At the end of October, Studierendenwerk Thüringen held the first welcome events for new residents of its halls of residence in Ilmenau and Schmalkalden. The welcome events were initially held in Ilmenau and Schmalkalden as part of the pilot project launched in March 2023 to improve the arrival situation.
With the Welcome Events, the Studierendenwerk aims to meet new residents with their questions and wishes directly after their arrival and provide them with helpful tips and information about the rules in the hall of residence and life on campus. During the event, all contact persons from the on-site housing department will be available to answer questions. These include administrators, janitors and housing tutors. They will answer students' questions about housing and give practical advice on how the washing machines work, for example, who to contact if you are locked out or have lost your key, or what to do when separating waste.
"I'm completely new to Germany and have never been here before. The event gave me a lot of important information - basic information that is not self-evident for international students. I think it's a very useful event, especially for international students," says Geraldo Vitor de Resende. He comes from Brazil and is studying for a Bachelor's degree in International Business Law.
Another focus of the event is on students getting to know each other: it provides a framework for making new friends. This is an important aspect of settling in quickly at a new place of study. Representatives from the student club and other cultural initiatives were also present so that students know what they can do on campus and where they can go out. After the informative part, the students came together for dinner in a relaxed atmosphere in the canteen.
Lala Alakbarova, Hiba Ouldhadj, Alina Kajlaeva and Gunay Gadiyeva got to know each other during registration at Schmalkalde Town Hall. "We found the Studierendenwerk event for new residents very informative. We learned a lot of new things about the rules in the hall of residence and about life on campus. The waste separation game was particularly fun and we were delighted with the small prizes."
It helped Ariane Maria Lopes Santos to get in touch with other international students: "As my English is not good, I didn't have the confidence to communicate with others before. Thanks to the interactive games on offer, I was less worried about talking to others."
Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants, Studierendenwerk would like to expand the event format to all locations in Thuringia in the future.
