GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE EXPERIENCE REPORT
Please write this report in English
The student report will be published on the:
 Study Abroad website (under “Experiences” from partner universities)
 TSH study abroad blackboard page
I am fine with my report being published online: YES/NO
ANR: 218420
Name: Manon Bolderman
E-mail: m.bolderman@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: UCSC, Milan
Fall / Spring, 2015
Academic year: 2015/2016
Host University: Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Country: Italy
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The university is located in the middle of Milan, on a very central place, which makes it easily
reachable by trains and buses. There is one main building which functions as campus. It is an
old cloister, which provides for a very beautiful building and classrooms. Besides the main
building, there are some other buildings in walking distance. The most fun areas to be for
students are Navigli/Ticinese, with lots of bars and restaurants.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
Since I was in the last-minute exchange, I only received my acceptance in June, and soon
after I started to receive other pre-arrival information. Everything was pretty clear and if you
had any questions, an e-mail with an answer would come back very fast from UCSC!
Because you need to pay for some courses, a creditcard comes in really handy!
Orientation/Introduction activities
The first 3 days of school were dedicated to introduction by which we were introduced to the
university, the city and other international students. This was all organized well and
structured.
Housing
Milan has a housing problem and therefore it is quite difficult for students to find an
accommodation. There are some major organizations but also some private offers which can
be found through facebook pages. The university adviced me to apply for MilService, but in
the end this turned out to be a terrible service, with bad communications towards the
students, only few housing options to offer (which were mostly shared rooms for high prices)
and in bad locations. Also, as I’ve heard from other students, the apartments were old and
dirty. I would not recommend to book a place with this organization but rather look at sites
like: Uniplaces,Stanze Singole etc. The university did not help me very much with finding an
apartment. In the end I found my room through RealeGest, which was fine, but a bit
expensive considering the location.
Living Costs
Milan is an expensive city and more expensive compared to Tilburg, most of my money went
to rent and groceries etc. However, transportation is very cheap, with only €22 for a monthly
card. Also, clubbing is very expensive.
Academic Calendar
The first introduction program was from the 1st of September till the 4rd. Then there was room
for a 2-week language course and at September 18th the courses started. The last day of
school was December 17. They do provide you with some free time before exams, but this
depends on the course you take. There are multiple options to take an exam, also, you can
decide whether you want to take the midterm exam or not. (This depends on the curriculum
though)
The International Office
There is an international office in UCSC which is very nice and helpful and also very fast in
replying with urgent issues. In general they do a good job!
Social Activities
I’ESN is also active on this university, and it organizes plenty activities to get to know your
fellow students and also students from other universities. There is something to do almost
every day. However, it is not likely that you will meet many Italian students through this
organization.
Culture and Language
There was not a huge culture shock since it is still a European country, but bear in mind that
everything will not be as well-organized as we are used to here in The Netherlands. All in all,
it is a very nice culture to live in, and Italians are in general very friendly and helpful! There
can be a big difference though between different parts of Italy and how the inhabitants will act.
One negative is the lack of English of most people here, despite the fact that the city is
oriented towards other countries, most people will speak no/almost no English. This can
cause some problems or difficulties and therefore it is useful to do a language course. UCSC
offers language courses as well for different levels, and they are very good but expensive. I
did the 2-week intensive course before my classes started and it learned me the basics of
Italian, which I definitely used during my stay.
Personal Development
Personally this exchange was good for my development because it has taught me that there
is more than just Holland and its universities, and that you can study in another country, or do
an internship in another country as well. Because of my exchange, I am now much more
internationally minded and probably I will study/work abroad some time. Also, exchange is the
perfect opportunity to meet new people from different countries with different perspectives. I
regard my exchange as very positive in the end and it have been 4 great months, however
next time I would check the courses that were offered more thoroughly, because now the
courses I took did not fit my curriculum perfectly.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Academic level at a host university
The courses are offered mainly in Italian and some in English as well. There are 2 curricula;
the academic; with mainly Italian, and international; with only English courses. You are only
allowed to take 1 International course when on Erasmus+. I only took English courses, but
due to lack of information, the courses I wanted to take were not available. I think it is very
important to check this beforehand very clearly, because otherwise you might find some
unpleasant surprises. The academic level was for me much lower, and the workload was also
not very heavy for me compared to Tilburg. However, the courses required 3x 3-hour lessons
per week, which is a lot. However the amount of information given, and the speed to which it
is given is very low. Also, guest lectures, group work and field trips are included in most of the
courses. My results were high, but in the end I have not worked as hard as I normally do in
Tilburg.
Exams
I did midterms, and then a final exam. For these two, there are multiple dates on which you
can take the exam, and thus also a lot of chances for resitting. Also, most of the time, a group
work and presentation is part of your grade.
Other
One of the main negatives about this university is the lack of space in the library or anywhere
in the university. The library is so small that it is almost always full and the other few spaces
offered for studying are so little that they are full as well in exam-periods. I have experienced
that it is very hard to find a place to sit, especially when you have to meet up for a groupwork.
Description of Courses
Please list all courses you have taken at a partner university in the form below:
 Course title and code
 Course level (BA/MA)
 Prerequisites, if any
 Form of exam
 ECTS credits you have obtained in total:
 Comments: Relevance, Difficult/easy, Practical/theoretical, Enrolment problems
Course Name
Prerequisites
Exam
Major at TiU
Principles
of
Management –
ABF556
Business Ethics –
IB/PL300
Academic
curriculum
Written & group
paper
BA, 8 ECTS,
Approved
as
(minor/ elective
/ extra)
minor
International
curriculum
BA, 6 ECTS
minor
Business StrategyABF614
Academic
curriculum
Written & group
paper
+
presentation +
attendance
Written & group
paper
+
presentation
BA, 8 ECTS
minor
Please fill in all the courses you have taken
Tips for the future students:
I would definitely recommend going on exchange, because it is not only a very fun period, it is
also a period in which you learn a lot and experience a whole new environment that will
change your current points of view. I am not sure if I would go to Cattolica, since the biggest
negative for me was the lack of courses offered in English in the period I was on exchange.
Milan itself is truly amazing and perfect for students, however focus on the availability of
courses before going on exchange.
Blog
https://manoninmilaan.wordpress.com
Contact details:
Can the International Relations Office share your e-mail address with prospective exchange
students, so that other students could contact you for more information? YES/NO