FACILITIES FOR SOCRATES/ERASMUS INCOMING STUDENTS

The Università degli Studi di Milano offers ERASMUS students accommodation at about € 250,00 per month, but does not manage the booking service for accommodation directly: students interested in finding accommodation through the University should contact the I.S.U. (Istituto per il Diritto allo Studio Universitario).
As the number of places available in the halls of residence (belonging to the I.S.U.) is very limited, the I.S.U. has particular planning needs.
In the past years, many students used to book accommodation for a period starting from their supposed arrival date; then, they used to arrive in Milan even weeks later.
This unfortunately involved a high amount of reserved places in the I.S.U halls of residence, that were not occupied; meanwhile, the I.S.U. was forced to try places by private structures, in order to arrange accommodation for other students in wait.
Aiming to avoid complex management problems and hoping to improve services for ERASMUS students, the I.S.U. has established the following procedure, in agreement with Università degli Studi di Milano, for booking accommodation.

ACCOMMODATION BOOKING PROCEDURE FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2005/2006

• Accommodation requests (B Form along with the receipt for the advanced payment of the first monthly instalment, amounting to € 250,00) must reach I.S.U. Offices at least 15 days before the arrival date indicated on the B Form. This amount will not be refunded.
• If you send the B Form without the receipt of payment, I.S.U. will cancel your request of booking.
• The rent payment begins upon the arrival date you have indicated on the B Form , notwithstanding your real date of arrival.
• If you don't go to I.S.U. within 30 days from the arrival date indicated on the B Form , your previously made reservation will be automatically cancelled; the payment of the first monthly instalment will not be refunded.

N.B.: Make sure that your University has informed by August 12, 2005, the SOCRATES/ERASMUS Office about your arrival at the Università degli Studi di Milano. 
In case this nomination arrive later, you will be accepted as ERASMUS student at Università degli Studi di Milano, but you are not entitled to request accommodation services.

The I.S.U. will assign accommodation in a hall of residence, a flat or a hotel on the city outskirts according to availability: students do not have any choice.
No options are given for housing facilities.
The maximum length of stay allowed by the I.S.U.'s accommodation services corresponds to the number of months stated in the SOCRATES agreement between the Università degli Studi di Milano and the student's home University.
Monthly instalments are required in advance.
If an ERASMUS student leaves the I.S.U. accommodation before the end of any month, payment of the monthly instalment will be due in full, regardless of the actual length of stay.
The I.S.U.'s halls of residence will be closed from July 31, 2006 (at noon) to September 1, 2006.

What to do when you arrive in Milan

To get accommodation go to the I.S.U. Offices in Via Clericetti, 2 - Milano, but only during on-duty hours (Monday to Thursday 9,00-12,30 and 13,45-15,00; Friday 9,00-13,30; Saturday and Sunday closed); you will need your passport and 1 photo.
You will be asked to pay a caution deposit of € 150,00 to ISU's cash office against any possible damage for which you are responsible or against damage to common premises if the persons responsible are not identified. The caution will be refunded without interest at the end of your stay, except for costs for damage or unpaid fees which will be deducted. A damage request will be made in case of damage greater than the caution value.
I.S.U. will provide each guest student, at the end of the stay in Milan, with a certificate stating that nothing is pending. The certificate is binding in order to obtain the University's certificate on completion of the ERASMUS study period.

The day after arriving, students are expected to go to the SOCRATES/ERASMUS Office of Università degli Studi di Milano to register (see "Admission and registration procedures").

This is a new initiative aimed at financially supporting ERASMUS foreign students' stay at the University of Milan.
As for academic year 2005/2006, incoming students having ISU accommodation may have their meals served by I.S.U. Canteen Service at a reduced special price of € 2,80 each. University of Milan will cover the balance of the actual cost owed to I.S.U, amounting to about € 6,00 each.
If you want to use this service, you should go to the I.S.U. Office and get a special card (Midìcard/I.S.U.).
You will need two passport-size photographs and a € 10,00 deposit, which will be refunded at the end of your stay.

The Università degli Studi di Milano organises free Italian Language courses for ERASMUS students, taking place from October to December 2005 (students arriving in the first Semester ), and from February to April 2006 (students arriving in the second Semester), usually on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m. Every course lasts 60 hours and is divided into different classes according to the students' level of knowledge (beginner and intermediate levels). If you want to attend these language courses, you must say so in your Application Form.

The Università degli Studi di Milano has 144 libraries ranging from broad interfaculty and departmental libraries to small collections located in institutes, with a total of 1,700,000 volumes available to students.
The Libraries offer the following services: information retrieval and photocopying, on-line catalogues, interlibrary loan, lending services, document delivery, on-line data bases and CD Roms. The University's Library System is managed by the "Divisione Coordinamento delle biblioteche", via Festa del Perdono 7, tel. 02/58352270-2271;e-mail: disbib.mailserver@unimi.it 
Below is a full list -with addresses, phone numbers, opening hours- of the University's Libraries that guarantee a 5-day a week service. Further information about the University's Library System is available on the internet at: http://www.unimi.it/biblioteche/ 

The I.S.U and the Università degli Studi di Milano organise the following cultural activities, which are open to ERASMUS students:

• conferences and meetings about topical issues
• movies, exhibitions and meetings about cinematography
• chamber and symphony concerts, featuring university student musicians
• theatre productions featuring university groups
• guided tours of artistic cities, exhibitions and museums in Italy and abroad
• student discounts for theatrical, musical and cultural events

The Distance Learning Centre (Centro di servizio per le Tecnologie e la Didattica universitaria multimediale e a distanza CTU) offers products and services and undertakes research with learning technologies on behalf of university students and teachers.
The CTU designs, produces and delivers products, such as videocassettes and interactive multimedia programmes for university teaching and life-long training, as well as raising faculty awareness about the methods, techniques and skills associated with the latest training technologies.
In recent years, the CTU has worked with several of the University's departments to conduct advanced project experiments and produce online training courses (for information, contact: Dr. Daniela Scaccia +39-02-2369161)
The CTU has a specialised mediatheque (in Hall/aula 309 - via Celoria 20), where students and lecturers are free to view its products, videocassettes, DVDs, and multimedia CD-Roms.
The mediatheque is open Mon - Fri , 9.00-12.30 / 13.30-16.00.
The CTU's complete catalogue, also available via internet ( http://www.ctu.unimi.it ), lists 1754 audio-visual and 124 multimedia tools, classified by faculties. The CTU's audio-visual and multimedia resources are also available at several University mediatheques (see prospectus) some of which open on request
CTU is located at "Città Studi" via Celoria, 20, tel. +39 02/2369161, e-mail: office@ctu.unimi.it 

 

*** The I.S.U. Mediatheque offers students books, periodicals, journals, audiocassettes, CD's and didactic programmes on videocassette and CD-ROM. It also provides local databases on CD-ROM and remote databases.
The Mediatheque is located at the ISU's Centro Universitario, via Clericetti 2, Milano - tel. 02-23956248. Open: Mon-Fri 8.30-18.50.
In the Computer Room, 15 personal computers, 3 multimedia PC's, 2 laser printers and 1 colour ink jet printer are available for students to use. Internet, mail boxes and home page web are also available. Basic courses in Computer Sciences are organised at regular intervals.
The Computer Room is located in the ISU's Centro Universitario, via Clericetti 2, Milano - tel. 02-23956248. Open: Mon-Fri 9.00-18.00.

Sports activities for University students in Milan are planned, managed and organised by CUS Milano. Most CUS activities take place in the Multisport Centre at the Idroscalo in Segrate, a man-made lake built for flying-boats and now the city's main open green space. Here you will find such sports facilities as two tennis courts, five-a-side soccer and beach volley courts, a multi-purpose indoor hall for five-a-side soccer, basketball, volleyball and tennis and a hall for aerobics and bodybuilding. There is canoeing and rowing training on the Idroscalo itself. The CUS also shares eleven sports centres in Milan, where you can do aerobics, athletics, aqua gym, martial arts, basketball, five-a-side soccer, canoeing, rowing, free climbing, rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, body-gym, swimming, synchronised swimming, volleyball, pre-ski training, fencing, stretch & tone, diving, tennis, sailing and windsurfing.
There are also inter-faculty contests, international university meetings and summer and winter campuses .
Most training courses start in mid-October. Although you can join at any time, it is best if you apply before the end of September. ERASMUS Students can get a personal card good for a year for € 2.58: just provide a passport-size photo and show your University student booklet. To join any sport course, you will also need a doctor's certificate. You can ask any of the CUS centres for the check-up, which costs € 15.49. If you join a CUS sport course, you will also benefit from special offers from shops, gym, theatres etc.

With effect from the Academic Year 2000/2001, the Università degli Studi di Milano offers a Service for Disabled Students. This Service provides disabled students enrolled in degree courses, diplomas and specialisation schools with assistance and promotes their rights and social integration.
The Service offers:
1) Assistance in getting to/from the University facilities (classrooms, libraries, student boards, etc.), bus stops and railway stations;
2) Administrative and didactic assistance (enrolment in courses, certificates, etc.) and a book finding service (books and lecture notes). When necessary and subject to the approval of the lecturer, disabled students may also ask for the note-taking service;
3) Secretarial services to facilitate contacts with lecturers and University Departments (booking meetings, co-ordinating Student Boards);
4) Links with disabled people's associations at national, regional and local level and with service providers for disabled people.
The Servizio Disabilità e Handicap is not only an effective intermediary between disabled students and the University, it also co-operates with other public bodies involved in assisting disabled people at local and national level.
If you want to request assistance, please contact the Servizio Disabilità e Handicap via Festa del Perdono 7, I-20122 Milano at least two days before you need it. The Service is open Mon-Fri 8.30-17.30, tel. +39-0250312225, fax +39-0258302641.
The Servizio Disabilità e Handicap works with the Association of Volunteers for Disabled University Students (Associazione Volontari Disabili Universitari - AVDU), created by students from the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy in 1993 to assist disabled students enrolled at the Università degli Studi di Milano with their studies and promote their integration. The ADVU also has computers for blind users.
The AVDU is located in via Festa del Perdono, 3 I-20122 Milano. Open Mon-Fri 9.00-17.00. For information contact +39-0250312987.

ESN Milano Statale is part of ESN International, founded in Copenhagen (DK), in 1990, to promote student mobility.
Today, the network has nearly 100 active branches in 16 European countries, representing direct work with almost 40,000 students every year.
The Italian member (ESN Italy) has branches in 17 cities (Bologna, Rome, Naples, Genoa, Cagliari etc.)
The main purpose of the local branches is to help exchange students.
ESN staff members, who are mostly local students who have been on exchanges in the past, introduce foreign students to the university and its social life and ensure they receive information and explanations about their studies.
The local branches of ESN co-ordinate social and cultural activities and organise trips, excursions and international parties, to help the exchange students get the best out of their time and as much out of the exchange as possible.
ESN Milano Statale address:
via Festa del Perdono 7
Telephone number: 0250312074 - Fax number: 0258304482
open Mon-Fri 11-13.
web page: http://www.esnmilanostatale.it -   email: esn@unimi.it  
ESN International web page: http://www.esn.org 

Every year, the Università degli Studi di Milano organises international courses in Italian language and culture for foreign students, which take place in Palazzo Feltrinelli in Gargnano del Garda (about 150 km. from Milano).
Held in July and August, the courses are aimed at students who already have a good knowledge of the Italian language. Grants are available. Recipients of grants are charged no tuition fees.
For further information, contact: Segreteria dei Corsi Internazionali di Lingua e Cultura Italiana - c/o Università degli Studi - Via Festa del Perdono, 7 - 20122 Milano.
Tel. +39-0250312812
e-mail: gargnano@mailserver.unimi.it
Further information is available also on internet at http://studenti.unimi.it/foreign/gargnano.htm 

Ufficio Programmi Comunitari di Formazione
Via S. Antonio, 12 - 20122 Milano - Tel +39 02 50313501/.3502  Fax +39 02 50313503