UQ Program: Bachelors of Engineering/Commerce
I am currently enrolled in a dual degree consisting of engineering & commerce and I chose to partake in the UQ abroad program whilst in my 3rd year of study. Completing the majority of my finance electives at Bocconi University was both challenging and rewarding as it allowed me to undertake some of my more difficult courses from an international perspective, surprisingly easy considering there were many better alternatives to actually studying!
The academic system at Bocconi isn’t vastly different to that of UQ’s but there are some differences which include things such as much smaller class sizes & the option to chose when & how you want to take an exam (i.e. one big final exam or two separate partial exams). Be warned though that the academic integrity isn’t as strong as that of UQ’s and teachers will often make mistakes when grading and sometimes even in writing the actual exams in the first place. The actual exams themselves aren’t difficult though and you will find that the workload is less than what you are probably used to. Most people attend classes but only really prepare for exams right before they take them, given the fact that you are allowed to chose (from a series of dates) when you wish to take them it makes it a lot easier.
The friendships I made whilst on exchange are some I will never forgot and will probably actually cause me to go back there to visit (or even live) one day. There is a large community of exchange students at Bocconi and there are often many events that are organised for them but if you want a real experience of Italy I would definitely recommend making friends with the Italian students. A lot of them are very friendly and receptive to foreign students (especially those from Australia) and will generally show you a much different time to that of just hanging out with only exchange students. It’ll also mean you will have places to stay when you travel around Italy as most of the students don’t actually come from Milan.
Although I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to speak Italian to get by, having some knowledge of it (or even undertaking the crash course before the semester starts) will make life a little easier. Having studied Italian for a few years meant I was able to avoid a lot of day to day problems and even learning the language a little bit will go a long way with the locals.
You will find that people will say Milan is an expensive city and they are pretty much correct. Milan is generally regarded as one of the most expensive cities in Italy and the area around the University is especially representative of this. Expect rent in the area to be around the 400-700 euro mark per month and weekly expenses (depending on your spending habits) to be around 50-100 euro.
Going out however isn’t a terribly expensive ordeal however, there are plenty of places in the city that offer cheap drinks and most of the clubs have reasonable cover charge. If you manage to get a group of people you can also get a table in most clubs with drinks included. Milan really is a city for the nightlife, with something happening pretty much every day of the week. Some of the most popular places (excluding clubs) include the areas known as “colonne” & “navigli”. I can say that I definitely struggled to have a balanced study life!
For me personally exchange was the greatest experience of my life, I knew that it would be good but thinking back to when I first arrived and now, I had no idea I could accomplish so much in such a short space of time. I’m writing this with only two weeks left till I go back to Australia and I still don’t know whether I am actually ready to return!
5 TOP TIPS:
- Find accommodation as close to the university as possible
- Make friends with as many people as possible and try to avoid sticking to only one group.
- Go out and experience Milan, Italy & the rest of Europe as much as possible. Take your time and just relax, you will probably never get to do something like this again.
- Make sure you have sufficient winter and summer clothes, Milan goes from one extreme to the other very quickly.
- Use your money wisely but try to avoid being too stingy, you won’t enjoy exchange as much!