12 September 2008

Freshers class of 2008 arrives at Dundee

NOTE: Photo opps from around 10 am Monday morning - students in City Square followed by academic procession from City Chambers to Caird Hall at 10.15 am

The University of Dundee will welcome around 3500 new arrivals on Monday (Sept 15th) when this year’s class of new undergraduates and postgraduates start their academic year.

Hundreds of students will fill City Square early on Monday morning before moving into the Caird Hall, where they will be welcome to Dundee by the University Principal Sir Alan Langlands, Lord Provost John Letford, and Dundee University Students Association President Dave McLeod.

'Today is one of the real highlights of the academic calendar - every year the University is refreshed and strengthened by the arrival of successive generations of new students. We welcome students from every continent and we will do everything in our power to ensure that they benefit from excellent learning and teaching and a friendly and welcoming campus environment,' said Sir Alan Langlands.

Lord Provost John Letford said, 'Dundee University, along with the whole city, is increasingly becoming a destination of choice for some of the brightest and best students in the UK and beyond.'

'I am pleased to be representing the city at this event, and I hope that the hand of welcome that we are extending to this new intake of young people is only the beginning of a long term friendship that will bear fruit for everyone involved.'

David MacLeod, President of the Students’ Association, said that every effort was being made to ensure the students would feel comfortable in their new surroundings.

'I remember the Welcome when I came to university and I think it is an important part of making students feel at home here in Dundee and at the University,' he said.

'The atmosphere is great and I think students leave the ceremony with a good appreciation of what it is to be a part of the Dundee University community.'

The new additions to the University community have a strong international flavour, with students coming to Dundee from the likes of Nigeria, China, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Poland.

To help students to settle in, there will be a whole range of information and awareness sessions as well as social and cultural events organised by Student Services and the Students’ Association over the course of the next week. A large number of enthusiastic student peer connectors will also be highly visible on campus - in their striking yellow T-shirts - providing valuable help and advice to students as they settle into University life.

Students are given every opportunity to get to know the University and the city before they even arrive here. All new students, from the time they became applicants to the University, are able to access the University’s My Dundee site, a web-based student portal giving students access to learning materials, student clubs and societies, and many other resources.

They can explore the site and find out more about their chosen degree course, what they could expect on arrival at the University, and furthermore what the city has to offer.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk