From Russia to Milan: How One Student’s Dream Exchange in Italy Changed Her Life Forever
We interviewed Arina Panfilova, an HSE University–St. Petersburg's student of the Bachelor degree programme “Political Science and World Politics” about her exciting exchange at Università Cattolica in Milan, Italy. Arina shares how she got selected, embraced Italian life, and grew through new experiences abroad.
Arina Panfilova,
a student of Political Science and World Politics Programme
I applied through the international office at HSE in St. Petersburg, which has a really nice website listing opportunities from universities all around the world for fall and spring semesters. The competitive selection happened every six months, based on GPA, foreign language proficiency, mostly English, and extracurricular achievements. I worked hard, volunteering, participating in projects, and doing teaching assistant jobs, which helped me score 14 out of 16. My host university, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, had an early deadline, so I applied earlier than most students. Waiting was tough, but just a week later, I got the happiest news of my life when I saw the acceptance email. It felt like a dream come true, knowing I’d soon be studying in Italy, a place I’d always wanted to go.
International academic mobility was my cherished dream since high school when I learned about the chance to study in Italy through HSE’s Political Science and World Politics program. I’ve had a special passion for Italy since I was a child because my mother’s family comes from Milan, and I wanted to visit my historical homeland. My love for Italian culture, art, and language grew through my musical education, which always included Italian influences. I chose Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, one of the largest private universities in Europe, with high rankings and a campus in a monastery building that feels like a fairy tale. The atmosphere of the university and Milan’s beauty made it the perfect place for me to live and study.
Preparation took a lot of time and effort, like a real challenge. I collected documents for a visa, found housing, applied for insurance, got a fiscal code, filled out university forms, planned a flight, and packed for five months. Without a foreign bank card, transactions were almost impossible because of problems with the SWIFT system, which made everything harder. I studied basic Italian phrases on my own, like greetings and cafe orders, to get by, but I didn’t have time for language classes. My friend, an HSE classmate also going to Milan, helped us find an apartment for a more or less normal price, which was tough since Milan is the most expensive city in Italy. My struggles were rewarded when I got my visa on time, even early, which felt like a huge victory after all the stress.
When I arrived in Milan, the city seemed inhospitable, mostly because our apartment didn’t meet expectations or even basic standards of hygiene and functionality. I felt lost and lonely for the first week, dealing with the landlord and settling in. But I liked Università Cattolica right away. It looked like Hogwarts, so monumental, ancient, and mysterious, with excellent student services, modern equipment, libraries, cafes, canteens, and cozy courtyards where students relaxed and socialized. I was impressed by the accessibility for disabled people, which showed the quality of the building. A week later, I started falling madly in love with Milan. It’s stunningly beautiful, cozy, with good infrastructure, and never boring. The city’s vibe and the university’s fairy-tale atmosphere made me feel like I was living in a dream.
A typical day was much less intense than at HSE. I had classes four days a week, one or two a day, with little homework, so I had time for networking and exploring. I got up early, took the bus and metro to the university—a direct metro line opened near my apartment, so I got really lucky. I’d have a class, go to the canteen for lunch, then maybe another class or an event by the Erasmus student network. In the evening, I might walk around the city, which I could never do in St. Petersburg because of our harsher study system. I took courses from two curricula: international for exchange students and academic for regular students. From the international curriculum, I had “The European Union in World Crisis or Transformation,” which was close to my HSE studies and let me see the EU from the inside, and “Creative Italian Storytelling,” my favorite, where we analyzed Italian cinema and literature, went to the interactive cinema museum, and wrote scripts. From the academic curriculum, I took Economic Geography, Research Methodologies, and French, but they weren’t my thing.
Yes, lessons at Cattolica were completely different from HSE. They only had lectures, no seminars, and everything was taught very superficially. At HSE, we get marks at each seminar for knowing the material, which pushes you to learn deeply. At Cattolica, you could memorize everything right before the exam, pass, and come out without a drop of new knowledge. I think their system is ineffective compared to HSE’s cumulative system, where you build knowledge over time. While I consider my mobility experience wonderful, it wasn’t useful for education in the classical sense. It was more like a school of life, teaching me how to adapt and grow in ways that lectures couldn’t.
The most vivid experience was performing in two Christmas concerts with the university choir. I sing in a choir in St. Petersburg, so when I found out about Cattolica’s choir, I immediately wanted to join. I passed the audition and started classes once a week, which helped me adapt a lot. The choir let me make wonderful new friends, locals and international students, who I went to dinners and concerts with. We performed at the university and a beautiful church, with a lot of audience, and it was just really great. I never thought I’d go on stage in Italy, then celebrate with my new friends. Those concerts, full of warmth and music, are my warmest impression from the mobility program.
The biggest difficulty was dealing with the landlord to improve our apartment’s living conditions, which was hard because of the language barrier. Not all Italians in Milan speak English, so when a technician came to fix things, we used an online translator, which made communication extremely complicated. My basic Italian helped, and after a while, I could understand it more fluently, like reading signs or explaining myself in a cafe. I don’t know a language more beautiful than Italian, so I really want to keep studying it to not lose what I gained. Culturally, there was no problem. Italians are great guys, and I had a mutual understanding with them, like I’d always been part of their society. Facing these challenges made me more persistent and confident.
I joined the university choir, which was a huge part of my experience and helped me adapt. I went to rehearsals once a week and made wonderful friends, locals and international students. We went to dinners after rehearsals, traveled out of town, and attended concerts, which made me feel at home. I also traveled through most of Italy and other European countries, like Spain, Hungary, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. My most memorable trip was to Rome and Naples, where I saw Vesuvius, Pompeii, and even the Pope in the Vatican. Traveling is what inspires me the most, and I never received so many emotions before. It was like a dream I found myself in, full of new places and incredible moments.
This exchange fundamentally changed me. I became more confident, persistent, brave, sociable, and educated. I learned to adapt to everything, find a way out of any situation, and make useful acquaintances while proving myself. I now look at the world through the eyes of someone who’s seen a lot and has her own opinion about everything. Being away taught me to appreciate my country, hometown, and university more, but I miss Milan terribly, which breaks my heart. My advice to HSE students: Go ahead, you’ll succeed, and it’ll be the best experience in your life. Chat with people who’ve been on mobility, join student chats for tips and hacks. Apply for a visa early and prepare documents carefully to avoid stress. Use websites like Spotahome or HousingAnywhere for apartments with official contracts. In Milan, Cattolica’s student ID can be a bank card, so bring cash to open an account. Buy insurance like Allianz on arrival and learn basic Italian for comfortable communication. Find all the information online, believe in yourself, and travel.
Go for it, you’ll get the best five months of your life. Sit down with people who’ve been on mobility in your city and join student chats for tips and hacks you can’t do without. Apply for a visa as early as possible and prepare documents carefully because there’s going to be a lot of stress, and you don’t need more. Rent apartments only on sites like Spotahome or HousingAnywhere, where you communicate with the landlord on the platform for guarantees. In Milan, Cattolica issues student IDs that can be bank cards, so bring cash, open an account for free, and use it without restrictions. Buy insurance like Allianz when you arrive, and keep in mind they look at the insurance end date for the residence permit. Learn basic Italian for comfortable communication. Approach it responsibly, find all possible information online, believe in yourself, and travel.
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