Details

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

1. Preparation

Generally speaking, there is not much to prepare in advance. As a EU-citizen, most things like phone-plans or visas were not necessary to prepare in advance.

2. Accommodation

You have to start searching for your accomodation as early as possible, as there is a high demand for (short term) rentals in Lisboa. I went with a private accommodation as the university did not really provide us with that much help. I lived with two students from my intake. Our place was near Sete Rios, it is not the prettiest nor a lifely area - but it is close to Catolica. I would not fully recommend the location as you always need to take the metro when you want to go out for food, drinks or party. I did not have any safety issues. Tips for location: The best locations are Santos, Marques de Pombal, Parque, Alameda and Avenida :) Make sure there are heatings installed - it gets very cold as there is no isolation!

3. Academic life at host university

The Campus is very old and pretty ugly - we even had water leaking into the building one day. Regarding the academic culture, the general level of expectations is rather high, but nothing WU students haven't experienced. The problem is that there are a lot of group-works and most team members are severely lacking the ability and/or the motivation to perform accordingly. In my case, that resulted in having to bridge a very large gap, costing me multiple days. It was without a doubt more of an academic effort than expected, which did harm my overall experience. The courses are in small, interactive classes. A typical course has 3.5 ECTS, meaning you have to do at least 6 courses over the semester. Despite all that, I can definitely recommend some courses: The Business of Energy (led by EY energy lead) and Impact Investing (led by Impact-VC founder) - if you are somewhat interested in the topics you will love the courses as the profs are amazing.

5. Every day life in the host country

- Public transport: You pay 30-40€ per month for the city ticket. The metro is relatively reliable (a bit longer waiting times than in Austria). The buses are not that reliable, but sometimes you can track them via Google maps, which can be useful! - safety situation: I felt pretty safe most of the times, but friends of mine have been robbed (phone/wallet) so be aware! - social/leisure activities: great nightlife, lots of cheap bars and a nice student life. the absolute HIGHLIGHTS were the trips to Madeira and Porto - 100% recommend! - events: Concerts & festival - recommendable - sports options: gotta take care of it yourself, university does not help/support here. But there are decent gym options & lots of motivated students that meet up to rent a football pitch - we played every 1-2 weeks at least. Paddle is also available

6. Testimonial

The academic experience was more frustrating than enlightening, which decreased my overall quality of live. However, the city and its lifeliness make up for it - you just have to make the most out of it. Meeting new people and travelling Portugal were the things that made the exchange worth it.