Welcome day for exchange students
Saher Gabriel and Henrik Classon are student buddies to the exchange students. Here they are introducing Andrea Antiqueira, Isotta Brunetti and Maria Backman to Sweden with a card game.
They have come from different parts of the world to study at Örebro University. Two welcome days are now organised for the new international arrivals.
“Many of them come by themselves. So we’d like to give them a chance to hang out with other students,” says International Student Assistant Sofie Sjöberg.
For three of the exchange students, the first thing they learn at Örebro University is, slightly unexpectedly, how to play Swedish card games. This is one of the social activities organised to help the students settle in at the university.
All in all, 176 exchange students are arriving in Örebro this semester, mainly from Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.
Andrea Antiqueira and Isotta Brunetti have been told that the lecturers at the university are good and they look forward to gaining new knowledge, practising their English on a daily basis, and meeting people from all over the world.
“I’m studying psychology in Spain. I chose Örebro University to get a chance to advance my knowledge in several psychology specialisations,” says Andrea Antiqueira.
“For me, it was the calm and quiet lifestyle and the university’s reputation of very competent teaching staff that made me apply for a place here,” says Isotta Brunetti, who is studying law in Italy.
Very good student life
Maria Backman, who is from Sweden but is studying tourism in Norway, opted for Örebro University to get a taste of Swedish student life.
“I have heard good things about student life in Sweden, so I wanted to experience it for myself,” says Maria Backman.
Chose Sweden over France
Christian Andreescu is a law student from England. For his exchange studies, his choice was between Sweden and France.
“When I googled and looked at photos from Örebro, it looked like a nice town. So I chose to go here,” he says.
Barbara Niewiadomska from Poland is going to take classes in economics. Her expectations of the exchange is to learn a lot, meet new people and to have fun.
“I chose Örebro University because I had heard that it offered high-quality courses,” says Barbara Niewiadomska.
Eased into university life
During the two welcome days, student buddies are in the Nova building to welcome the exchange students. Coffee is served, the exchange students get the keys to their accommodation, and student buddies accompany them to their new homes. The welcome days is the start of the orientation programme, which continues until 22 September.
“The purpose of the welcome day is to make the first few days in Sweden easier for the exchange students,” says International Student Assistant Sofie Sjöberg.
Text and photo: Anna Asplund
Translation: Charlotta Hambre-Knight