Motivation
I was motivated to study at Bocconi because Bocconi has a great reputation within Europe as a leading business school. I was also drawn to Milan because of its central location within Europe and the many opportunities available to travel as well as study.
Personal Development
Bocconi has a large exchange student population. In my semester there were 700-800 students from various Universities worldwide including other Universities in Europe. There were many social opportunities provided to meet other students (1 every night for the first 2 weeks). Italian culture is very strong and my time in Milan allowed me to fully experience all Italian culture has to offer. I particularly enjoyed watching both Inter & AC Milan the San Siro Stadium (€5-€10 tickets). I travelled widely during term and in my mid semester break and had some great experiences along the way.
Academic Development
The style of teaching at Bocconi varied from that at UQ. Each subject required attendance at university for 2-3 hours/week with no tutorials or online lectures. During the semester I enjoyed listening to guest lecturers from the business field who were able to connect lecture content to real world situations. At Bocconi there are mid-semester and final assessments often of 30-60 minutes duration. To gain a pass 60% is required in all assessments.
Professional Development
During my semester I heard from roughly 10 guest lecturers across 3 subjects (2 subjects did not have guest lecturers). The guest lecturers shared their knowledge of their startups/businesses which was great to link the lecture content to real world situations. Having to deal with the everyday challenges of living in a foreign city where you don't speak the language definitely helped me learn more about myself. I feel like I am better able to deal with challenges that come my way and navigate situations now that I have lived in a foreign city for 4 months.
Costs
Like many European cities Milan is quite an expensive city to live in. My accommodation was €720/month (including bills) for a private room. Accommodation prices can vary depending on private/shared rooms and location. My monthly expenditure was roughly €500/month but was dependant on how often I ate out or frequency of events. The public transport pass was €22/month. Weekend trips away can be quite affordable as there are many travel options (bus/train/plane). Flights for €20-30 can be found if booked early.
Funding
Living expenses in Milan are high. The funding I received was very beneficial in supporting my living expenses which allowed me to spend more of my savings on travel opportunities.
Accommodation
I shared an apartment with 4 Italians (5 people in the apartment) in Centrale (very close to the train station), which I booked through Spotahome. My commute to university was roughly 40 minutes. Although my apartment was quite good (room was small) and was very close to all forms of public transport, I wished I had booked earlier and had prioritised being closer to Bocconi University. Many of the social activities occur near the university and often don’t start until late evening (9 or 10) and the metro stops at midnight, so accommodation closer to the University would have made things easier. There is very limited availability in the dorm accommodation close to the Bocconi campus and this booked out within minutes of the site opening. I would advise trying to organise accommodation as early as possible. There are a number of sites and Facebook pages dedicated to finding roommates and accommodation in Milan.
Highlight
The highlight of my time in Milan was the opportunity and ease of travel to interesting places on weekends. During my time in Milan, I visited Venice, Florence, Pisa, Lake Como, Monaco, Cinque Terre & Copenhagen all on weekend trips, as well as Austria & Hungary during the mid-semester break.
Advice/Top Tips
I would highly recommend the exchange program to other students. I would advise organising accommodation as early as possible prioritising the proximity to the university and recommend arriving the week prior to the start of term as many of the social events are held then (similar to O-week). Erasmus Student Network (ESN) hosts many social activities and organises some weekends away and even includes 4 flights 10% off with free luggage through RyanAir, so highly recommend joining.
