Is Milan a good city to study in?

DW (English)

We put Milan to the test: All you need to know as a foreign student wanting to study in the northern Italian university city of Milan?

Transcript

00:00Do I need to speak Italian to study in Italy?

00:04Is it easy to find a flat?

00:06How expensive is it to live here?

00:08Here's what you need to know if you want to study in this country.

00:11Milan, in Lombardy, the region of Italy with the most international students.

00:19And who better to tell us about studying here than an actual student.

00:24You are from France.

00:26Tell me why did you decide to study here?

00:28I decided to come here for various reasons.

00:31My course specifically serves the international reputation and the fact that it was more technical.

00:36And especially just the culture in Italy is fascinating.

00:38You can easily do day trips to the most beautiful cities in the world and I just think it's

00:42just such a sort of enriching environment to study in.

00:45Founded in 1863, the Politecnico di Milano is the first university in Italy to offer

00:52all master of science programs in English.

00:55Professor Stefano Ronchi told me about the programs here.

01:00How big are the English programs for international students and how important is that for the

01:05university?

01:06We have over 30 master of science programs taught in English and we attract students

01:12from all over the world.

01:1330% of our master's students are coming from outside Italy.

01:18Why is that important for us?

01:19The first reason is that we aim to be a real international hub.

01:23The second reason is because we work closely together with companies and companies are

01:28asking for graduates from our architecture, design and engineering courses coming from

01:33all over the world.

01:34Italy is in the top 10 most popular countries worldwide for international studies, hosting

01:40around 125,000 students from abroad.

01:45Most of them come from China, Romania, Albania, Iran and India.

01:49Tuition fees in Italy vary, public universities charge from 900 to 4,000 euros a year, but

01:56you also need to pay your rent and living expenses.

02:02Now I'm meeting with a student who just bought groceries, so let's talk about prices.

02:06This is Spencer from the USA.

02:08Hi!

02:09Nice to meet you.

02:10Nice to meet you too.

02:11Thanks for coming here.

02:12Of course.

02:13Look at this.

02:14So, what do you have here?

02:15I got a lot for just 15 euros.

02:16What?

02:17Pepperoni.

02:19Penne.

02:21Four tomatoes.

02:22Arugula.

02:24Milk.

02:25Tomato focaccia.

02:27Ten eggs.

02:29And three tortillas.

02:31But what about rent?

02:32Is it easy to find a place here?

02:34Rent is a little bit more expensive in Milan and I've lived in a couple of different places,

02:37but I finally found a place that I'm really happy with, so I'd be happy to show you.

02:41Oh really?

02:42Let's go.

02:43Yeah, let's go.

02:44Spencer came to Italy on a Fulbright scholarship.

02:47Nice!

02:50Welcome to my apartment.

02:52Wow!

02:53Nice!

02:56And he shares the apartment with another student.

02:59Obviously, not everyone can afford a place like this.

03:03Well the university doesn't offer a lot of student dorms within the city of Milan and

03:07many of their dorms are further away from the campus.

03:09I wanted an apartment that was really close to the campus.

03:13I was able to find this apartment after quite a bit of searching.

03:17Usually for an apartment in the center, the apartments can be about $1,400 per month and

03:22on the outside of the city they're around $900 for a one bedroom.

03:26Imagine visiting Milan Cathedral.

03:29Or just walking around while studying here.

03:32Is it really a dolce vita?

03:34I'm meeting two students from Iran and Brazil to find out more about their lives here.

03:43So guys, how is life here?

03:47How do you like it?

03:48I really love everything about the life here, like the lifestyle, the culture that they

03:52have.

03:53At the end of the day having an aperitivo, a drink, this is absolutely my favorite part

03:58about it.

03:59Like when I first came here I was so focused only on the studies but then with time I learned

04:05to balance that.

04:06But at the end of the day I also enjoy everything that Milan has to offer.

04:10What is the most difficult thing about living here?

04:13Housing can be really hard because students come with apartment expectations and they

04:18need to lower their expectations to some rooms.

04:22And also something that's better to keep in mind is that some landlords expect students

04:29to have a guarantee or a stable bank account.

04:33Also the bureaucracy, like when you come as an international student you have to get a

04:38lot of documents and everything takes like months.

04:42So we've talked to international students but what do locals say about living here?

04:47I suggest to study very very hard.

04:49Exams here are quite difficult so don't come here thinking it's a vacation because it's

04:55not.

04:56Though it is quite hard, Italian people tend to be very welcoming with foreigners.

05:01If you are in big cities, a lot of people know English so it's not a problem but if

05:04you are studying in smaller cities it could be a problem.

05:08The rents are quite cheap if you are not in a big city like Milan or Rome or Florence.

05:14The life in here as a student is quite nice because we have a lot of activities and we

05:19have a very nice nightlife.

05:22So up to Italy then?

05:24Ciao Belli!

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