More than 580 students from across the world have just arrived at the University to study with us. Comprising more than 60 nationalities, they come from a wide range of different cultures and they speak a variety of different languages, but they all have something in common: they have decided that this global campus is the right place to spend the best years of their lives.
The first week of September has been very intense for everyone: both for the new arrivals and also for those working to ensure that everything was ready for our new students, enabling them to feel that they had made the right choice in coming to Valencia.
Tuesday 5th September was a very exciting day, full of new discoveries, new friends and great expectations for the future, for students from Lebanon, Brazil, Canada, the USA, Germany, Taiwan, Colombia and China, to name just a few examples.
The Vice-Rector for International Relations and the Vice-Rector for Students and University Life were ready and waiting to greet them all. On the Plaza del Ágora, some words of welcome were spoken and explanations provided about all the services that our international students have available to them. A wonderful photo of this new family was taken, to emphasize the fact that we want the students to feel at home right from the very start.
The University will be the place where all of them develop and grow over the next few years, both professionally and, perhaps even more importantly, as people. As with previous years, everything was ready and prepared for their arrival to make the first few days as easy as possible, as this time is always packed full of new and unexpected things. Our international students received a tour of the facilities in which they will receive their education, and then they went on to attend a series of information sessions regarding the exclusive services at their disposal to help them settle in.
All of the University staff have striven to be as approachable as possible, in order to show the students that we really do care about their individual needs. The assistance provided to our international students goes beyond academic issues, with much work being carried out in other areas which can be of a great help to students studying abroad, such as accommodation and helping with legal and medical queries.
In the end, the first day finished in the best way possible, with everyone tucking into a wonderful Valencian paella. It had been a tiring but exciting day, and one which many will remember many years from now, when they look back on how the best years of their lives began.
