Exchange programme at LUISS Guido Carli University
When I enrolled in HSE in 2019 I had one thing on my mind: “Having an international exchange is an opportunity that I can't miss”. Two years later, when I submitted all the necessary documents without any hope of being admitted because of the small number of places, one day I received a letter that confirmed my exchange program. I got the chance to spend a semester in one of the most beautiful countries in the whole world - in Italy. That time has become the brightest period of my student life, and I wish everyone could get this unique and unforgettable experience!
While choosing an exchange university, I made a list of several Italian ones, but didn’t pay much attention to the LUISS Guido Carli, located in Rome. Even after receiving a positive response from it, I still had no idea that this is one of the best universities in Italy. I found out this fact only after my arrival, and indeed, during my studies here, I understood why it is at the top of the rating.
Despite the fact that I am studying at HSE on a bachelor's degree program, I was able to choose any subjects at the host university, including master's courses. In my program the last ones were more appropriate for me and more familiar to the HSE subjects, so I had all courses with guys older than me. Of course, there was a difference in studying and teaching, but perhaps due to the fact that HSE follows European educational methods, getting used to studying at a new university was not something difficult for me.
So, what are the differences? Firstly, it is the fact that the courses are all very practice-oriented, the knowledge from which will be definitely useful in the work. Also I had research projects in each subject and Italian students explain this by the fact that in the bachelor's degree they pay less attention to research, but in the master's degree they need to study it for understanding different methods of data collection and analysis in order to write a good thesis. I was a bit surprised by the fact that due to the existence of the Scientific research seminar course throughout all my studies at HSE, I already had a research background, and all projects were quite easy for me. The second difference is that each lesson was accompanied by an online conference, so that students who were not able to come on campus due to illness or personal circumstances could connect it online and not miss any useful information. Also, I noticed that the activity at the seminars is not taken into account in the final assessment, but at the same time all students took part in active discussions during each lesson, and it seemed that the professors in Italy perform more as mentors, who are always ready to help you if something is not quite clear. As for the exams, here students have 3 attempts to take it. This allows you to either choose a day convenient for you, or in case of dissatisfaction with the received grade, you can retake it several times. By the way, the evaluation system here is quite unusual and the maximum grade is 30. To get a credit, you need to score 18 points, but Italians seem to be perfectionists, and high grades are extremely important to them, so only score of 28-30 is considered good for them, and in case they got it lower, they are likely to be seen on the second or third attempt to pass the exam.
What else will you have during international mobility? It is an extremely fascinating extracurricular life for sure that you will remember for all your life. Apart from studying, exchange students will have a lot of events organized by the Erasmus community, trips to other cities, the opportunity to learn foreign languages and, of course, you will meet new people from different parts of the world. For example, LUISS university has a Language Cafe - a place where students practice foreign languages and have fun. One of the rules that this cafe has is that you are allowed to speak any language except your native one. Also language tandems were organized there, so students could not only practice their speaking skills, but also learn interesting facts about the culture of other countries. Also, thanks to the Erasmus organization, all students have a great opportunity to travel. Thus, I had a chance to visit the most beautiful cities in Italy, as well as not really well-known places that are still very attractive to tourists and have a rich history.
All in all, as soon as I received an acceptance letter from the exchange university, I understood that it would become an unforgettable time spent in another country with a different culture. Italy has always attracted me because of the melodic language of this country, its rich history and culture, the lifestyle of Italians, as well as their healthy hedonism and love for everything they do. Honestly, it is very difficult to collect all my impressions of international mobility and life in Italy in one post, however one thing I can say for sure is that an exchange semester in another country is a priceless, unforgettable experience that I wish everyone could have!