My Exchange Experience in Bocconi
It has been almost 4 months since I came back from Europe, but I still miss the life in Europe and believe that the precious experience would always stay in my mind. I am so glad that I made this decision to be an exchange student in Bocconi University, due to not only the excellent learning opportunity, but also a dreamful platform to explore European culture.
Bocconi University, established in Milan in 1902, is the first Italian university to grant a degree in economics. As the most reputable private university in Italy and one of the most important universities in the world, it offers great learning opportunities in such an international, professional and practical manner. You can choose whatever you like among plentiful courses in the fields of economics, finance, management, marketing, accounting or law.
I chose 5 graduate courses which cover economics, finance, management and accounting, and attended part of a Phd course. However, students usually chose 3-4 courses per semester in Bocconi University. I really admire the professional performance, empirical applications, free learning style and collaborative manner of Bocconi University. Some courses provide multiple learning schedules and you can arrange your own curriculum, especially you can choose whether to attend midterm exams or the timetable of final exams among several choices as you like. Besides, many courses are taught by two professors, and they consist of lectures, case studies discussions and speeches by guest speakers who are from some of the most prestigious financial institutions.
As one of the core courses with major in Finance, Investment Banking is popular due to its update teaching materials and empirical teaching style, with prerequisites of some basic financial knowledge. Investment Banking is focused on analysis of the main business areas under different points of view: asset valuation, deal pricing, deal structuring, processes followed during the transactions and roles played by the intermediary, aiming to develop capabilities to use the most known methodological tools in real-life business for a wide range of deals through a series of lectures and case studies which was taught by two professors——one is Director of the B.Sc of Economics and Finance at Bocconi University and the other one is co-head of Goldman Sachs in Italy——and guest speakers such as CFO of Generali.
Financial Statement Analysis (Advanced Course) was one of the most difficult courses, with necessary prerequisites of basic financial accounting. Its major educational objective is to analyze financial statement interpretation issues from the perspective of professional analysts in an international context. Development Economics, instructed by two professors who illustrated points clearly with papers, helped me understand household decisions and the functioning of markets and institutions in Less Developed Countries.
Moreover, Decision Making and Negotiation required active participation to course activities, such as lectures, cases and projects. This course taught me concepts and tools for improving decision making and negotiation processes and strategies through lots of case discussions and simulations in the team.
Management of Fashion and Luxury Companies adopted case-study approach and assigned us a group project aimed at putting into practice methodologies of product and brand management as learned in class. This project provided me a golden chance to realize diversified cultures in an international group and improved my communication skills.
Besides, I was always on the road during holidays and weekends. I missed the days when I hung around in Venice with Carnival parade around, admired the collections in Uffizi gallery in Florence, followed the historical remains in Rome, chatted with an artist in Como, visited Romeo and Julia in Verona and went hiking with friends in Cinque Terre. I also remembered the sweet chocolate smell and recalled the comic characters in British, admired masterpieces of Van Gogh and lost in the colorful tulips kingdom in Holland, enjoyed the delicious seafood and delighted by the work of Gaudi in Barcelona, experienced the romantic night of Paris, explored the fairy lands in German, listened an opera in Vienna and felt hot spring in Budapest.
Moreover, I cherished the memory of solo journey, since you can never imagine where life goes on. I followed the tracks of films in Sicily——the mysterious island in Italy, climbed the volcano and touched the disorders with a Germany. I became a backpacker in Swiss, appreciated the natural beauty of lakes and mountains, regretted the rains in Jungfrau and missed the magical journey with an American journalist.
As for food, I liked to taste local food along the journey, such as the original steak in Florence and the seafood paella in Spain. Pizza and paste are quite popular in Italy with kinds of tastes. I always sought my favorite gelato——the Italian ice cream——in the streets and tasted a cup of coffee in the Cafe.
Along the journey, I grew to be wiser and better. The novel experience in Europe deepened my understanding of diversified cultures. Life in Italy, an exotic blend of modern luxury and isolated serenity, is somewhat comfortable with friendly Italians, but sometimes inconvenient due to language barriers and different life styles. Furthermore, courses in Bocconi promoted my analytical ability which is beneficial to my academic career and communication skills in my life.
—— By Yintong Wang, student from 2012 WISE Master's Program
