A Summer at Bocconi for 140 Students

141 BA students from all over the world, from 82 universities and of 36 different nationalities. 3 weeks of study, extracurricular activities, cultural immersion and fun. 4 intensive courses: Luxury management, Equity and venture capital financing, Economics of European Union and Sport management. 9 professors: Luana Carcano and Gabriella Lojacono (Luxury); Stefano Caselli and Gimede Gigante (Private equity), Carlo Altomonte and Stefano Riela (Economics); Dino Ruta, Davide Reina and Marco Morelli (Sport). 6 credit points recognized. These are the figures of the first edition of Bocconi Summer School, which took place from 6 to 24 July.

But, above all, 4 crucial pillars underpinning a unique learning experience, as explains Olga Annushkina, Academic Director of the Summer School: "The objective was to create not only an academic, but also a life experience." Hence the four pillars: technologically equipped classrooms with devices that allow students to interact in real time with the teaching materials. Company visits and meetings with relevant professionals of the business sector. Team work, to encourage students to collaborate and interact across different cultures. And fun, through a range of extracurricular activities that allowed students from the four corners of the world to explore Milan and Italy, but also to get to know new perspectives. Technological devices and the connection with the real world is what José Ponce, Emory University, appreciated most: "We learnt about market strategy and we had the opportunity to implement it right away and to have a direct experience during company visits". The possibility to develop new friendships was a fundamental added value to many: "The best part was meeting new friends from everywhere in the world, before we came here we did not expect that we were going to have so much fun. We have been involved in an incredible number of activities, one of the greatest moments was when we learnt how to cook traditional Italian street food", say Luis Portugues (University of Navarra), Walter Filippetti (University of Brasilia) and Pranav Sood (Stony Brook University). The contact with other cultures is not to be underestimated either, according to Chaand Shah (University of Nottingham) and Dorothy Sim (National University of Singapore): "The most exciting thing is that we have all learnt so much from each other, we picked up new languages, cultures and habits all the time." A variety of lessons, useful inside and outside the classroom, can be drawn during a Summer School, explains Tea Miloš, of the Università of Rijeka: "The Leadership day was inspiring, we had a debate with an Italian volleyball champion about how to apply sports values to business but also to business and to everyday life".

And it was not only the students who benefited from the past three weeks: "Our professors had one more occasion to implement our teaching method in an intensive course with highly heterogeneous international classes. After a whole semester spent at university, seeing all these students so enthusiastic suggests that we managed to provide the kind of Summer School they were looking for", concludes Annushkina.