Induction

The International Office coordinates the Welcome Week Programme for International and European students in week -1 (the week before Freshers Week). Last year a working group, of which the Transition to Living and Learning Project was part, reviewed the Programme format with the aim of making it more interactive, engaging and relevant to the students. The main components of the Welcome Week Programme (since 2010) are:

1. The Meet and Greet Service through which students are collected from Heathrow Airport and accompanied to their Halls of Residence.
2. The University Welcome Day – taking place on Thursday includes the VC welcome a safety talk and, since last year, a variety of talks/workshops and an info fair.
3. The Academic Welcome Day – taking place on Friday was introduced last year to replace the Faculty Welcome Day. During the morning UG and PGT students are invited to attend a series of sessions designed to help students explore what their learning experience will entail at university. PhD students have dedicated sessions on how they can enhance their research experience. In the afternoon some of the Academic Schools offer their own welcome sessions.
4. The Campus Tours and City Coach Tours – run throughout the week.

A website where students can download the Welcome Week Programme and register is made available to students prior to their arrival. For the last six years the International Office and Corporate Planning have been running a survey of the International Welcome Week to monitor the success of the programme from the student perspective. The survey results can be downloaded from SUSSED under the section University Secretary - Business Intelligence.

Academic Units and Faculties interested in delivering their own induction as part of the International Welcome Week can refer to UKCISA orientation programme guide for best practice guidelines.

In 2010/11, as part of the International Welcome Week, the Transition to Living and Learning Project  delivered the workshop session "Settling in: Making Sense of British Culture". The session was aimed at  offering  international students the opportunity to learn more about what life is like in the UK. Students  were given the opportunity to talk freely with other international students and second and third year student facilitators and share their thoughts and expectations about what life will be like at Southampton. At the end of the session a panel of key staff and students responded to the key comments from the discussion and provided further guidance to help students make the most of their time here. SUSU is still running these workshops during induction activities.