Voices from Abroad: Manuela Intili

Geneva (Switzerland), International Internship, International Trade Center
Boston (USA), Campus Abroad, Babson College
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Exchange Program, Fundacao Getulio Vargas
Ankara (Turkey), Exchange Program, Bilkent University

Thanks to the programs offered by Bocconi University I have had several international experiences that enabled me to encounter different cultures and to visit amazing places.

Istanbul

I am convinced that traveling allows you to see the world from different perspectives; it helps you to understand different cultures and behaviors, without taking your own as the right or unique ones, but on the other hand it also permits you to take in all the nuances of different cultures.

BILKENT UNIVERSITY, ANKARA, TURKEY
EXCHANGE PROGRAM (August – December 2006 Undergraduate CLAPI degree)
My first international experience was an exchange program in Ankara, Turkey. Living there for 5 months gave me the opportunity to experience an expanding and growing country from the inside, perceiving both the modern and the more traditional aspects that coexist in such a nation. While there, I visited several places (Istanbul, Kas, Kapadokya...) and I had the privilege of meeting with the local people, interacting with them and comparing my own experiences and understanding of the world with theirs.

Bilkent University is a really good university; it is modern and relatively new. The professors there are well-known and the courses are interesting and well-structured. The campus has everything a student may need and is well connected to the city center. Teaching is in English and throughout the semester you have several midterm exams and quizzes that make you study constantly a little at a time during the courses. This study abroad experience gave me the occasion to approach a different way of studying and to compare myself with students, both the local and the other exchange students, with different backgrounds and knowledge.

The International Relations office of Bilkent University is really efficient and you can rely on them for whatever you may need, even before your arrival in Ankara. Another positive aspect of the university is the "Bilkent International Student Club" where you can meet all the Turkish students who have had similar experiences and share with them your experiences or pose questions.

I really enjoyed my time there and I still have a lot of good memories of the days spent in Ankara.

Aerial view of Boston

BABSON COLLEGE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
CAMPUS ABROAD PROGRAM (July 2008)
I had my second international experience last July. I attended the campus abroad program, a program offered by Bocconi University that allows you to take a Bocconi course abroad, during summer. I liked it a lot because I spent one month abroad, living in another country, and I had the opportunity to take a course taught both by Bocconi professors and local ones. It was a really concentrated course and during that month we visited a lot of companies, to better understand the topics we were dealing with, and to have the chance to see how plants and companies operate, from the inside.

Of course I had a lot of fun too; I was with other Bocconi students and we traveled during the weekends (we visited New York for example).

The staff of the International Relations office of Bocconi University assisted us and organised a lot of events during the program, involving the professors as well.

FUNDACAO GETULIO VARGAS, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
EXCHANGE PROGRAM (August – December 2008)
Soon after I came back from my Campus Abroad experience I went to Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro, where I had my second exchange program experience. I loved it very much and I had the opportunity to experience how diverse and multicultural a city like Rio is. I had the chance to meet lots of people from all over the world (like I did in my previous experience) but it was a little bit different since I was attending a Masters course. I met and studied with older people, who were already working and who have had several study and work experiences before.

Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro

The courses were not too demanding and the classes were at night, so we had time to "live" the city and to travel as well.

I was living near the sea but walking in the streets of Rio I could see the mountains, the rich vegetation of the Botanic Garden, and the lagoon, elements that give Rio one of the best landscapes I have ever seen.

An unhappy characteristic of this city is that you find a lot of contradictions in it. You meet people going to the university and having the same experience as you and not far away you see people living in the favelas or even on the streets that can barely afford to eat once per day. So if you intend to go to Rio de Janeiro you have to know that you won't find just fun and amusement there but also big differences among its citizens.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Currently I am doing an internship in Geneva, at the ITC. This is great exposure for me because it is my first full-time job experience, and because it is within the UN system, which has always been my dream. I am working in the Division for Business and Institutional Support of this organization, in the Enterprise Competitiveness section. This internship is giving me the chance to concretely apply what I have studied so far at Bocconi University.

I will be here until the end of May and I guess I will enjoy this experience a lot both because the UN system is a big one, with lots of interns from all over the world, having different backgrounds and living experiences, and because I'll be involved in the important projects the ITC is carrying out.