Intro Week

The week immediately before the start of the academic year is known as "Intro Week" (It is sometimes called "Fresher's Week").

We will need to meet you and help you prepare for academic work. Make sure that you don´t miss any events; a lot of the people you will get to know best will be those in your department.

Everyone arrives with their own expectations: some of these will be met during intro week; some will take longer; others may have been unrealistic and will not be met at all.

For many students, Intro Week is also about socialising and partying. Commercial clubs and bars work hard to persuade you to leave your money in their premises. The Union of Students provides big events to welcome you.

And everyone will be trying to find out how and where they will fit into this huge community. Everyone wants to make contacts with people they can feel comfortable with. It looks as if absolutely everyone is having a great time. Lots of individuals worry that they are the only one taking more time to find their own way. We know that manystudents feel a little (or very) homesick during Intro Week, and many new students feel isolated and worry that everyone else is settling in better than them. Celebrating your arrival in large crowds is not to everyone's taste, and large events often don't give an opportunity for real communication and contact. Starting university is like moving to a foreign country. The impact of the culture shock involved is often underestimated. It doesn't hit everyone at the beginning. Some people find the period just after the Christmas break difficult; others experience a low period much nearer the beginning of their time here. You might fit-in straight away, or it may take some time. But don't worry - everybody is different, and be sure that everybody is finding it strange and unusual.

Your departmental itinerary