Student Report - LUISS
Luiss Università Guido Carli
QTEM, Fall, 2014
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
Before leaving Norway
We received sufficient information from the international office of BI and Luiss, two months in
advance, regarding the school and practical issues. Make sure to take into account that courses might
crash, therefore we would recommend to make an opinion on a “last resort” courses. But do not
stress, you have a lot of time to change courses after arriving Rome.
Housing
Housing was provided by a supportive service of LUISS, CTS. We had heard that the service was
pretty bad, so the three of us chose to rent an apartment thorugh. It work out great, living in an area
that can be compared to Frogner in Oslo. We started looking for an apartment one month prior to the
exchange in the area near Villa Ada, which is only a ten minute walk away from the school. We paid
€620 for a 110 m2 apartment with two bathrooms, three bedrooms, seperate kitchen and living room.
Costs
Approximately how much we spent per month per person:
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 5,000
NOK 0
NOK 1,500
NOK 100
NOK 1,500
Culture and language
All the Italian students speak English, and almost all the staff at school. We got offered to participate
in an Italian course, but we only attended two times since the lectures were held on Saturday
mornings. ESN, the Erasmus network at Luiss had several trips around Rome and Italy.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The school
The school is located a 20 minute bus ride from the city center. The different faculties are split up
around the area of Villa Ada. The size of the school is quite small when compared to that of Norway
with only 20 small classromes. Limited places to study. (location, size, study structure, special
academic areas etc.)
Course registration
We registered for courses one week before arriving Rome. Luiss is pretty flexibile when it comes to
adding / dropping classes, which could be done up to four weeks after the semester start.
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Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
September 10th
September 12th
December 5th
Decembert 8th – 22nd
Arrival
We arrived two days before the orientation day. Unfortunaltey we were too late to buy tickets for the
introduction buddy program, since a lot of the bachelor students had started one week earlier so they
were sold out. Anyways we could still join for some of the activities.
The International Office
The international office is always helpful. We felt that the IO prioritized QTEM-students. The
international office is only open three days a week at certain times.
Social activities
One of us played football with other ESN students. Otherwise one could participate in one of the
many ESN activities, such as; a trip to Napoli, Piza, and many others. The Italian students are very
social in and outside of the class room.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teching style is much more practical when compared to that of BI. All the courses had case
studies, except for emerging markets. Also, almost all the professors are practioners, such as in
“Asset Management” and “M&A” where they are asset managers and investment bankers. The level
is a bit higher than bachelor courses at BI, but the workload is not high. Only mandatory case studies
in “performance measurement”.
Course materials
Asset Management
 Book (6 chapters) and powerpoint slides.
M&A and Investment Banking
 Only powerpoint.
Emerging Markets
 Book (5 chapters) and powerpoint slides.
Advanced Corporate Finance
 Book and powerpoint slides
Fixed Income
 Powerpoint slides
Financial Market Law
 Different homepages, powerpoint slides and a book.
Real Estate Finance
 Book and powerpoint slides
Performance Measurement and Financial Reporting
 Only powerpoint slides.
Exams
All the exams were based on the course materials reviewed in class.
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Library and technology
We did not try out the library since people said it was quite small, and it was a 30 minute walk away
from the campus. Limited places to study. Four computer rooms with only one printer in each of
them, so be prepared to wait when you want to do some printing.
Description of courses
Course
Emerging
Markets
Master/
Bachelor
Master
Performan
ce
measureme
nt and
Financial
Reporting
Asset
Manageme
nt
M&A and
Investment
Banking
Fixed
Income
Master
Financial
Market
Law
Master
Financial
and Credit
Derivatives
Exam form
1 hour
written final
(100%)
2 cases
(30%) and 2
hours written
(70%)
Prerequisite
s
None
Basic
accounting
Oral exam –
10 minutes
(100%)
Oral exam –
10 minutes
(100%)
1 hour
midterm
(20%),
project
(40%), and 2
hours final
(40%)
Two 1 hour
midterms
(50%) and 10
minutes oral
exam (50%)
Basic finance
Master
1 hour
midterm
(50%) and 1
hour final
(505)
Basic
derivatives
Advanced
Corporate
Finance
Master
1 hour
written final
Basic finance
Real Estate
Finance
Master
Oral (100%)
Finance
Master
Master
Master
None
Comments
The professor is a bit boring, he talks and
talks and talks. Concepts are easy to
follow, but a bit challenging math.
The main professor is good, but the two
others are a bit difficult to understand.
My favorite professor and course.
Theoretical foundations with a lot of
practical case studies.
Good professors from the practitional
field. Theoretical and practical.
Good to
know excel
and basic
statistics /
macroeco.
Good course, with several guest lecturers.
The professor is very dedicated and works
in the field of fixed income. It has a
practical approach with focus on fully
understanding basic concepts and trading
strategies.
None
The main professor is a bit boring and bad
at communicating the subject. The course
is very theoretical, where we go thorugh
directives, regulations, and regulatory
environment in Europe. High workload,
given the midterms.
Interesting course, it is quite
theoretical. The professor is very good at
explaining the concepts and he uses
examples to illustrate them. Covers a wide
range of topics and includes an
introduction to Matlab.
The professor is knowledgable and funny.
The course is as mch about derivatives as
it is about corporate finance. Light
workload.
Interesting course and there is a lot of
guest lecturers. There are two main
professors, both working in the field of
real estate, one in the area of finance and
the other an engineer. It has a very
practical approach and includes a location
visit to a real estate development.
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