Translated by OfferLand from the original Traditional Chinese post. View original
Yu Jen Chen
Updated Apr 21, 2024
Studying at the University of Turin (UniTo) 🇮🇹 | Erasmus MaMaSELF Third-Semester Memoir
Ciao~Mi chiamo Owen😊 After finishing my first year at LMU Munich, I chose to spend my third semester in Turin (Italian: Torino), Italy's fourth-largest city, studying Materials Science under the Department of Chemistry at the University of Turin (Italian: Università degli Studi di Torino).
For many people, studying in Italy is probably a decision they have never considered. If it weren't for how the MaMaSELF program is arranged, studying in Italy would never have been part of my life plan.
For Taiwanese people, Italy is one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations, packed with historic sites and natural scenery. When it comes to studying or working there, the stereotype may be fashion and the arts, but studying science or engineering in Italy is arguably one of the least common choices in Taiwanese students' study-abroad plans. As for the University of Turin, schools like National Tsing Hua University have exchange agreements with it, so there are a few related stories you can refer to. However, for actually enrolling at the University of Turin, if it weren't through the Erasmus MaMaSELF joint master's program in materials that I chose, few Taiwanese students would likely be willing to study in Turin, given factors like university rankings, language adjustment and future employment.
So, is studying in Italy actually good? What have I learned here? Would I recommend coming to Italy for an exchange or a degree? Let me tell you about my life in Italy!
In case the wall of text is too much, you can open the link below and read the most complete version on my Medium. My Medium post also includes my own photos of European scenery and useful links, which I hope will help you get through to the end!
My Medium: Yu-Jen Chen (Owen)
For how I applied to the program I'm in now, Erasmus Mundus MaMaSELF, open the links below!
Erasmus Mundus MaMaSELF Application Guide 🇪🇺 | The Admission Letter That Took Me to Europe
Course registration, exam booking and grading
If you're a University of Turin student, you can download the MyUniTo+ app. It not only sends you real-time news about university events and courses, but also lets you easily handle later registration steps and exam bookings. It's an essential everyday tool for UniTo students.
As for course registration, once the staff in charge at the University of Turin and Erasmus MaMaSELF have worked through each step, you'll get your own UniTo email account. After setting your Username and Password, you can officially start registering for courses.
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Exam booking is done through the MyUniTo app. First, follow the school's instructions and fill out the teaching evaluation survey, then complete the course registration. Next, tap the Exams Calendar tab and choose the subject and session you need under Bookable Exams. Finally, check that the time and course name appear under Booked Exam, and you can focus on the exam.
In Italy, you get unlimited exam attempts. That means even if you fail, you can sign up and take it again as long as there are sessions left. If you're not happy with your score, you can also choose to reject that grade and put everything into preparing for the next attempt.
Generally, February–March is the so-called first round, with 2 exam dates, and you can book about 1 month before the exam date. Depending on exam scheduling or if you're unhappy with your score, you'll occasionally see an Extraordinary Exam in April or May. Normally, though, the second round is in June–July, also with 2 dates. If you still miss it or aren't satisfied, then after Italy's university summer break in August, there's only a single exam in September. So although there are plenty of chances to retake exams or repeat courses, don't let that make you careless. Give it everything you've got.
Italy's grading system is quite unusual: it's out of 30, with 18 as the passing mark. If the professor is generous enough and your oral defense during the exam is outstanding, Italian professors have the authority to give a grade "above 30." GPA is calculated the way you'd expect, weighted by each course's CFU, and the transcript shows both the Arithmetic and the Weighted exams average.
Studying and living in Italy
Looking back at my studies in Italy, I spent roughly 80% of the time living happily and comfortably. The other 20% was dull class time, exam prep, maddening eccentric professors, tedious administrative paperwork and so on. Still, compared with my time in Germany, Italy's food, scenery and Mediterranean climate make it really hard not to fall in love with the country.
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As for daily life, Italy will definitely live up to Taiwanese people's fantasies about Europe. Turin was once Italy's capital, and places like the Royal Palace of Turin and Palazzo Madama give you a deep look at European history. The famous Egyptian Museum, the hometown of Ferrero Rocher chocolate, and the home base of the well-known football club Juventus are all reasons worth coming to live in or visit Turin.
Italian food goes without saying: it's great quality at a low price. The same croissant and cappuccino that costs around €5 in Munich costs only €3 in Italy. Classic Italian dishes like pasta, ravioli, pizza and tiramisu cost only around €10–15 even at a restaurant, which made me far more willing to eat out and satisfied the appetite I couldn't satisfy in Germany. After class, meeting classmates for a drink or a gelato now and then was an ordinary yet happy part of life.
Required courses
Large-scale facilities for materials science (MaMaSELF, Summer School)
Summer School is one of MaMaSELF's key events. Don't naively think it's a fun, laid-back course. Over one intensive week, researchers from large-scale facilities such as PSI and ESRF, along with faculty from universities including the University of Montpellier, Friedrich-Alexander-UniversitätErlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and UniTo, take turns coming to the University of Montpellier to teach us basic and advanced knowledge of large-scale instruments and to discuss future thesis research directions.
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Computational Methods for the Use of Materials
Back to the courses in Turin! This course covers applications of computer simulation in materials science, and it was a big reason I decided to take courses in Italy. The importance of programming languages and Machine Learning in scientific progress needs no explanation. Applied to materials science, they not only lower experimental costs but are also very practical tools for selecting and developing new materials and designing experimental models.
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Environmental, Medical and Technological Applications of Mineral-Like Materials
If you took courses at LMU Munich in MaMaSELF's first year, the discussion of crystal structures and the basic concepts of biomimetic materials in this course should feel familiar. If you made it through the many reports and dry course content at LMU Munich, topics like Crystal Structure, Apatite and Geochemistry should come easily to you
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Sustainable Polymers and Composite
If this weren't a required course, I'd beg you not to take it. The professor's unreasonable, unprincipled oral exam system is the main reason the reputation of this course, and even of this university, has gone downhill.
All right! The course does have some practical value, and the content on Recycling, Polymer Degradation, Molecular Imprinted Polymer, Drug Delivery System and so on is genuinely useful. The lab component is a week of training from morning to night, but it's also fun and practical.
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Electives
Materials for energy: Superconductors, H2 storage, and batteries
If you're struggling to pick electives in UniTo's materials department, I highly recommend considering this course. From batteries and the development of energy storage technology to the physics, formula derivations and applications of Superconductors, the two professors' lectures will definitely leave you with a lot. In the exam, the professors work hard to guide you and help with derivations at the right moments, so you can answer and share your views with more confidence. In the end, everyone got good grades, and some even got above 30. It's a generously graded and highly practical course.
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X-Ray Spectroscopy for the Characterization of Molecules and Materials
I registered for this course first, then dropped it at the end when deciding which elective exams to take. For students interested in synchrotron radiation, X-Ray, physics and so on: the professor has extensive experimental experience at synchrotron research facilities, and despite a heavy Italian accent in English, the professor is a good one who is willing to listen to students.
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Machine Learning and its Application to Chemistry and Materials Science
This is another course I registered for and then dropped. The required course CompMeth covers some Machine Learning, but if you want to understand ML applications in depth, this course is the best answer. Besides basic ML knowledge, it focuses more on the models needed in materials science, and in class it walks students step by step through code the professor has written in advance, helping students understand the meaning behind each model and the problem it aims to solve.
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After such a big incident in the required course Sustainable Polymer and Composite, I sometimes ask myself: if I could go back, would I choose Turin again?
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Read the full article for the most detailed information, photos and reflections! And if you'd like to hear about my travels in different countries and cities, you can find more on my Medium too!
If you found this useful or enjoyed my story, please give this article a 👏 , follow my Medium, save this article, or leave other questions or article recommendations in the comments!
Schools in this post
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