Program at UQ: Bachelor of Business Management/Commerce
My academic experience at Bocconi University was quite varied. I found the teaching good, but often not as thorough or formal as the teaching at UQ. Out of the courses I took, my particular favourites were Workshop in Film Industry Management and Marketing Research. The content was really interesting and learning about a specific industry is fun. Instead of solely theoretical content, the courses used real world examples and focused on how these worked within the industry. It took a while to get used to Bocconi’s system, as it’s extremely different to UQ. Enrolling for not only classes, but also one of multiple exam sessions took some getting used to.
Being in a country like Italy where I didn’t speak the language was at first very isolating. However, Bocconi has such a huge international student population and once classes started it was easy to meet people from many different countries. Bocconi is well practiced in supporting international students and the opportunities we were given were vast. The Italian language course on offer is very useful and is a great way to meet other exchange students before the semester starts, especially if you aren’t living in the dorms.
Overall I really enjoyed my time abroad. Bocconi gave me the opportunity to take courses that I would never have had the chance to take back at UQ. Living in such a large city and hearing from, and being offered chances to work for, huge global companies like Proctor & Gamble and the UN really opened my eyes to the opportunities that are available to me.
5 TOP TIPS:
1. California Bakery in Milan is an amazing little café for anyone who can’t live off of pizza, pasta and bread for more than a month. It’s very popular with the young Italians who pretty much pack the place at lunch times.
2. Book your flights early! I was really slack with planning all of my weekend trips and ended up having to pay so much more because of it. It really does pay to be organised and have an idea of where you want to go and when.
3. Via Torino is the best place for student shopping. It has affordable prices and an eclectic mix of shops. This is by far the best place to buy shoes!!
4. If you are planning to go to Bocconi, don’t stay in the university dorms. They may be good for meeting people but they are a fair way out of the city and are nowhere near as good as living in an apartment in the city with other students. The best areas to live are Porta Romana, Brera, Duomo area, Navigli and anywhere around Bocconi.
5. The best gelato shop in Milan is by far Amorino in Brera. Amazing!! Grom is also good. Don’t bother buying gelato or food from the restaurants around Duomo. They are overpriced and average quality.