"Team work: the best thing I learned at Unibo"

Lithuania, a starting point 

Already in April 2020 while I was on an Erasmus exchange in Lithuania with my former university, the University of Toulouse, I made up my mind about going outside of France for my Masters’. Why? Well, studying abroad is extremely enriching and applying to various European universities was the only option I had to reach my objectives.   

This is how my adventure began. I decided to apply to many universities in Russia, Spain, Azerbaijan, Italy...My friends advised me to apply to most of these universities. The University of Bologna was particularly recommended, and I heard many good things about it myself, especially regarding the programs it offers.

Unibo: a challenging start 

My degree programme at the University of Bologna has a restricted access policy, indeed the application process is divided into two parts: an assessment of your CV and statement of purpose; then, an interview. The first step leads to a ranking being drafted and if you don’t get into the ranking, you cannot access the interview. Luckily, I immediately got accepted to the interview and that gave me the chance to show my motivations. At this point, it was not about grades on a transcript or some standard sentences in a statement of purpose but about getting to know each other: stating my reasons, talking about my previous experience and showing them that I am not a random student number but a good fit for this degree programme. 

Team work: the best thing I learned at Unibo 

At the moment, I am one year into my degree programme and I am actually able to take stock of the study path I chose. Overall, I cannot say I liked some teaching activities better than others, but I did enjoy group projects a lot. Those gave me that chance to learn a lot about the subject while getting to know my mates.  Group projects are a great learning tool, through them I learned the true meaning of crisis management and problem solving! 

In general, I enjoy studying at university because it is very free but at the same time there are a lot of responsibilities that one must take on in order to be successful. Moreover, it’s a great opportunity for self-growth and for meeting new people. 

Cultural shock? Bologna embraced me with its warmth 

After a year in Lithuania, I felt a bit estranged. People there relate to each other in a colder manner, communication is scarce and people are generally more distant. Moreover, the country itself presents some divides between the old post-soviet generation and the younger one who is more modern. Bologna embraced me with its warmth: friendly people, great food and good weather. I felt shocked! During my first days in Bologna, I had this great tagliatelle with ragù and they were a dream, I remember being surprised by how many porticoes the city has, realising only later that this is why Bologna is listed as Unesco World Heritage site.

A fair University system, but caution should be applied 

Grants and scholarship here at the University of Bologna are often managed by Er.Go. - the regional authority for the right to study. I applied to get my annual fees reduced by sending in information about my family’s income upon enrolment. In this way, I got a fee waiver to attend the Master’s in International Management. In this regard, I would like to caution international students to be very careful when preparing their documents for getting scholarships and financial aid, there’s no room for mistakes. 

I tried my luck with Italian...and found a room! 

I know that there are a lot of university libraries here in Bologna, but honestly, I find studying at home suits my needs better. During this year, I was not the most loyal to the university’s services but most of my groupmates and friends used them frequently. The university provides the students with many spots to study and to work in groups. Moreover, the centre of Bologna has a lot of cafés in which it is possible to spend some time studying.  

 During my first semester at Unibo, I attended an Italian course at the University Language Center (CLA). CLA offers A2-B1-B2 Italian courses to international students, considering that I started from zero, I improved a lot thanks to those classes. Speaking Italian is a great achievement for me and I try to do that all the time: with my groupmates, flatmates and the people in Bologna. As much as it is challenging, I am always amazed at how Italians are able to understand a mix of French and Spanish.  

CLA was also important for me because it was there that I managed to find a room in a shared flat. One of my classmates had a free room in his shared flat and he offered to help and gave me the room. I lived with two Germans and one French for three months. Sadly, for personal reasons, I had to move to a different flat, but it was ok - I took it as a chance to meet new people. My current flatmates are Italian and they represent a daily opportunity for practising my language skills and for discovering new things about Italy.  

Finding accommodation in Bologna is challenging because it is a student city: a huge number of students arrive and then leave at the same time. This is why it is often useful to also look at Facebook and WhatsApp groups to search for a room and to network with Erasmus or full-time (international) students who are usually will help you to find a place to stay. 

Bike, bike, bike! 

It is easy to live in Bologna - with a bike it’s even better! The University provides the opportunity to students to apply for an AlmaBike as part of its plan for sustainable mobility, but even if you cannot get one of those, Bologna has other options: cost-effective bike sharing services, rentals and a flourishing secondhand bike market.  

Bologna is a student and dynamic city without being exhausting as bigger cities such as Paris or Milan. I would say that life here is peaceful. 

I have been positively surprised by Bologna’s charm. The city is extremely cute, and unique with its portici. Additionally, the city’s location is so convenient: it is not too far from touristic destinations like Venezia, Firenze or great cities like Milan or Verona. The railway system is also good and not too pricey, this makes it easy to travel around and discover new places.  

Last but not least, Bologna is well-known for its night life. During the first lockdown, it was complicated to find a good balance between studying and chilling with friends. Once they lifted some restrictions, I had great time here and could finally see the fun side of Bologna.

Free time flies here in Emilia Romagna  

I consider myself lucky because I am not too busy with classes and studying. I enjoy my free time and this means my life here in Italy is intense and enriching. Before coming here, I was extremely dedicated to basketball – indeed, I have played that sport professionally for my whole life. However, after getting injured, I decided to focus on travelling and getting to know as many people as I could. Now that I am in Bologna, I still play basketball with some friends, have fun with them and do some sport.  

During my free time, I usually meet with friends, and we have a lot of fun together. As the saying goes “time flies", so we all try to enjoy each second as much as possible and learn from each other to become better people. We love to organise day trips together for example to the seaside to get some fresh air, or to big cities.  

Finally, I spend my free time working a bit: since January 2020, I have started a barbershop operation called “El Pelo Hermano”.  This is a great experience for me, not only because I learned a job, but also because I got to meet a lot of students and workers from many parts of the world. 

The perks of being a Unibo Student Ambassador 

Being a Unibo student has also opened some interesting doors for me. For example, last summer, I had the chance to participate in a great adventure: a podcast project that you can find on the website of the university and as well on various platforms such as Spotify. The project is about an international student and the challenges and experiences he faced in Bologna.  

Quick Tips 

I totally recommend the University of Bologna, it is great: high-quality teaching and an amazing city, could you ask for more? I got so much from both the university and the city in terms of knowledge, experience and self-growth - I will never regret applying here.  

Of course, there are challenges: the university’s administration, the course projects, some bad experiences in the country - all this can happen anywhere. What counts, however, is that, at the end of the day, here at Unibo I always feel supported and cared for.  

If I met a student who is considering coming to Italy or Bologna for study reasons, I would tell him to go for that because the quality of life is great in Emilia-Romagna, and studying here will grant them many many opportunities in the present as well in the future.