Greetings,

My name is Muydinov Boburjon, and i'm a junior student at Korea University Business School. I’ve had an opportunity to be selected for an exchange program and spend spring semester of 2019 in Bocconi University, which is located in Italy, Milan. In this report, I’ll put all my efforts in order to share all the information and insights, that’ll be helpful for those, who are interested in studying as an exchange in Bocconi University. The report will include an information about the course registration process, lodgings, visa issuance matters and other things. However, I believe that the information, which is presented in this review should be used solely as a source of additional reference. If you need a detailed and accurate information, visit the KUBS international office.

1. The process of course registration:

First and foremost, before the course registration, it’s important to go through the list (available before the course registration, you will be informed about it) all the available courses, which are offered during the semester in Bocconi University, in order to find the courses of your preference. After you find and make a list of courses of your preference, it’s important to consult with the international office in KUBS to verify, whether those courses can be admitted by our university and your credits can safely be transferred, to be precise you should proceed with the credit approval process. As far as I remember, credit approval process takes from 10-14 working days, so it’s important that you do that in advance, otherwise it may affect your credits, thereby jeopardizing and causing postponement your graduation. Once you consult with KUBS international office and the credits are approved, you should wait for the notification about the course registration procedure from the international office of Bocconi University. Along with the notification, they will provide you with an individual ID with password, which will further be needed to access You@b platform (alternative to 수가신청platform, which we have in KU), where the course registration actually takes place. What is really good about Bocconi’s education system is that it allows exchange students two options, which are attending and non-attending options. If you’re an attending exchange student, then you will have the same grading structure, which is presented in the syllabus, like attendance 10%, exams are 25% per each and etc, and what is obvious, you will have to attend that course on a consistent basis. But if you decide to go for an option “non-attending”, you will be exempted from consistent class attendances and be free from all the assignments and other class requirements, and the only thing that you have to do is to take final exam, which contributes as of 100% to your total grade. Many exchange students balance between attending/non-attending classes, in order to free as much time as possible to travel around the Europe. My personal advice: make sure that you choose the easiest courses for “non-attending”, since sometimes some professors may complicate the exam contents for tough courses. As for me, I’ve taken 5 courses (15 credits) and all were attending, since I wasn’t planning to travel that much. Here are those courses:
- Personal Selling (Very much similar to Sales Management)
- Financial Markets and Institutions
- International Business
- Business Strategy
- E-commerce and E-marketing

In fact, course registration process is quite similar to one we have in Korea University, which is all about선착순 (first come, first served basis). Taking into consideration, that most of the KU students are familiar with this course registration system, there’s a high percentage of probability, that you will succeed in selecting the courses of your preference.

2. Housing (In/Off-campus)

Probably, the hardest part about the exchange program in Bocconi was related to the lodging, and I will explain why this procedure of lodging is so complicated.
First of all, Bocconi has under its administration about 7 dormitories, but that doesn’t necessarily mean, that there’s plenty of space for exchange students. As far as I remember, most of my exchange acquaintances were dislocated in a single dormitory (called Arcobaleno Residence, which is a bit far from the university, you must take a tram to get to uni and it will take roughly 30 minutes), whereas rooms in other 6 dormitories were allocated for regular students. So, if you want to secure a place in a dormitory, make sure that right after you book a place in any of the residences (they will give you a chance to choose more than 3 options, when applying), send them the money, since places are distributed on first come first served basis, and the competition for those rooms is on a cosmic level. Initially, you will have to pay only deposit amount to secure a place, which is about 500-600 euros (information about the exact price will be provided by the international office of Bocconi university).
Coming to my personal experience, which is about living off-campus. Since, I was not fortunate enough to secure the place in any of Bocconi’s dormitories, I had to start looking for a place to rent outside of the university. During the searching period, I had to stay in a hostel for more than 2 weeks, after I stayed in a private accommodation for 2 more weeks, which I accidentally found in the Facebook (Student was renting out his place, since he was leaving for 2 weeks), while looking for a permanent housing. Basically, it took me more than 4 weeks to eventually find an appropriate place to stay at. Most of the owners didn’t allow me to rent their place due to my short period of stay (4 months only), claiming that at least 1 year contract should be signed. So, even if it took me more than 4 weeks, I can still be called lucky, given the competition among people for the appropriate residences. So, if you’re in the same situation, as I were, you can refer to the websites spotahome.com or go for an option with Airbnb (if do Airbnb for the initial period of your stay, you can further talk to the owner and agree on extended rental), but I personally recommend you to search for housing via Facebook groups (here are some)
- Affitti a Milano
- Affiti Milano Privati
- Milan Apartments 4 Rent
So, you can refer to any of these options and my strongest advice is: make sure that you start looking for housing as early as possible!

3. Tips and life hacks in Milan

In this part, I will provide some tips and important life hacks, that will facilitate (save your money) your period of stay in Milan.
First, make sure that you don’t abuse the money expenditure on restaurants & cafes, because it will cost you a lot, if you keep eating solely outside. Proper meal taken outside will cost you from 15-30 euros per meal, so I strongly recommend you cook at home, at least sometimes. If you do groceries in Milan’s the most popular retail store, which is Esselunga, you will save a lot of money, where the product prices are quite cheaper than it is in Korea and any other retail store in Milan. By the way, don’t forget to make a membership card, that will allow you to receive discounts on certain products. Besides that, Bocconi has a special meal program for exchange students, according to which you can purchase one-time meal (1st and 2nd meal and drink with dessert are included) per day at a discounted price, which is only 4.10 euros, so take advantage of this package, it really worth it. Also, if you’re seriously planning to study and you plan to purchase textbooks, I do not recommend you do that in Europe, since it will cost you a lot of money. Instead of that, I personally suggest you borrowing the necessary books from library, they will lend the books for 4 weeks + 1 or 2 weeks of extension is possible. The books in library are in a great condition and probably the book that you will need will be available at the time you search for it, just make sure that you borrow the book before the exam periods. Other things you will figure out, by the time of your arrival (Telecommunication and transportation)

4. ESN association.

There’s an ESN association in Bocconi University, which will remind you something similar to KUBA, that we have here in Korea University. Frankly speaking, you shouldn’t be awaiting that much from this association, since students in Bocconi University, including the members of the association, prioritize their personal and academic lives, which is quite logical and fair, but members of KUBA are quite different, they tend to take care and help out exchange students a lot, while those are on their exchange program here in Korea. Italian students, even if they’re part of some sort of academic society, they do it for certain perks and benefits. So basically, having a sort of image in my mind, that I got here in Korea University, how should the associations work with exchange students, I expected more from the association and from its members (personal mentors, tips, guidelines and assistance), yet the only thing that I got was a source of fun =). Even if these guys will not help you out to settle down in Milan, they will organize bunch of funny events, like trips to other cities or clubbing activities and etc. So, if you join the organization, you will just have a lot fun with them and make plenty of new friends/acquaintances, which is actually a major part of the exchange program.


5. Language courses

Before the start of the semester, you will be offered to take a crash course of Italian language. From my own experience, I can say that it is very important for you to learn a basic Italian, if you want to have a complete and convenient life in Italy, since not many people will have a knowledge of English or they may not be willing to speak English (I have experienced that too). The language crash course is very intensive, which is conducted for 4-5 hours on daily basis, except weekends, and it lasts approximately two weeks. The crash course per se will be more than enough to learn basic expressions and that will provide you an access to a means of conversation with natives. Surely, if you’re willing to have more profound knowledge of the language, you’ll be offered to take follow-up course, which is more balanced and not that intensive compared to crash course. So, do not miss this opportunity and put a little effort to learn the basic Italian.

6. Price differences

Price difference is significantly noticeable in Milan compared to Seoul. As I’ve previously mentioned, you will spend for a lunch or dinner in restaurant on average 15-30 euros or even more, whereas in Seoul, you spend on average 7000-10000 won per meal. However, prices of the products in grocery store are quite cheaper (I’ve already explained that), so take advantage of the cheap prices for vegetables, fruits and alcohol, while you’re in Milan.

7. Insurance package

Since, I didn’t possess any insurance, which would cover medical expenses in Europe, I had to purchase one. Fortunately, I have been recommended by the Bocconi itself to obtain an insurance package from the firm called “Waitaly” at a very reasonable price, for a 6 month coverage, I’ve paid 74 euros. If you are planning to spend two semester in Italy, you will be offered an annual package at a discounted price of 110 euros. If you need further information regarding the services of “Waitaly”, refer to their website “https://www2.waitaly.net/en/”. In fact, some of their content may appear in Italian, if you need further clarification, you may contact them through the e-mail info@waitaly.net.
In fact, the availability of the insurance package will be important in three situations:
1) When applying to Visa: Italian embassy will require a presence of the insurance package with a minimum amount of 30,000 euro covered. Further information regarding the requirements towards insurance package are explained in the section “Visa Issuance”
2) When applying to “permesso di soggiorno”, which is basically a permit of residence. The fundamental requirements towards the insurance package will be similar to what is requested by the embassy, so you will just have to bring a copy of the insurance, when applying to permit of residence.
3) And surely, to cover your medical expenses. Every insurance firm has its own partnering medical institutions, make sure to check them. Luckily, I personally didn’t encounter any illnesses, therefore didn’t have to visit hospital. However, consult with the insuring firm first and get familiar with the hospitals, where you can insurance can be exploited.

8. Visa issuance

Since, I am an international student, I could have had a different visa issuance procedure and requirements, when applying for Italian visa, here in Korea. In fact, in order to apply for an Italian visa, one should bring a wide range of different documents. Here’s the list of documents, that I personally submitted:
-Visa Application Form
-Recent passport-style photo (white background)
-Passport or travel document
-Alien Registration Card
-Airplane ticket
-Certificate of enrollment (document is provided by Bocconi), Certificate of Attendance (you can get it in one-stop service) and certificate of participation in the exchange program (this one can be issued by the KUBS international office)
-Many other documents related to your economic means
-Document from your lodgings (if you are accepted in the dormitory, ask them to issue this document, if you didn’t get into the dormitory, at least make sure, that you have proof of residence availability. I personally submitted a photocopy of hotel reservation).
-Availability of insurance package, which insures minimum 30,000 euro for medical expenses.

In fact, this is the short list of required documents for submission. In case you need more information, contact Italian embassy (visti.ambseoul@esteri.it). It takes around 2 weeks to get the visa stamp, in some cases it may take even longer, so make sure that you consider that part too, when making schedule.


9. Summary


In overall, the semester, that I have spent in Bocconi has granted me with a period of life, which is full of positive memories. I have met a wide range of diverse people there, it brought me closer to a global society and made me a part of such a globalized world. If you get such an opportunity to spend semester or two in this university, make sure that it becomes one of the brilliant periods of your life.