The International Orientation has started again and will take place until Friday. The organisers say that at the moment, there are 54 students who are planning to participate. Due to the Covid-19 situation, this time the Orientation Week takes place entirely online. 'No group activities can be organised this time.'

In August of 2020, most of the Orientation Week also took place online, however, some physical contact was still allowed at that time. First-year student from Aruba Priscilla Quant (who participated in the previous Orientation) says that some events, such as sports day, were held in person.

There was a physical market as well, where new students could ask student organisations some questions. Even though the online activities included games, lectures and online concerts, Quant says that sometimes students felt frustrated, precisely because they were not allowed to meet each other in real life. Not all students are proactive in talking with strangers in a virtual space. Priscilla remembers that ‘there was a lot of listening to other people talking and answering each other’s questions’. She says that it is the reason why a lot of people in her group ‘ended up signing out of most of the activities after joining them’.

‘Students appreciate the fact that there is an Orientation Week at all’

The organisers are aware that it is harder for students to make a connection with each other when there is no physical contact. Nonetheless, they noticed that ‘students really appreciate the fact that there is an Orientation Week at all, even if it is online’, says Sybil Bouten, coordinator of Radboud International Students (RIS) and one of the organisers of the Orientation Week. Also, the mentor groups ‘appreciate the time online, before and after the activities, where they can just talk to each other’.

Extremely difficult

Quant says that she does not have any contact anymore with anyone she met during the Orientation week, including her mentors. She says that everybody was very nice and mentors tried to engage students in different activities, ‘but they soon realised that it is extremely difficult’. It was hard for everyone to stay excited and engaged in the online activities.

This time, all the activities will be held online. One of the reasons why offline activities are not happening is because students are not able to meet until they have finished their quarantine period and do not show any symptoms, says Bouten.

That creates more challenges for the organisers to keep the students engaged and connect them to one another. Organisers say that making the whole orientation week online also limits their options. ‘The lockdown limits the meeting of students to two people, so no group activities can be organised,’ says Bouten. The programme had to be adapted to the new rules and measures, hence the staff had to learn new techniques in making that work. Also, due to restrictions, everything takes considerably more time.

Virtual exchange

As all the physical student exchanges from partner universities abroad were cancelled, this semester there will be fewer international students starting their studies at Radboud University. This means that there will be less students taking part in the Orientation week than usual. Some students decided to do the virtual exchange and follow some of the courses at Radboud university online while staying in their home countries. Bouten says that this also changes the needs of the students, as they won’t be starting a ‘new life in a new country’. Consequently, the program also had to be adapted to the needs of those who will be following the program of the Orientation Week from home.

Even though it is difficult for both the organisers and the students to do all the activities online, Bouten says that there is a bright side to this, as it offers the possibility for ‘students who have not yet been able to come to Nijmegen to join in the online activities and be part of a mentor group before they arrive’.

The programme of this Orientation week will consist of information sessions about Dutch culture and life in the Netherlands. It also contains a virtual pub quiz, games, and ‘speed friending’, where students can meet one another. In addition, each student will get enough time to get to know their mentor group, says Bouten. The full programme can be found here.