Student Networl really offers a lot of activities which help get to know both the city and a lot of people from all around the world. No matter what your interests are, they had regular activities for every taste. My personal highlight was the ESN Super League, a football tournament organized by ESN where exchange students could play and watch every week.

6. Testimonial

I can highly recommend Rome for an exchange, and I would definitely choose it again. It is an amazing opportunity to experience the dolce vita while still studying at a very good university. I made a lot of friends and met amazing people!