Part 1 - All about the University
What Are the Timetables of Bicocca IMS?
The year is set up in the same way as your average Italian university; October – December for the 1st semester, January – May for the 2nd. Through out the 6 years there are morning and evening classes. In your first 3 years lesson will last most of the morning from around 8am – 1pm, which starts being around 9am from 4th years onwards. The afternoon classes are from 2 – 6pm.
What is the Clinical Experience in Bicocca like?
Clinical experience starts in the 2nd year. You will be working in a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 of doctors to students, providing excellent learning opportunities. For the 4th year clinicals students are divided into groups of 3. This means that even in later stages of practical work you will have someone available to you for closer teaching opportunities.
How do the Exams Work?
Exams will vary based on professor, but generally will be multiple choice, oral or essay style testing. The exams work around a system of ‘blocking subjects’; for example, anatomy in 1st year will be a blocking subject for physiology and pathology. You could still progress in the year, but you will not be able to progress down that ‘path’ until anatomy is passed. Essentially this means that you can continue attending classes with your enrolled year, and will be considered as an official part of that year, but you will not be able to part take in any exams that requires the “blocking subject”. You cannot complete any exams for pathology or physiology no matter how ready you feel until you first pass anatomy.
Bicocca also features a very unique examination, which sets it apart from other universities. With focus on forming the “doctors of the future”, Bicocca students will study components of computer science ,and even work alongside & study robotics in practical medical environments.
What are the tuition fees in Bicocca University?
International students pay around €600 Euro per year, with the first year possibly being as low as €156 Euro. The full breakdown of fees by course can be seen on the university website. Living expenses estimated on another website places it at averaging between €659 Euro and €1367 Euro a month, not counting university expenses.
Are there scholarships available?
Currently due to COVID-19 complications the Bicocca University page has the option to request financial aid for living expenses – the amount of which is calculated based on your ISEE. This may cover a lot of your basic living expenses such as your rent regardless of whether you are eligible for a scholarship.
There are some working scholarships, as well as other merit and needs based scholarships also available on their website.
How are the class dynamics at Bicocca?
Classes sizes are generally quite small (around 15 -25 people on average), with about 20{bb8d53cabbfbfa48737bbedab9cb9b55bf5183c8f56cc8e5fd88b7a4065b00a7} of the class being International students of very diverse backgrounds. The diverse and unique options provided by Bicocca’s medical school attract people from everywhere. There is as much focus on teamwork and cooperation as you’d expect from any University, with an expectation to be able to communicate and organise in groups or alone for both practical and theoretical work.
What are the professors like at Bicocca?
The professors have a reputation for being very, very nice. There is a strong focus on camaraderie, and so professors can often aim to build quite personal and familiar relationships. That’s not to say that your professor is going to be your best friend, but if you have good people skills this might be the place to apply them.
How are the teaching facilities around Bicocca?
Bicocca University boasts excellent facilities, such as recently developed and immaculately kept libraries, labs and more. However a lot of the facilities are in different locations than where the hospital and IMS classes are held. This is because the main campus of Bicocca University is located in Bicocca Milan, instead of Bergamo city where the English medical programme is situated. Additionally the main medical campus (Italian course) is actually located in Monza, which means that all of the labs and most libraries are out there. All three of these locations are connected by train, with both Bicocca and Monza being about 50 minutes away from Bergamo (IMS location) by a single train. The nice thing is that the university has a partnership with Bergamo University, which means that students can use any of the facilities available to Bergamo students! The sports facilities of Bergamo University are about 20 minutes away by bus compared to 50 minutes by train for Bicocca.
The hospital has a canteen where a 4 course meal is €1 Euro regardless of ISEE status, and can even be free for those on a lower income.
What should someone know before choosing Bicocca?
Students coming to Bicocca should expect a much more rural lifestyle with not a lot of international communities. It is only 40 minutes from Milan by train which will provide a lot more things to do, as well as some unique locations such as the fashion district, but again expectations need to be set low when it comes to city life. A huge recommendation as always is to make sure that you learn Italian, as you will need to complete a lot of processes for documents and people in these offices do not speak English. While there will be students to help you, we cannot overemphasise the importance of learning at least some Italian before you get here to make your life much simpler.
Part 2 - All about the City
What is it like living in Bergamo?
Bergamo is busy although, not wildly bustling. For being so close to Milan, it might not be the cosmopolitan Italian city some might expect, but instead has its own charms as a more rustic and traditional city with a feel of a ‘more authentic’ Italian lifestyle. Things like clubbing are located on the outskirts of the city, but are connected by some public transport.
What kind of student would it suit?
Life is definitely a bit quieter in Bergamo, so you’ll be able to keep your focus on your work ethic, and studies if you want to. Thanks to the partnership with Bergamo University there are many facilities for people who are physically active, as well as some Erasmus parties and events to meet new and other international students.
What kind of activities are available to students?
The mountainous region hosts many opportunities for hiking, and mountain biking. Even for those that are active, but less outdoorsy can take advantage of the numerous gymnasiums. Bergamo also has an international airport that happens to be the hub for the cheap airlines flying in and out of Europe through Norther Italy. It’s only a 30 minute bus ride away, and students can find weekend getaways for as low as €10-15 Euro for flights.
How is general transport around Bergamo?
Beyond walking or cycling, transport gets a little bit trickier. The only real option is the bus, and so a popular choice is getting an annual transport ticket for about €150 Euros, however some students might consider investing in a car instead to be better connected. There is a small tram line connected to some of the older, and much more northern parts of the area, but it’s not a good option for access to university facilities.
How is the accommodation?
The university provides assistance in finding housing, and prices can be as good as 350 euro for a private room. Location can be a little bit difficult to get right, though it would be hard to find something that is beyond a reasonable walking or cycling distance. Finding housing as an international student may shallow your pool of choice, but it’s certainly doable and affordable with persistence.
How is the weather in Bergamo?
Bergamo gets all four seasons, very distinctly. The mountainous air and northerly location means it gets a healthy downpour of rain in the colder months, while also getting to experience those iconic, picturesque Italian summers.
How is the general cost of leaving?
A northern, historical, wealthy region of Italy – has to be quite pricey right? Well if you look at it from that perspective, not so much. Living in Bergamo can actually be cheaper than in surrounding areas. While not as cheap as a lot of other alternatives, Bicocca is quite reasonable.
What should a future Bicocca student know?
Learning Italian is an absolute necessity, but you should also try to learn ‘Bergamasque‘, the local dialect, which would really make you shine in the community. It really isn’t anything like ‘Milan living’, and students need to understand this. It’s a very different and equally charming way of life, with many beautiful other cities within easy reach.