Voices from Abroad: Manuele Vianello

Manuele in Boston

Austin (USA), Exchange Program, The University of Texas at Austin
Boston (USA), Campus Abroad, Babson College
Cambridge (USA), Summer Program, Harvard University
Round Rock (USA), International Internship, Dell, Inc.

My mission at Bocconi University has always been to strive to turn "national merit" into "international merit." I believe this plays the part of excellence.

Since the beginning, I have deeply felt the constant need to both truly prove my academic capabilities and practice them worldwide. I really think this essential in order to affirm oneself as a real well-motivated "international player."

In my academic career I also attended various business courses which allowed me to appreciate the business perspective and this greatly raised my interest towards knowing more about real economic realities as well as law. My strong law and economics background finally urged me to fly to the United States of America.

I had my first U.S. academic experience at Boston, where I was selected to attend a top international business class during the summer in 2007. I remember this experience was really challenging and extremely intensive. I always couple it with the amazing first opportunity I had to attend an international "training school" thanks to which I seriously started to acquire my own world-leading mindset. Furthermore, during my stay I could visit multinational companies around Boston, such as Bose Corporation, and I even spent a week-end in downtown New York City!

UT-Austin cheer

Soon after my Boston experience I moved to Texas, where I spent my 2007 fall semester at the University of Texas at Austin-McCombs School of Business: my long international dream continued and it considerably enhanced my competences and relations worldwide. I really felt my Texan exchange program to be the leading international chance to prove excellence. Being able to put academic knowledge and creativity side by side has been my goal since beginning my college career. I played on it too and I finally reached top results, also considering my admission to the McCombs School of Business excellence program, sponsored by the McCombs School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the Graduate School of Information, focused on implementation of performance excellence in industry – I was one of the eleven international students admitted world-wide.

Studying abroad enlarged my perspective to such an extent that I aspired to work abroad at the same time. I finally engaged in a significant International Internship at Dell Inc. headquarters in Round Rock. To me, studying abroad meant learning worldwide, whereas working abroad meant showing outstanding leadership and analytical ability. In other words, I leveraged my understanding and drove a global focus to the project – which is a key factor in business analysis.

My overactive international exposure has finally continued at Harvard University, where I have recently had the unique opportunity to gain additional outstanding international reputation and to be part of one of the most talented international student classes. I also recently had the interesting chance to take part in the Convention on International Law and Politics, a neutral conference about current political and legal issues, held by the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Downtown NYC

It offered to me an excellent platform for discussion and promoted the dialogue between several interest groups. Me and other selected students from all over Europe were selected to participate in these discussions and exchange our ideas with world-renowned personalities from Law, Politics and Business.

I believe international exposure can really make you aware of your potential. I further think it summarizes various types of personal skills well, both theoretical and practical, such as adaptability to a different cultural environment. I am firmly convinced that international mobility enables your to develop a truly global mindset.

I cannot wait to get back ON THE MOVE!