Reviews
Anna Lundberg
My “Dolce Vita” semester in Milan
The past semester was truly somewhat of a dream. When choosing Bocconi as a university, where I сould do a semester abroad, I could not imagine how great and unforgettable my Italian experience might be.
Honestly, Bocconi university in Milan was not my first choice. I picked Hogeschool Utrecht in the Netherlands. I was amazed by this opportunity to spend a whole year in a small town Utrecht, which is close to the capital, in order to get a Double Degree. However, I believe it was truly my destiny to end up going to my birthplace -Milan - the place where my life started and where I spent the first 2 months of it. And I was not feeling upset at all when I heard that sadly I was the 5th person to apply to that Dutch Hogeschool, where only 4 places were available. Even though I knew it would only be a 5 months experience and not a whole year with my friends, I guessed I would most likely spend it as greatly and I would have as much fun as I would in Holland. “I am a lover of big and metropolitan cities anyway…”- I thought.
The semester definitely met all my expectations and even exceeded them. There were some things that could have made it better, of course, nothing is perfect. However, I believe those things only made my experience even more unforgettable and I maybe gained some knowledge in a way. For example, I had to commute from my not very central and clean dormitory to university every day and get on a tram 15. This was the only tram that was going right to Bocconi and it was irritatingly not very punctual all the time due to endless traffic problems and very frequent public strikes, so I never knew if I could make it on time for class unless I leave home a lot in advance.
Apart of that and some minor problems that I might have faced with the everyday traffic and some unpleasant situations that I might have experienced when dealing with Italian people, I really had a great time, which I got to share with the people from all over the world who I embarked on this Erasmus experience with me. Those moments during the endless and spontaneous Europe travels with friends will never be forgotten. One weekend Berlin, another- Rome, Paris, Madrid, Nice, Cannes, Monaco, Vienna... because everything is close and cheap to travel to. The cozy streets of Milan, almost every night’s food abundant happy hours called aperitivos in local ‘Venice’- Navigli, food festivals with local delicatesses, posh but rather cheap restaurants, fashion shows with fancy looking people, cheap cocktail bars and discos, museums with different exhibitions, smells of fresh coffee everywhere, smiling people everywhere… that and not only you can only find in Milan. This city has a lot to offer.
As for the university itself, I was not worried about it before coming. Bocconi has a great reputation both in Italy and in the world in terms or economic education. Its students work in big international companies all over the world and it is renowned for having great professors providing a high level education. Each year Bocconi welcomes abound 500 exchange students like me from all the countries, not only from Europe. Throughout the whole studying period, I was involved in numerous teamwork tasks, where sometimes I had to work only with Italian students; in each course we were asked to do a number of presentations and papers on which I always had to work with a group of people, which implies reaching a common conclusion and almost never working alone. I am glad I had this opportunity to be in this Bocconi environment, comprised of competitive people who always work hard and do their best at anything they do.
I always thought that Italians are as much organized as the Russians. However, at university it is a completely different thing. First of all, they have online Bocconi agenda- this is an online page you have access to and it is completely yours. There you can do all the necessary and there is no need to run to university for that: you can pick the subjects you want, have the syllabuses of all the courses you follow, reserve books from the library or prolong the period of your borrowing, you can apply for exams-pick the date that is the most suitable for you, you can see your schedule for the week and for the coming months, you can read news about Bocconi, you can check in which classroom you are going to have your next lesson today, tomorrow, just any day. You can contact your professors through the email platform, where all the email addresses are already given to you, you can get notifications in case your class has been cancelled and so much more... This is definitely something that, I believe, Plekhanov University should learn from Bocconi- it should start such an agenda to make lives of students and professors a lot easier. What is more, the office was always welcoming us in case we had issues with something, the ladies there were always ready and glad to help. They were also very quick with replying to emails and providing something they were asked to.
ESN Bocconi is the voluntary students association, which was basically in charge of all the cultural and fun activities that it was organizing for us, exchange students. Without them, my experience would have most likely been more dull and boring. Thanks to them, I got acquainted with a lot of different Italian cities and small towns, I also received some valuable advice on what to see and what to do there and was taken to great places in Milan. I am very thankful to the guys, who were constantly organizing activities for us to not let us feel bored and save us a little money. Even though the buddy system is not very developed at Bocconi like it is at Plekhanov and none of us was given a person who we would go to if we needed help in everyday life, Esn did their job well and was also always ready to assist us.
All in all, I made the best out of my experience in Milan- got some valuable studying experience at one of the high ranked universities in the world, got to stay in a lively city and the capital of business, improved my language skills (both English and Italian and maybe Spanish a bit), made forever lasting friendships, got to see the world from a different view. And this is the most valuable. I honestly do not understand people who decide to skip this amazing experience because I think it gives you a lot. This is the experience that I will trade for no other. I would undoubtedly recommend to go to Milan on exchange and experience this “Dolce Vita” for stories that will be shared for a lot of years to follow.
Happy me jumping in front of the Duomo cathedral – the heart of Milan
ESN crew and exchange students on a trip to Torino
Exchange students having a lot of fun at a house party
My group of Italian
Watching a ballet «Jewels» at La Scala theatre
Eating home made Tiramisu with some of my best friends in Milan
Mark Steetsel
Exchange undergraduate student
University of Applied Sciences Utrecht
The Netherlands
Fall Semester 2012
My time in Russia… It sounds like an old fairytale. I will not try to compare it to that but sometimes Russia was a bit like that anyway.
Everybody always told me: “Whenever you have the chance, go abroad during your college time. It will be an awesome experience.” I always answered that it would be an experience to never forget. But at the same time I wondered how it would be. 6 months away from family, friends and my own company in exchange for an experience abroad. If I look back on my time abroad I can answer those questions in a very easy way. Going abroad is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.
In that time I was studying for my Bachelor of Commerce degree so trying to stand out from the rest was priority. I could go to the USA but then you would not stand out from the rest. Russia, that was distinctive!
Getting in Russia was not the problem: by plane just a few hours away from The Netherlands. From the airport to Moscow was just a short time. My adventure had begun! At the airport and in the train everything was displayed in 2 different languages: English and Russian on every single sign. When I stepped out of the train, I noticed that all the English was gone and only the amazing alphabet of hieroglyphs was displayed. I was really glad that the buddies were already there to help us out. Without them I would never have arrived at the dorm. Immediately after arriving it became clear that communicating with most of the Russian people wasn’t easy to do. But again, the buddies were there. The same applied to the bureaucratic way of thinking in Russia: a stamp on the document in a bank and in the other side of the campus an autograph to verify the stamp. At first I thought it would become very annoying but Russia creates a sort of magical feeling. People don’t care about anything. That’s just a waste of time, so don’t bother doing it. The Russian feeling and way of thinking were very fast implemented.
At first I felt like a tourist in a new world. I could not understand anything and when I ordered something on a menu of a restaurant I could just hope it would be reasonably edible. But again, glad that there were buddies and other international students who already knew and understood the Russian language. After a few weeks of discovering Moscow, Russia and all the other students it was time to learn the Russian language. 20 hours a week Russian language. Almost undoable, that were the first thoughts. Nowadays I’m really glad I’ve had the change to get 20 hours Russian Language a week. I can read, talk and write a bit Russian. Still it’s difficult but I can communicate! The dorm was really strict, all the rules made it difficult to pull of some jokes. We made the stay in the dorm very pleasant together with all the students. The rooms were hot and the beds too short but hey, I didn’t bother. I was having a great experience I would never regret and forget. While going to school, we traveled to lots of different cities and places. I would never forget the trip to the dog sledges. In the train for hours and hours. Same for the trips to Ukraine and St. Petersburg. All amazing trips where I met a lot of nice people. The nightlife of Russia, and specific in Moscow is very good. Pivo-management classes are also worth a recommendation. Next to that, if people say: “Don’t take the illegal cabs”… Take them! It’s awesome. Driving around in one will also be an ultimate Russia-experience!
The main difference between Europe and Russia is very well illustrated in the differences between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Moscow is way more orientated on the East-European way of living. If there is a sidewalk where your nearly can’t walk because of the holes in it, you know you’re in Moscow. If you see organized, straight sidewalks you know you’re in St. Petersburg. At first some things in Moscow are shocking but why would you care about it. It also has it charms.
The classes in school were at a good level. A little bit less than in The Netherlands but I learned a lot of new things too. Generally the Plekhanov University is a well organized school where you can feel save and respected. The understandings between student and teacher are more formal then in The Netherlands.
I can look back on an amazing time in Russia and if you ask me to come again I would not hesitate a second. I would go immediately! Because of the hospitality and all the help of people you don’t know but most of all because you will learn a lot about different cultures and you will have a broader perspective on general knowledge. You will experience the “normal” way of living in Russia which is so different from ours. Of course with a lot of “vodka” and night clubs; but hey, that’s also the life of a Russian student!
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who have made my stay in Russia feel like home, Thank you!
Eugenia Avvakumova,
Plekhanov University of Economics
IBS, graduation 2013
My double-degree program in France
Having been a second year student of the IBS-Plekhanov, when I applied for the double-degree program I could not even imagine how much it would give me. I knew only that the second diploma will open new horizons for my future career. But I did not expect that I will see a different world in terms of culture and human relations.
First of all, I was lucky to experience a new approach in teaching. In France we had mostly lectures, which included team work and panel discussions with teacher, while in Russia there is usually the equal number of lectures and seminars, with a greater number of written assignments. In ICN Business School we had professors from France, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Great Britain and even India! They all were like treasures from the oriental fair, keeping something specific from their nationality, sharing experience from different spheres and infecting us with their enthusiasm!
Secondly, during this year in Nancy I found a great number of friends from all parts of the world. It is amazing how different and how similar we are. We still keep in touch in Facebook and I will be happy to show them Moscow some day.
Finally, there is nothing like living in Europe with your friends when you are 20. The first try of being adult, living a life of independence and getting to understand that you can work out your own destiny.
In conclusion I should say that I am very grateful to IBS-Plekhanov for the given opportunity to spend a year studying in France, developing my language skills and getting a diploma of the foreign university.
