New Students Get Taste of What It Is Like to Study at Wittenborg in Online Talk with Staff

See you in September! Virtual Meet-and-Greet with New Students for the 2020/21 Academic Year

Students and staff from Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences teamed up last week to host a virtual meet-and-greet with international students who are to start the new academic year in September. The students logged in from a diversity of countries including Japan, Georgia, India, Nigeria, Iran and Cameroon. Even Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng joined in specially from her summer holiday to welcome them all to Wittenborg. 

The online meet-up enabled newbies to ask questions and get feedback on what it is like to study at Wittenborg and in the Netherlands, meet some of their future teachers and fellow students as well as share information about themselves and why they chose to study in the Netherlands. Some also voiced concern about COVID-19 restrictions and how it affects their ability to travel at the moment.  

While some students will study at Wittenborg's main campus in Apeldoorn, others will be students at Wittenborg Amsterdam and some of its partner institutions, like New European College (NEC) in Munich, Germany.

Feng urged students to start thinking of their future careers from the first day of their studies. "At Wittenborg we try to prepare you for your future career and we would like you to see it not just as a place to learn and take exams, but actively think about your future. Your success is why we are here. We hope to see you soon and please take care in the meantime."

A number of academic staff members and admissions officers also joined the meeting. One of them was the Head of Wittenborg's School for Hospitality, Esther Bakker, who said that many of the members of staff, like her, were once international students themselves. "We are very experienced in taking care of you as international students, having gone through the process ourselves."

Many students shared how they kept themselves occupied during the COVID-19 crisis in their own countries and what they learned during this period. Miranda Mengot from Cameroon, who will join Wittenborg in September to do an IBA in Logistics and International Trade, said she has gone back to her old passions: drawing and reading. "Keeping indoors is something I have been doing. Everyone is doing what they can to stay safe."

WUP 27/7/2020
by James Wittenborg
©WUAS Press