Italian Student Reflects on His Student Exchange Experience

Since 2019, the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences has partnered with Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), a technical university in Italy, in the Erasmus+ KA107 student exchange program. The grant covers travel and living expenses, allowing students to study abroad and immerse themselves in another culture.

This past spring, Mattia Bosio, a building engineering – architecture student at POLIMI, took courses in computer science and construction management on the Long Island campus.

A native of Bergamo, a city in northern Italy about an hour from Milan, Bosio says he wanted to study in the United States to have a new experience away from home. “My professor spoke very highly of New York Tech. I wanted to try living in a different environment with a diverse culture, lifestyle, and study approach compared to Italy.”

He found what he was looking for at New York Tech, learning different approaches to energy management. “I really enjoyed learning about new renewable energy systems,” he says. “What was interesting was understanding the American approach to this topic, which is different from the Italian one. In my course of study in Italy, we had never delved into topics such as nuclear energy systems, biomass, heliothermic, and hydrothermal.”

For his senior design course, Bosio worked on a project to expand a sports center in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. “I had the chance to work on an entire project from a structural, architectural, technological, and economic point of view, and, at the end of the course, we presented the project to local authorities.”

In his alternative energy systems class, Bosio examined the use of renewable sources in West Virginia. “This course helped me understand how various renewable energy systems (photovoltaic, solar thermal, biomass, nuclear, etc.) work,” he says. “These issues are important for our future because I believe that saving energy by taking it from renewable sources is essential to progress both in the energy field and the construction field, which is what I study and am passionate about.”

In addition to being introduced to new approaches to energy management, Bosio was introduced to different course schedules. This aspect of student exchange programs is also important to the learning experience, introducing students to new ways of studying and cultures.

In Italy, students attend classes for three months and then take exams for two months. He also adjusted to the duration of classes. “In Italy, we have classes that last all day, while at New York Tech, the lessons were only in the late afternoon and evening,” he says. “This is good I think, because I had time for my own studies and hobbies in the morning. I liked the format of the lessons.”

Living in another country also allowed him to get to know people from a different culture and with habits different from his own, and he believes this experience will enhance his résumé. “Being in a country far from mine, with different cultures and lifestyles, I was able to see and experience new realities that contribute to personal growth,” says Bosio. “It has definitely changed my perspective, and I believe that one day I will return to America for a work experience.”

During his stay, Bosio traveled with a group of College of Engineering and Computing Sciences students to Washington, D.C., where they toured the nation’s capital and visited NASA headquarters. Organized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Long Island chapter, the students also explored the National Mall, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Bosio has no regrets about participating in the student exchange program. “It is an experience that makes you responsible and makes you grow, where you meet new people, new cultures, and new ways of facing life.”