“Many of the courses I attended represent great opportunities to see how what we are studying works in real life.”

University? Yes, but also a work experience
My name is Mohammad Alotaibi, I am a second-year student of the master's degree program in Tourism Economics and Management, and I come from Amman, Jordan. 

I was raised in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and I lived there until I was 18 when I went to Jordan to study for my BA in Finance and Banking at the Applied Science University. During my BA, I started volunteering with a British NGO to help refugees in Jordan, an experience that left a huge mark on me. Once I graduated from the Applied Science University, I started working for an Italian NGO in Jordan. After, I spent 1 year and 7 months working for the NGO “UN PONTE PER...” - this represented an important step in my career because it set the foundation to gain more experience in this context. Indeed, I joined one of the biggest NGOs in the world, the DRC (Danish Refugee Council), for 4 months and eventually came to Italy to start my MA.

Italy has been in my heart forever  

I decided to study at an Italian university because I’ve loved Italy since I was a kid.  When it came to deciding where to study in Italy, I had already known some Italian universities by name and the University of Bologna was one of them. So, I checked the availability of MA in tourism in Italy and had a look at the placement of Italian universities in international rankings: the University of Bologna was the best university for what I needed and according to the rankings. 

A great MA Programme 
In my opinion, the master’s I am attending is very interesting and useful as it provides knowledge in several sectors, for example, Economics, Accounting, Finance, Management, Statistics, etc. Moreover, it offers very practical workshops with simulations of real management situations within the tourism industry. We often work in groups and professors set up challenges for the groups – this is a very stimulating learning environment. Many of the courses I attended represent great opportunities to see how what we are studying works in real life. For instance, during the course in Tourism management, the professor divided all students into 8 groups. Each group had a certain amount of money to open a hotel in a specific city. We had to start from zero as the only two things we had were the location of the hotel and the start-up amount. We had to decide the hotel name, vision, mission, demand analysis, strategy and swot analysis, marketing mix, financial analysis, .. We took into consideration even the very small details as creating an Instagram page for the hotel. At the end of the project, I felt we would be able to open a real hotel. 

Rimini feels like home 
When I first arrived in Rimini I felt like home. I know it might sound odd or cheesy, but that’s exactly how I felt and still feel here.  
Moreover, Italians are really friendly in general. It was easy for me to meet new people and make friends. I remember that, when I first came here and my Italian was awful, I asked people for directions and they were making their best to help me even though some of them did not speak English. 
Finding accommodation was actually the most difficult thing that I had to do - this is more complicated if you don’t speak Italian. I found my first accommodation (a student residence for Erasmus students) thanks to an Italian friend of mine who used to live in Jordan. I didn’t like it very much as the room was very small and I had to share the kitchen with too many people. I stayed there because I didn’t have any other options and I didn’t want to spend too much money staying in a hotel. However, as soon as my lease expired, I moved to another accommodation where a friend of mine lives and I am absolutely happy here sharing an apartment with four other people. 
In my free time, I usually go to the gym and hang out with my friends. But whenever I get the change, I like travelling around Italy and Europe.

Quick Tips 
There are many reasons why I would recommend the University of Bologna to other fellow students. On the tip of my tongue are the following ones: it is among the top 10 institutions worldwide and number 1 in Italy for sustainable development; it has a wonderful international reputation; it is the oldest university in the Western world; it offers the chance to meet students from all over the world; it will make you career-ready as it provides a high-quality training. I would like to say to the students who are considering coming to Italy and/or Bologna for study reasons that you are making the right decision, I am sure that you will enjoy both the university life and your personal life in Italy, the most beautiful country in the world.