Exchange Report

The Visa is not really necessary, almost nobody applied for it and the ones who did did not receive it in time. You just have to leave Chile after 90 days (we did a trip to Mendoza for a weekend) and you can return to Chile for another 90 days. Nobody had an issue with that.

I (and 2 other CEMS Exchange students) stayed at LivinnX (student dorm). I really liked the location as it is very central. However, the city center of Santiago is not the safest place in the city. Most other CEMS Exchange students stayed in Providencia or Las Condes. While I really liked LivinnX, it is pretty far from the university and it takes some time to get there.

The campus is really nice and modern, however, it is really far from basically everything in Santiago. We had a few courses at the Errazuriz campus and the Block Seminar at the Vitacura campus. The academic culture is really relaxed. I only had one exam during the semester but basically every course has some type of group project. The professors are really nice and relaxed.

Public Transport is good in Santiago. The safety situation really depends on the area. The eastern part of the city (Vitacura, Las Condes, Providencia) are the nice part of the city and I would say they are comparable to Vienna in terms of safety. The city center and the further west you get in the city are more dangerous (robberies, phone snatching, pick-pocketing). A few people from my cohort had their phone stolen/snatched (including me), so bring a second phone if possible and put extra security in your phone. I have not heard of any violent crimes. There is a lot to do in and around Santiago. Events were mostly organized by the CEMS Club. I had a gym in my student accomodation which I used for sports.

I really enjoyed my time in Santiago, as it is a very modern and rather safe city (at least for Latin America). The academic experience was nice and the lecturers are from various Latin American countries. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the cohort we had and the activities we did.