Starting a new chapter of your life abroad away from familiar faces and familiar places can feel intimidating at first. Everything feels new and exciting: the environment, the culture and customs, the people, the language. The new incoming international students of University CEU Cardenal Herrera have nothing to be afraid of, however, as the whole university welcomes them with open arms and works hard to make them feel at home here in Valencia.
The 535 new international students, studying in our Spanish and international degree programmes, arrived on Monday the 5th of September for the start of this year’s Welcome Week, a week full of orientation activities organized to help the international students integrate into campus life at CEU UCH. The students were first welcomed by the Vice Rector for International Relations and the Vice Rector for Students and University Life who encouraged them to take an advantage of everything offered to them during this unique and interesting chapter of their lives. Then the day continued with introductory talks on practical matters such as the campus and hospitality services, which were in turn followed by a tour of the facilities where the students will be spending the following years achieving their academic goals.
The week continued on Tuesday and Wednesday with more orientation activities. The students were introduced to their academic curriculum and the university practices and — most importantly — had the chance to get to know their fellow classmates and to make friends before the classes would start on Thursday.
During Tuesday’s University Fair, organized to present the many campus services and student clubs and groups CEU UCH has to offer, everybody got a chance to consider their interests and hobbies outside the classroom. The university Sport Service, the Language Service, the student choir and orchestra, and the art and theatre clubs all invite the new students to join the fun. Not only do they offer recreational activities to take one’s mind of their studies for a while, participation is also a perfect opportunity to meet like-minded people with similar interests.
The Welcome Week concluded with two events arranged by Campus Life. During the Friday’s City Tour the international students got to know their new home, its history, and its landmarks better, while the Beach Games event organized on Saturday at the Las Arenas beach ended their first week at CEU UCH in a fun way: with volleyball, swimming, and sunbathing.
This year the 535 international students of CEU UCH come from more than 45 countries — from France, Sweden, Norway, Taiwan, Ecuador, and Colombia, just to name a few — to study in the international degree programmes of Architecture, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine among others, here at our Valencia campus.
Meanwhile, at our CEU UCH Elche campus we received 70 international students who came to study in the Spanish degrees of Nursing and Physiotherapy. The students came to Elche from countries such as France, Switzerland, Norway, Paraguay, Holland, and Algeria, and prior to the start of their semester they participated in a three-week language course to prepare themselves for their academic pursuits.
It is fair to say that CEU UCH is truly an international university.
You can see all the photos from our Welcome Week in our Flickr gallery.
