Italian, 23 years old
Degree in Law at the University of Padua
I’m nearing graduation and I am looking forward to a career in the legal field as a lawyer with an international outlook.
I discovered VIU almost by chance while browsing my university’s portal looking for opportunities to complement my studies. I was keen to know more about what VIU was about and later that week I submitted my preregistration for the Globalization Program.
I first enrolled in the Globalization Program for the Fall 2020 edition, choosing courses rather different from the ones normally composing a legal studies curriculum, deciding to focus more on history and applied economics.
The interdisciplinary approach of the Globalization Program gave me a much better insight into what I was and I am studying: for example, at the law school, I was taught Intellectual Property Law as a set of rules, while at VIU I got to know why such rules were put in place. Looking at things from a different perspective is a skill that is paramount for a prospective lawyer and I cannot think of a career where it would not be an advantage.
The pandemic has also affected VIU life and teachings, moving basically all activities online. However, despite not being able to spend time in San Servolo due to the travel restrictions, the online transition was absolutely smooth and I was impressed by how quickly the calendar and all the activities were rescheduled.
The students got to know each other through a Virtual Exchange, while professors also moved everything online without major issues.
For students reading this and considering whether or not to apply for a period at VIU, I would definitely recommend going for it.
As a University where all students are basically exchange students, VIU schedule is very attentive to the needs of students spending months in a different country maybe for the first time in their lives; you can definitely have time for keeping up with your hobbies or maybe even discovering new ones (personal tip: you will regret picking up street photography while in Venice, so bring a camera with you).
Remember not only to look at the courses offered but also at the many opportunities offered by VIU such as the Worldwide Mobility program, the Erasmus+ for Studies program, and the Internship in Italy calls.
In particular, the Worldwide Mobility program is aimed at supporting Master Degree and 4-year Bachelor Degree students wanting to undertake research for their thesis at one of VIU Member Universities all around the world.
I was awarded one of such scholarships for a research stay of 2 months at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. I have chosen Japan after a very thorough discussion with both my home university supervisor and people from VIU, guiding me in every step of the draft of the research proposal and of the submission of the application. I am looking forward to the next September when hopefully I will be able to go and research in Japan.
One aspect that I would like to stress about VIU, and the reason why in my opinion everyone should consider applying to VIU, is the unique opportunity of being exposed to different teaching methods. Before coming to VIU, I was a student at both KU Leuven and Tsinghua University under different exchange programs and the most vivid memories about those times are on how different was the lecturing approach and the assessment methods, rather than on the content of the courses I took there. In San Servolo you can experience all of this every semester and on a much larger scale than a normal, single exchange. In fact, I am currently attending the Spring 2021 semester in order to get the most of this incredible opportunity.
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Marco Bottin participated in the Virtual Exchange, and is the recipient of a scholarship in the Worldwide Mobility Program.
