After packing 27 kgs of food and 38 kgs of clothes along with other miscellaneous requirements, I flew to Milan for my exchange semester at Bocconi. Keeping in mind that I had to forget Indian food and fanciful expenditure and get into terms with seriously cold winters, new people, new cultures and a whole new adventure.
4 months in Milan was a life changing experience. I realized that I could do so much more than I thought was actually possible. With my choice of subjects (advanced marketing, strategic marketing, and marketing plan, pricing management, global operations and supply chain and management of fashion and luxury companies) I had ample of time to travel as well.
Having said that, the group assignments with students from around the globe was one of a kind. You either get a group who always want to party or a group which always wants to meet for the smallest of things and then proceed. It was crucial to understand how people work, at the same time make friends and feel comfortable yourself because why not?
A student body called the Erasmus students exchange was another thing I enjoyed the most. They host trips and small aperitivos (evening drinks and snacks) for all international students and trust me, it was extremely well organized and fun! Although I joined them very late and only went to Slovenia and Trieste with them, but it was of the best trips of my exchange apart from Greece and Spain.
Amidst all the excitement and the rosy environment, The most interesting subject for me was Advanced marketing– it taught us how to understand the perceptions of a product in the market, how to calculate the monetary implications of it and how to hence price the product. Believe it or not, the final presentations included an open bar and free pizzas too! On the contrary, management of fashion and luxury companies gave me an opportunity to work with L’oreal on a new product line yet to be launched. Strategic marketing plan got our way to work on a live project with Henkel while global operations and supply chain management got us grilling into a real life procurement simulation.
On the whole – the experience is exceptional. In 4 months I didn’t just travel, but I had margarita pizza from more than 40 restaurants and collected postcards from more than 28 cities. Once in your life – one should definitely experience an exchange semester like the one MISB offers. I promise you, it is an adventure you will never forget.
Written By- Shradha Varma, PGPB Class of 2017
Picture Courtesy- Arjun Bhattacharya, PGPB Class of 2017