With the registrations in the Radboud Sports Centre, the Intro week officially started this afternoon. After 1 o’clock, the first intro groups started flooding the campus and later spread out over the Nijmegen. ‘Nijmegen seems to have a very friendly atmosphere, and I have already found a temporary place to stay.’

On the lawn next to the Maria Montessori building, Bjarne Brinkmann (20), who is from a small village in the German region of Lower Saxony, waits for the rest of his intro group shortly before noon. What he is going to study? ‘I chose to study Psychology because I want to know how the human brain works,’ he says.

The freshman applied to various foreign universities. Eventually, Nijmegen came out on top. His first impressions of his new city pleased him. ‘There’s a very friendly atmosphere, it’s not too big. And I have found a temporary place to stay.’

To get an idea about what will happen this week, Brinkmann has been watching YouTube videos from the Radboud International Students. ‘I’m a little nervous about meeting the other members of my intro group’, he says. ‘They should be here within half an hour.’

A flat in Kranenburg

A little further away, on a bench next to the UB, sits Isabel Eicken (18). She will soon start her first year of International Business Communication (IBC). She is also waiting for her intro group, the Babylon’s Barbies, but arrived on campus a little early.

‘I’m starting the Spanish track of IBC’, says Isabel from Essen, Germany. ‘I want to learn another language, but I can’t be sure about job opportunities later if I only study a language. That’s why I want to do the business part as well.’

Isabel recently moved to Kranenburg, just across the German border. She would have also liked a room in Nijmegen, but in Kranenburg she found better value for her money. ‘I now pay 290 euros for a fairly large room in a flat that I only have to share with one other student.’ She chose Nijmegen because she wants to learn Dutch as well as Spanish. ‘Another option was Maastricht, but there are so many Internationals there, then it’s much harder to learn Dutch.’

She came to town by bike this morning but does not know yet how she will get back late tonight. ‘It is not so easy by bus.’

Kitesurfing

Shortly before 1 o’clock, one intro group after another walks into the Radboud Sports Centre to collect their wristbands and red Radboud-hoody. In total about 4.000 first-years registered for the introduction, that officially started this afternoon. Almost 6 out of 10 intro people are women.

In the sports hall, where registration takes place, Adam and Grazyne Marczak wait for their daughter Maja at the Waiting Area for Parents. They tell us they travelled by car from Warsaw to Nijmegen earlier this week. A car journey of about 20 hours in total. ‘Convenient to move our daughter’s things.’ The family also attached a small holiday in the Netherlands. ‘We love kitesurfing, but unfortunately, there was not enough wind at the beach,’ father Adam says with a laugh.

‘We love kitesurfing, but unfortunately, there was not enough wind at the beach’

Maja, who has just received her intro band – with the accompanying Radboud hoodie – joins them a little later. Why did she choose Nijmegen and Radboud University? ‘The science faculty, where I will study a master’s in physics, is highly regarded. And it seems like a nice, friendly city. Yesterday we visited Amsterdam, but it was very busy there.’

The Polish student has already found a room, she was just handed the keys by student housing corporation SSH&. In a moment, she and her parents will start setting up her room. ‘Then we will drive back home because tomorrow I have to work again,’ Adam says.

City centre

From the Sports Centre, the first years spread out across the rest of the city during the afternoon to get to know each other better through games. For instance, several groups from Psychology arrive at the Goffertpark, located about one and a half kilometres from campus. In Park Brakkenstein, immediately behind the RSC, several intro people have also gathered.

In the city centre, it is still very quiet around 3 o’clock. In the Molenstraat, the central party location this week, the final construction of the outdoor bars and stage is underway. Apart from a handful of coloured shirts, nothing points to the start of the introduction. Although at the approach of dusk, this will probably be very different.

Translated by Stella Kuipers