Semester abroad at the Politecnico di Milano - Bachelor of Architecture and Urbanism

Preparations

I did my Erasmus semester at the Politecnico di Milano in winter 2022. I study architecture and that was in the 5th semester - in English. Before I went to Milan, I had to prepare for my stay abroad. I found out about the Erasmus+ programme and filled out some documents. The International Office then contacted the host university for us.

Then we set off - by bus to Milan. I hopped off the bus just in time for the first event in the morning - not recommended. Go to your host country a few days earlier and get to know the place!

Studying at the university

I spent a lot of time studying at PoliMi and often pulled all-nighters for university. On Fridays, table critique always meant no sleep on Thursday, then to university, then a nap at home and then partying in the Tempio del Futuro Perduto.

It was quite unusual to have such a "free" timetable, lots of independent work and having to motivate yourself to go to the library to study. But the courses were all pretty cool, especially the history of modern architecture, which was very different from home and it was exciting to see everything from a different perspective. The lecturers' attitude to the amount of work required was perhaps a little conservative. We, architecture students, are used to working a lot, but at the Politecnico my professor in design really propagated the idea that to become a good architect, you should never sleep, never see your family and you might have to resort to substances to increase your performance (that's total rubbish, of course!).

Everyday life and free time

I got to know a lot of great people during my stay, totally international! Together we enjoyed SOME evenings with aperitivo. I highly recommend Bar Picchio, it's the cheapest and a super cool place to get to know Milan's young adults, also in terms of fashion. I ordered an Aperol Spritz or Negroni, often with a Milanese twist - Sbaliagto.

Unfortunately, I didn't learn Italian fluently because I was studying English - in my design course, for example, there was only one person from Italy (out of 40), everyone else was from abroad. But I can now speak a little Swedish, French, Spanish and even better English than before, especially when it comes to architectural terms.

The accommodation

My accommodation and living situation was ok... Unfortunately, I only found accommodation two days beforehand, a double room in a student hall of residence, which was a total rip-off (€530 per month). You had to rent it for 6 months straight away. I don't think it's a good idea to rely on the university's connections when looking for accommodation. In my case, the agency "Spotahome" was recommended to us, but they really don't act in the interests of the students in any way.

Conclusion and tips

If you ever need to print something in Milan, don't go to Poliprint (as the university recommends), there are print shops nearby, some of which cost 1/3 of the prices there!

Public transport tends to be great, only Metro stops at 00:30... But very cheap (20€ monthly ticket, I think). But then I got myself a bike. Milan is very flat and if you don't mind the chaotic traffic, it's really nice to be able to get around so flexibly, especially at night when there's no more traffic.

The cost of living was higher than at home, but that could simply be due to inflation. Finally, I was given the tip to shop at the weekly market instead of the supermarket, which is actually cheaper.

All in all, my Erasmus semester in Milan was a valuable experience. A lot of nice things, a lot of shit, but I've rarely learnt so much in such a short time! Well worth it.