The student exchange program between the Hanoi University of Civil Engineering (HUCE) and the Polytechnic University of Turin - Politecnico di Torino (Polito), Italy has been implemented from 2018 to present within the framework of the Inter-university Cooperation Agreement under the ERASMUS+ Program funded by the European Community. Over the past 5 years, the ERASMUS+ Program has fully sponsored many student exchange sessions from Hanoi University of Civil Engineering majoring in architecture to Polito for a period of 1 semester - 6 months. To date, more than 10 undergraduate students have conducted exchange programs in the Fall and Spring semesters in the school years of 2018-2019; 2020-2021; and 2021-2022 at Polito. The implementation of the professional exchange program creates valuable opportunity and experience for the students of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Hanoi University of Science and Technology. In addition to being recognized for credit when returning to continue studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, students can experience multicultural exchanges and access a learning environment with differences in language and culture. This helps students become more mature, more confident in their profession and foreign languages, as well as nurture their dreams of pursuing and conquering higher education in this beautiful and hospitable Italy.

Here are the thoughts and sharing of students who have attended the Student Exchange Program at the University of Politecnico di Torino:  

Student Ta Hanh Dung – Course 63 KDE - Faculty of Architecture and Planning

At the end of September 2021, this was the first time that I have been to Italy, such a beautiful nation, via the Erasmus+ Scholarship Program. It was a late autumn day, but the weather was still quite hot. After 10 days of isolation because of the COVID epidemic, I was able to return to school for offline learning with students from different countries. My campus at Politechnico di Torino is the Valentino castle. On the first day at school, I was surprised at the place where I studies, an ancient and beautiful castle. Because my campus used to be a castle, it has both a garden and a park. I could roam around the campus to relax and I felt very comfortable after school.

Everyone in my class is older than me, so I am not only received dedicated guidance from professors, but also received help and support from my classmates during my time studying in Italy. I was in Europe from autumn to early spring and this was also the first time I have experienced the Italian winter. Out of class time, there were still days off, so you can visit Torino city and surrounding areas. I feel that Turin is a very livable, peaceful city and this place has become very attached and familiar. I really want to come back one day.

During my study in Europe, I had many memorable experiences and made many interesting friends. This trip connected me to the world out there and exposed me to diverse and unusual cultures. The massive and great architectural works that I contemplated are far different from what I have learned through books.

I hope there will be more and more opportunities for young people like me to have access to the vast world out there.

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Student Pham Duy Lam - 62KDE - Faculty of Architecture and Planning

My first time been to Italy was at the end of September 2021 thanks to the Erasmus+ scholarship program and this is also my first time going abroad. That's why I was eager to travel to Italy a month earlier, both to get used to the new environment and to settle into a new life in a faraway country. Polytechnic Torino held another welcome party for us Erasmus students. That day was really fun. However, I faced many difficulties due to being study offline in Italy and completing the subjects in Vietnam via online-platform.

During my exchange in Italy, I studied mainly at the Valentino castle, one of the oldest castles in the city. It is also the main lecture hall of the architecture students of the Polytechnic University of Torino. The campus is a unique and harmonious combination between the classic architecture of the castle on one side and the new construction architecture on the other. It is an entity of a modern and fully equipped library, classrooms and lecture halls with professors who are dedicated to guiding our students.

Besides school, I also had the opportunity to meet many Vietnamese people living in Torino. They also helped and taught me a lot of things, and I even met like-minded friends. I also took the time to visit a few other cities like Venice, Rome, Pisa, Florence, and also went to an Asian culture fair in Padova, which I think was a meaningful time during the whole trip.
For me, Torino is a quiet city, somewhat not too busy and very suitable for me. So I hope to have the opportunity to return there in the near future.

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Student Nguyen Duc Binh - K63 KDE; Student Nguyen Thi Huong - Course 64 KDNC - Faculty of Architecture and Planning:

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to study in Italy - a country with a long history and architectural diversity with ancient castles. We studied in the city of Torino located in the north of Italy. The weather was still quite cold on the first day of our arrival. Our admission was in the spring term for the 2021-2022 school year.

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The first day at Politecnico di Torino, we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the ancient Valentino castle. The happiness is doubled when studying and participating in research with students from all over the world, with a multitude of cultural backgrounds.

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 The first thing  that we were told to keep in mind by our instructors was that all of participants (including lecturer) are treated equally. That's really important because our classroom is like a miniature world of countless different cultures. And us, students of all ages represent our people and homecountry when interacting with international friends. In the classroom, teachers do not call us “students” or identify themselves as “lecturers” or “instructors” nor ask us to call them by such titles. Instead, they see themselves as other students despite of distinct ages, experiences and life experience, they wanted to be called as “colleagues”. All participants were treated equally. This principle was not orally reinforced throughout the learning and researching process; however, it was manifested transparently via postures and verbal communication of people in the class.

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Another special thing is that the lecturer "expects" each individual participating in the class to enthusiastically contribute their own bias and at the same time boldly criticize the ideas of others, based on spirit of integrity and respect. Offense is strictly forbidden, perhaps the only thing ever mentioned. Throughout the course of our studies, we are regularly encouraged to submit our feedback via a shared link where we can, anonymously, contribute our thoughts on the course as well as the lesson. We even gave feedback in person to lecturer in the class.

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Although the time in Italy was short, it completely changed us from our outlook on life, the way of thinking as well as the working style.

We are very grateful to Hanoi University of Civil Engineering and Torino Polytechnic University for giving us the opportunity to accompany each other and have extremely valuable experiences that perhaps we will never forget. We would also like to thank the Erasmus+ Scholarship Program for sponsoring our trip to have these amazing experiences. If given the opportunity, we are looking forward to returning to this school in the near future to continue pursuing the next level of education.