La vita e bella in Bologna

A great thing about living in Bologna is that its a hub and it's extremely easy and cheap to hop around Europe.  For less then 20 euro, you can be in Florence, Venice, Verona, Rimini, and more.  Rome and Milan are a little more expensive but just as easy.  And thanks to Ryan Air, I have been able to fly to Spain, Greece, and Ireland for 9 euro each way... pretty nice.  I just wish I had more time because I have a huge lists of places I want to see and only a month left of classes... hopefully before I leave I at least get to Sicily and Sardinia.  (I love beaches)
There is never a shortage of things to do in Italy.  Here are a few pics from my favorite weekends here -

The Dolomites - best ski trip ever -

Cool concerts - on the train to see Kings of Leon in Bologna -

Cooking class with Miss Tagliatelli herself!

Venice for Carnavale

Fans at a Bologna soccer game

Ducati Moto GP night in Bologna

Lake Garda after Vinitaly in Verona

Rome

Family dinner in Verona

Milano

Tenerife, Spain Spring Break

Dublin for St Patricks Day

Gelato!!!

Some Advice

If I have convinced you yet that you should come to Alma – great, now let me give you some advice so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.  First, finding a place to live here is not so easy.  The school will help you find something but it’s a good idea to have something booked in advance so that while you are looking for a permanent apartment at least you don’t become homeless in the process.   I had booked a bed and breakfast, but for less than a week.  I didn’t realize it would be so tough to find a good place and when it was time for me to check out I hadn’t found an apartment yet… and it just so happened to be one of those weekends in Bologna where there was some kind of fair going on and I could not find a hotel under like 250 euro a night.  There were a few people in the same position as me and I ended up splitting a hotel room for 3 days with another girl from school.  Meanwhile, the only decent apartment I had found would require me to live under the same roof as a guy, which didn’t go over so well with my boyfriend at home.  O which sidetracks me to my piece of advice #2 – having a long distance relationship across the ocean for a year sucks.  Big time.  I won’t go in too much detail but ideally, you will be single when you get here or ready for some tough times.  Anyway back to the housing process – the thing is Bologna is filled with college students renting out rooms.  If you want a studio you have to pay a minimum of 500 euro a month and that is for a tiny tiny place, unless you go outside the city center.  I highly suggest trying to stay within the center, and going in on a place with a roommate.  After I left the hotel, luckily some of my friends I had just met from school let me crash on their couch for a few weeks until I found a place.  Lucky me or I would have been sleeping here -  

Eventually I found a place online that was actually listed on a vacation property website.  It is a really cute loft in a great location and I was able to get the price down enough so that it was doable to split between 2 people and now I live here with another girl from school and it’s been great.  It will also be available to rent for next year so contact me if interested…

Me in my kitchen -

Piece of advice #3 – If you don’t already know Italian, try to learn as much as possible before you get here.  You will be given Italian classes from the school but these are temporary, and learning another language is not as easy as I thought.  I would suggest spending as much time with your new Italian friends once you get here and try not to just buddy up with the other Americans.  Unfortunately that’s usually what happens but if you can manage to learn Italian it will be much easier to market yourself when it comes time to get a job. 

Advice #4 – The best and worst decision I made in coming here was deciding to put my motorcycle on a plane with me.  Best because it has been awesome having it here, worst because it was extremely expensive and Italian customs basically made me pay for a new one to pick it up from the airport.  So I guess I would recommend not shipping anything at all to Italy and instead buying something used once you get here.  You don’t need transportation – there is a bus that brings you to school every day from the center of town and its actually cheaper to travel by train anyway when you want to take trips, but for me I can’t be without my moto and I’m looking forward to many more weekend road trips with other bikers I’ve met here.
Fueling up before a ride in the mountains -

Final piece of advice – You are coming to Italy – make the most of it, don’t stress about it, and live it up.  This year has gone by so fast that now I’m wishing it was a 2 year program.  Make friends with everyone, don’t be afraid to try new things, and eat gelato every day – that’s my motto.

Back to School

After years of working, getting back into the school routine isn't easy.  Alma gives us an "Icebreaking Week" to help us ease into classes, which includes fun events and a really awesome welcome dinner.  I would recommend getting to Bologna at least before the icebreaking week and definately for the Italian classes if you don't know the language.  Getting there early gave me the opportunity to get my bearings around the city, and meet some of my classmates before the real classes began.
Our first class was a super intense accounting course that lasted for 2 weeks.  4 hours of class a day and then a group assignment that usually took the rest of the night.  I was in a group of 4 with 2 guys from Italy in the banking program and another girl from my luxury goods program.   After the 2 weeks of class we had another week before the final.  It was no joke.  Most of the classes are more spread out, but an intense first 2 weeks really gets you in work mode for the rest of the semester.
Whether you like it or not, group work is a major part of the curriculum at Alma.  Almost every class requires you to work in teams, usually between 3-5 people, sometimes put together randomly and other times chosen by the students.  Personally I like the group work because it forces you to work with people from different cultures, which helps you build relationships and really prepares you for your future career.  This year we have students from America, Canada, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Romania,   Kahzastan, India, and more.  In our design program we only have 13 students, but in the first semester we share classes with the MBA banking program.  These classes are hard but you learn alot.  Most importantly, you create lifetime friendships.  I will be really sad once this is over! 

Here is a pic of the girls of Alma in one of our classrooms -

Panaramic Tour of Bologna

Get a glimpse of Bologna from this video shot from the back of my moto.  Sorry if it's a little shaky - most of the roads in Bologna centro are cobblestone ...

Alma Info - Company Visits

Here is some general info about Alma from the 2011 brochure:

Since 1088, people have come from all around the world to study
in Bologna: a strategic crossroads in Europe, where science,
technology and entrepreneurship meet values, culture and lifestyle.
At Alma Graduate School we blend our academic knowledge with
the managerial experience and practice of the most innovative and
successful Italian companies.
Students join an international community of Alumni, Executives and
Professors. One year in our Business School is an unforgettable
experience and the beginning of a lifelong membership in a powerful
professional network.
Program
Design, Fashion and Luxury Goods is a concentration of the
University of Bologna MBA program and is made up of two
different building blocks:
General Management (MBA core courses)
-- Corporate Finance
-- Corporate Strategy
-- Financial and Managerial Accounting
-- International Finance
-- Marketing Management
-- Organizational Analysis: Leading People and Organizations
Design, Fashion and Luxury Goods concentration
-- Fashion Tradition and Products: Clothing and Leather Goods
-- Gemology and Watches
-- Industrial Design and Branding
-- International Production and Logistics
-- International Trade Techniques
-- Luxury Goods: Boats, Cars and Motorbikes
-- Oenology and Food Culture
-- Organizational Behavior
-- Parfumes and Eyewear

Interaction between theory and practice is a distinctive trait of
the program: master lectures, workshops, guest speakers and
discussion of new business cases take place throughout the
year, alongside regular classes.
Teachers come from both university and industry, and offer
participants the opportunity to discuss specific issues, and learn
from the most successful experiences of the real business world.
Program features include:
Internship
Career development
Business English class
Italian crash-course

Now let me just give you some examples of the company visits and lectures we have scheduled for this semester:
Giuseppe Zanotti
Antica Corte Pallavicina
Technogym
Ducati
Lamborghini
Alessi
Yoox
Tod's
Trussardi
FIAT
Luxottica
Slow Food

... to name a few

My favorite of course was Antica Corte Pallavicina.  Check out these pics - hanging culatello, salame, parmaggiano - like little slices of heaven

Big Decisions

Deciding on an MBA is not easy.  In fact it is one of the biggest decisions of your life.  If you are reading this because you are considering one of Alma's International MBA's in Bologna, you're in luck - I'm writing this for you.  Why, when I should be reading for International Trade Techniques, preparing for the presentation I am giving on Gucci tomorrow for my Fashion class or writing my business plan for Luxury Cars, Bikes and Boats?  Well let's just say I don't get much sleep, but really I am happy to share my experiences to benefit everyone who was in my shoes a year ago, when I was frantically searching the internet for ANY kind of information on this school, and only coming up with their website and a few posts on MBA.com...

So why did I pick Bologna?  A few reasons.  First, I was only looking at 1 year programs, mainly because I couldn't see myself giving up 2 years of income to sit through a boring traditional MBA. Second, I wanted the international experience; and what better way to experience an MBA then to be thrown in with students from all over the world and be forced to function together for a year. 

I also considered a program in London, where I would have been able to spend time in Dubai and Shanghai.  Sounds awesome, but expensive.  Which brings me to my next point - money.  Getting an MBA in Europe is such a better deal then America, even with the dollar to euro exchange rate being as terrible as it is ( 1 U.S. dollar = 0.689417442 Euros)  ouch.

Alma offers scholarships, work- study programs, and a collaboration with UniCredit for full loans including an extra 10,000 euro for living expenses.   You can get all of this general information off of Alma's website .

Money aside, I would say the quality of education here at Alma is comparable to the U.S.  We've had some great professors, many coming from the industry, and some visiting from other leading universities - even one from Harvard.  So don't let the rankings (or lack there of) fool you, it's a great value and an unbelievable experience.

Of course not everything is perfect and living in Italy is not an easy adjustment from American life but I would definately recommend it.  Anyway, time to get some work done.  Stay tuned as I post more about my adventures in Italy.

I leave you with a pic from the entrance of our school - Villa Guastavillani, and then the view from our classroom window!  Bella!