The introduction for the coming academic year will last for three days rather than eight. The programme will be held online, but there will still be traditional mentor groups. ‘I’m going to do my best to let the groups meet physically at least once,’ said coordinator Dionne Aldus.

Think back to the first Sunday of last year’s introduction. And to the year before that: about 4,000 first-year students swarming over the campus to register and meet their mentor groups. Then they jumped on their bikes and spread out across the city.

That won’t be the case in 2020. In August all first-year students will receive a login code so they can register on an online intro-platform. They’ll become acquainted with Radboud University via their laptops. ‘Since we don’t know how strict the coronavirus regulations will be by then, we’re programming everything online to be safe,’ said intro-coordinator Dionne Aldus. ‘It definitely won’t be the same as physically interacting, but we’ll try to retain the social character wherever we can.’

Mentor groups

Just like in previous years, students will be divided into mentor groups. They can get to know each other on the digital intro-platform that’s now being built – other university cities also use this program. And if the corona regulations permit, they’ll hopefully be able to physically meet one another. Aldus: ‘I’m going to do my best to let the groups meet physically at least once.’

This year’s introduction programme will last for three days rather than eight. Aldus would prefer to let the first-year students physically meet one another at the opening on Sunday 23 August. But that’s easier said than done. If just as many students register this year as did last year, we’re talking about 5,000 people, including mentors. To guarantee a 1.5-metre distance, all mentor groups (each with a maximum of 20 students) will have to be spread across the city in time slots. Some groups can stay on campus and others will have to find a place in an assigned park.

‘I’m secretly hoping for a second chance in the autumn holiday’

Public transport is a complicating factor. ‘If the current travel regulations are still in force, students can travel only between 11 am and 3 pm or after 8 pm.’ In that case mentors will be asked to report a day earlier in Nijmegen so that they don’t occupy a seat on public transport.

‘We’ll have to speak with the safety region about what sort of physical meetings will be possible,’ Aldus stated. In a previous interview with Vox, rector Han van Krieken had said that he hoped that the introduction groups could meet once every day, but Aldus questions if that’s feasible.

The introduction’s organisers announced in April that the intro-festival and the sports days couldn’t be held this year because of their massive scale. Sports will be part of the three-day online programme, but they’ll be done online. ‘We want to BOM (Moving to Music) for half an hour with everyone simultaneously. We’ll hopefully be able to stream that so then you can see how the others in your intro-group are participating in their room or yard.’ Students can then choose which sport they want to do in break-out rooms: yoga? bootcamp? There’ll also be demonstration videos for sports that can’t be played at home, like hockey or pole dancing.

After logging in to the online platform, students will automatically join their mentor groups. Aldus hopes that live events will stimulate students to actually participate in the introduction. For example, a word of welcome by an entertaining speaker. Mentor groups can chat with one another while watching.

Coronavirus regulations

The traditional opening market has been scheduled for Monday. Clubs will present themselves with stories or videos and students can scroll through the online content offered or ask questions. The day in the city has been removed from the online intro, but there will be a cultural evening where clubs can present themselves and study associations can also organise their own online programmes. There will also be time for this on Wednesday immediately after the three introduction days, said Aldus, who hopes that the clubs will discuss their options with her.

According to Aldus, the organisation will just have to wait and see how many mentors register for the abridged intro. ‘The question is how enjoyable it will be for them this way.’ Similarly, she can only guess at the number of first-year students. She hopes to have a better idea of this by the end of July when the complete programme, influenced by coronavirus regulations, should be announced.

‘I’m secretly hoping for a second chance in the autumn holiday,’ Dionne Aldus added. ‘If the corona situation is better, we could hold a mini-opening market for 1,000 people a day instead of 5,000 at the same time. And a mini-sports day. Fingers crossed!’ Student associations could also join in. Because of the strict regulations in the months ahead, their society buildings have to remain closed until September.

Aldus hopes that mentors and students will observe the corona regulations during the intro and won’t sit down in large groups on a café terrace or at the Waal beach. ‘If one intro group with fifteen people does that, it might not seem too bad, but if three hundred groups do it …’