Destination: Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Study Period: September 2022 – July 2023
Affiliation/Grade at the start of studying abroad: School of Design, Industrial Design Course, 3^rd year
*International Program (IP) student (1^st batch)

 I have studied product and service design in the industrial design course, and I became interested in spatial design and exhibition after having done installation art in a club. I chose Politecnico di Milano because it has an interior design course and classes specialized in exhibitions, so I thought I could learn about spatial design. I also thought that I would be able to see high-quality design in Milan because of the Design Week and many museums.

I enjoyed the frequent lectures and workshops, especially from the designers and architects who come from abroad to give lectures.

Since most of the classes were group work, my schedule and the exam dates, which are flexible to change, have to work around the group meetings. There is nothing much I can do, and it’s normal for Italian students. Hence, I just go with the flow. Since the group discussions and classes are conducted in Italian, I had a hard time understanding the technical terms at first. I get around it by asking people those terms that I hear most often.

It is better to have more than one purpose for going to study abroad. You will not know the classes or the atmosphere of the school until you get there. If you find it different from Geiko, please change your mindset and make the most of your time abroad. If you face any problems, it is better to talk to someone, Japanese or not, than to struggle alone. If you have someone to share your situation with on a regular basis, you will be less likely to get depressed unnecessarily.

Mia Komura