A year abroad in Bologna, Italy, versus a year abroad at the University of Essex, UK

Nadia is a final-year Modern Languages student here at Essex. She studied a year abroad at the University of Bologna in Italy during 2022-2023. Lucio Dalle Donne is an Economics and Finance student from the University of Bologna who is currently on a year abroad here at the University of Essex.

Choosing to do a year abroad is a big decision, to have a new experience and go on an adventure can be daunting. It’s important to think about what you want to achieve and work towards that; of course that will be different for everyone. I did my year abroad in Italy in Bologna and I’ve had the chance to speak to our incoming student from Bologna, Lucio, to compare our experiences. It's interesting that we sort of had opposite experiences in almost every aspect.

What made you both choose your host university?

Lucio chose our university because he’s always liked England and because our Business school is well renowned, for me (doing languages) Bologna was my only option. Being my only option was not at all bad, I like it because it gave me less to decide over, it was just a case of do I want to do a year abroad or not and I didn’t have to compare universities and things like that, so it was less work for me!

How different are the academic styles and teaching methods?

With the University of Essex I had a lot more freedom when it came to choosing modules, which led me to choose subjects related to my course (like literature and Spanish) but also things I just found interesting like medieval history. Whereas for Lucio coming from the University of Bologna, he didn’t have much choice at Essex and was only able to choose modules related to his degree, but he did find it interesting that our business modules are more specific, so he got to do some finance modules also.

In my case I struggled a bit with having oral exams at the end of the year and no coursework. As for Lucio, he’s finding the teaching style much more relaxed here at Essex.

What about accommodation?

Another thing I struggled with was accommodation, because the university in Bologna doesn’t offer any student accommodation or dorms so I had to rent privately (which worked out well in the end and I had a fabulous flat). As we know, the student accommodation at Essex is very nice and convenient, so Lucio is loving living on campus!

What were each of your highlights?

Being in Italy alone really helped me be more self-aware and I really enjoyed spending time on my own, taking walks, having picnics, reading in my room etc, so I didn’t really go out much, not to mention having to organise myself with all the studying - my reading lists were crazy!

One of the things Lucio is enjoying a lot here at Essex is the wide range of activities we offer, societies, student events and parties.

Even though we both had different experiences, we both agree that a year abroad is worthwhile and it’s a great opportunity to broaden your horizons!

Inspired by Nadia and Lucio’s story? Find out more about our study abroad opportunities.