Details

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

1. Preparation

- Join Whatsapp Groups to quickly find nice accommodations in Lisbon - Travel choice: plane (cheap deals over Ryanair from VIE-LIS) - Make sure to have enough buffer time to deal with administrative things before school starts (public transportation is free if you are under 23)

2. Accommodation

I lived in the city which I would recommend to any exchange student to meet more people also during the weekend. Make sure to live near Cais do Sodré or a metro to reduce your transit time to uni. Recommend: Baixa, Santos, Bairro, Alto, Principe Real but not Alfama or Martim Moniz. If you enjoy living at the beach I would recommend living near Nova (Carcavelos)

3. Academic life at host university

Nova Campus is super nice to study as it is next to the beach and very modern. We had many guest speakers (every week) which made the courses a lot more practical oriented and super interesting to meet experts in these fields. I can recommend taking Geoeconomics and International Relations as it is with the former foreign minister of Portugal and the Impact Venture Capital class.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport is free for under 23 years, otherwise 40€ per month for Lisbon & Outer Regions (needed for uni) Sport: Viva Gym at Nova (and in the city), urban sport class, amplify, surf classes near uni (40€ monthly subscription for 4 classes per month) Many music events and festivals: YARD, No Art, Black Coffee, etc

6. Testimonial

I enjoyed living in the city and studying near the beach as it gave me the perfect balance of spending time with friends, outdoors and studying in a great environment. The CEMS cohort was super nice and organized so many trips and activities that you always met new people. I personally loved travelling on the weekend to different places such as nearby beaches, Algarve, Porto etc. or flying to Marocco, Madeira and other cool destinations which are very affordable from Lisbon. I recommend living with other exchange students as I had a wonderful time exploring Lisbon and other places with them.