Insight
Students receive a North East welcome at community event
Hundreds of international students from Northumbria and Newcastle Universities received a warm welcome to the North East at an International Community Day.
Hosted by both Universities in conjunction with Newcastle City Council, the
event was held at Newcastle Civic Centre with the aim of showing students how
they can make the most of their stay in Newcastle.Students were greeted by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor David Wood, before being directed to three distinct zones of exhibitors – the community zone, leisure and culture zone, and the University zone – to receive information about activities and organisations that would bring them into the heart of Newcastle city life.
Attendees also took part in a Geordie culture quiz, learned about city and regional cultural events and enjoyed a traditional English tea.
Northumbria student Annie Feng was part of the welcome team.
The 23-year-old final year Human Resource Management and Development student said, “I missed my induction when I first started at Northumbria because my flight from China was delayed.
“Events like this are fun for international students and it helps them to find out more about Newcastle.”
Albert Lim, a fourth-year medical student at Newcastle University, also spent the day welcoming new students.
He said: “It’s a good introduction to Newcastle. When you first go to a new country you don’t know where to go for help.
“This saves a lot of time and effort for international students and helps them to find out about the City.”
Anita Bedie, the City Council’s community development officer, said that the day was an effective way to encourage international students to make the most of their time in Newcastle.
She said: “It’s an opportunity for students to enjoy the culture, engage in voluntary work and get a well-rounded experience during their time here.”
Northumbria international student Alex Sie Sun said he enjoyed the event.
The 24-year-old Business with Finance student, from China, said: “International Community Day helps students to find out where to go and how to settle in Newcastle. It’s a really useful event.”
And Emeka Chibuike, a Nigerian student at Newcastle University, also felt he got a lot out of the day.
Emeka, who is starting the first year of an Industrial and commercial bio-technology degree, added: “I’m loving everything about Newcastle, except for the cold!”
The City Council’s Kevin Richardson, who led the short quiz for the students, which was filled with images of local landmarks, football personalities and historical figures, said: “We began this international event three years ago because some of the students said that they felt like they were stuck on campus.
“The idea is to get people off campus and encourage them to discover more of the City.”
Pictured: Alex Sie Sun posts a welcome note in Mandarin
Posted: November 21, 2008