FCT international students arrived at UVic-UCC for orientation week at the beginning of September. This year we welcomed eight students from different countries: Kristoffer from Denmark, Daniel and Kasparas from Coventry in the UK, Blanca and Karla from Texas in the USA, Santiago and Anahí from Argentina and Zehra from Istanbul in Turkey. They will be studying courses on Biotechnology, Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Multimedia degrees. Some students are complementing their studies with language courses and subjects from other faculties and others are working as interns with FCT research groups.
The FCT International Relations Unit held its annual welcome session at the Torre dels Frares Campus on September 4. We told the new arrivals a little about Catalonia and the great places to visit during their stay. We also gave them a glimpse of the city of Vic the history of the University, the degrees available at FCT and the work of the FCT research groups. The new international students introduced themselves and told us about their home universities and their first impressions of Vic. After a tour of the faculty classrooms, laboratories, computer rooms and library, we met up with course coordinators from each department.
The students were enthusiastic and looking forward to visiting Vic and Barcelona. Gina at the International Relations Office is sure to keep them entertained with her semester-long social programme filled with trips and events. International students are also keen to meet local people and find out about their culture. In this sense, the Mentor Programme, open to the whole University community, is a great initiative. Participants can get to know international students, help them settle in and get a glimpse of what an international exchange is like. We hope you will join us in making our international students feel at home and we wish them a great stay at UVic.
