Erasmus student talks about her studies at the department industrial engineering

FUNNY – being part of the NATURE – COLD

…with these three words, Micol describes her semester at MCI | The Entrepreneurial School^®.

Micol Barletta, a twenty-two year old student from Rome, is spending her semester abroad at MCI’s department of Industrial Engineering. In Italy, Micol enrolled in the master’s program industrial engineering at the Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”. The desire to spend a semester abroad came up quite early in her academic career and she is very happy to now be studying at MCI.

Micol talked to Sabine from the department Industrial Engineering. She gives great insights into her life and her semester abroad. Read the full interview here:

S: How is your overall impression of your study exchange?

Micol: Arriving in Innsbruck, my first thoughts were “Oh my god, what have I done. It is very different here compared to my home environment and I am far from a nature person. But then, I met new people in the ESN, the European Student Network, which gave me a completely different perspective on my semester abroad. The ESN group organizes great trips and tours. Furthermore, it is a good opportunity to meet many people from all over the world. The first impression quickly changed into a very positive one.

S: What was the reason for you to plan a semester abroad?

Micol: The main reason for my stay abroad is to improve my English skills. This fall semester I am the only Erasmus student in the master’s program, so I must speak in English and therefore I can really see the progress in my language skills. The second reason for a semester abroad is to gain intercultural competencies. I hope that this will result in better career opportunities and push my career forward.

S: Is Innsbruck a great place for international students?

Micol: Yes, totally. Innsbruck is a small city in comparison to Rome, where I come from, but there are many universities and you meet people from all around the world – even from Mexico.

S: Why did you choose the MCI?

Micol: Doing a semester abroad is obviously depending on universities that offer an adequate study program with courses given in English. In the beginning, i planned to study somewhere else, but now I am so happy to be at MCI in the master's program Industrial Engineering and Management.

S: Can you describe a funny intercultural situation?

Micol: I would say that the hours of having lunch and dinner is very different in Austria in comparison to Italy. When Austrian students have dinner, I cannot really think of eating at all. My dinner is at 10 p.m. – what sounds too weird for my classmates.

S: What are the differences between your home university and the MCI?

Micol: At my home university, I study in the full time program, so my lectures are from Monday to Friday. Here at the MCI, I enrolled in the part time model, so my lecture hours are on Fridays and Saturdays. This enables me to do many activities during the week. I really like the small groups in class at MCI. At home, I sit in a large lecture hall with 300 students and follow the lecture.

There are more project group works to do at MCI and the setup of the lecture is a bit different to the one in Rome, but the lecturers are very helpful and supportive.

S: How did you experience the application procedure?

Micol: The application process at MCI was very efficient and fast I had some difficulties to get through the paperwork at home, but finally, I could manage it to set the semester at MCI. The effort beforehand was totally worth it.

S: Would you recommend a semester abroad to other students? And, if yes, why?

Micol: I can really recommend spending a semester abroad. I am trying to convince my friends from home to come to Innsbruck.

Dear Micol, thank you so much for sharing your impressions with us. We really enjoyed the Interview with you! We wish you a great time in Innsbruck and a successful semester abroad at our department!