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Three of the top students from a Milan university are wishing their semester at UWA could be extended.

"We are just getting to understand the culture," said Paolo Razzini, who has been studying Chinese, Asia in the world economy, and Global Business, as part of his degree in international relations.

Paolo, Filippo Oncini, who is studying Social Sciences and Social Psychology, and Paola Cavanna (Law), all said they loved the easy-going nature of Australians and were impressed with the friendliness of their teachers at UWA and the way courses were run.

But their biggest surprise was seeing students going barefoot on campus.

"It is something you would never see in Italy," said Paolo.

The students are Premier Scholars from the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, which sends its top 15 students each year to what they describe as one of five prestigious universities in the US and Australia. Students studying Law, Psychology and Political Science can apply for UWA . Others can choose from the University of Queensland, the University of California (Davis and Los Angeles) and the University of Chicago, depending on their courses.

"We are very lucky to come here," said Paola. "You always think of Australia as just the east coast. Nobody knows about Perth."

They said university teaching in Italy was very traditional, with no student interaction. "There are very few tutorials, just lectures, you study, then you do the exams, which are worth 100 per cent," Paola said.

Paolo has studied in Paris and said that, although there were more tutorials and smaller classes in French universities, there was still a distance maintained between teachers and students. "But that is not the case here at all. It feels very exotic to us!"

Filippo said the faculties in European universities were too big for teachers to remember their students' names. "Here, they all call us by name and we use their first names too."

The students have been living at St George's College for the semester and Filippo said they were surprised at how young many of the students were. "In Italy, we don't start university until we are about 19. Here, some of the students are 16."

They all said that while they loved Italy, they felt their future lay elsewhere. "The current economic situation in Italy is grim and the country is struggling," Paolo said. "Here, you feel you could easily get a good job and realise your dreams if you work hard."

He is considering doing a PhD on sustainability and energy policies. His International Relations studies are focused on the recent development of renewables. "It's a huge advantage being here in a state that has such potential for renewable energy. But I see there is a lot of work to be done concerning energy efficiency," he said. He and Filippo took a trip to the north of the state and were overawed by the size of mines, facilities and even the roads.

"We saw the real Australia: vast blue skies and red dirt," Filippo said. "The whole concept of space in Australia is very different from our perceptions in Europe," Paolo said.

The students won their fully-paid scholarships to UWA with their good undergraduate marks, their facility with the English language and their extracurricular experience and activities. They will return to Milan at the end of semester.