Student Olivier Dalmais is enrolled in the Global 1000 programme at NEOMA in Reims. He took courses at the prestigious Italian economics and management university, Bocconi. He showed us around Milan.

Very high-level courses

“The courses at Bocconi are very high level. It’s a big step up. It was hard but not impossible. Luckily, I met American students who helped me with certain courses, finance in particular.

I also chose the Tourism and Art Market specialisation. It was great! Italian culture is what pushed me to apply at Bocconi, and the courses are a real bonus.”

A lot of hands-on practice and independence in the lessons

“The pedagogy is very stimulating. It blends theory and practice. For example, we could work with the 2026 Olympic Games organisers and we could propose a wine and gastronomy route of Lombardy based on the Olympics events. We also worked with a representative from the Prada Foundation and we created a marketing project to promote the exhibition. It was considered very feasible. It was very stimulating.”

“The teaching method gives students a lot of independence. We can take online or in-class courses. The sessions are also shorter. They last one and a half hours instead of three. But it’s more demanding.”

Milan, a young, dynamic city

“In Milan, there are the Navigli neighbourhoods. These are canals lined with bars. The atmosphere is always lively and full of young people. It’s also a lot less touristy than other Italian cities, but just as interesting culturally. That’s important for me because I want to focus on the restoration of historical monuments. Between the Dôme, the Scala, the Vittorio Emmanuel II gallery, the royal palace… There are so many monuments in the region.”

Italian ice cream, indispensable for cooling off

“But the best memory is still the ice cream shop just below my apartment! It was really hot when I was studying for my end-of-term exams, which made it hard. As soon as I had a break, I would go get ice cream.”