The rector, Dr. Eduardo Hebel, received the new students and invited them to enjoy university life and to be part of this institution of excellence. The activities of the University Insertion Program (PIU) took place during the first days of March.

Dr. Eduardo Hebel, the rector of the Universidad de La Frontera, invited the 2300 new undergraduate students during the welcoming ceremony 2019 to enjoy university life and to be proud of being part of this university that is one of the “Universities of Excellence” in Chile.

The freshmen came to the Olympic Stadium of the university to start this new stage in their lives, being part of one of the 45 undergraduate programs at the six different faculties of the Universidad de La Frontera. They have been welcomed by university authorities, the program directors and higher-grade students.

“A very special time in your lives is starting today and it will mark you for life. Each experience you will gain during the learning process for your future profession will be really important. I invite you to make the best out of this time, to enjoy it and, above all, I hope that it will be a success for your personal and professional development and that you will be able to make and be part of the social changes our region and our country need.” This was part of the message the rector, Eduardo Hebel, delivered to the new students.

The university authority emphasized that the UFRO receives this new generation of students with a recent accreditation of six years in all areas and with big challenges in the fields of research, internationalization and interculturality.

The ceremony started with a presentation of the Folkloric Ballet of the Universidad de La Frontera called “Magia Chilena”, who showed their full artistic talent in order to give the freshmen a special welcome.
After that, the organizational psychologist Roland Saavedra Castro made a species of academic coaching for the students, through different activities, such as “The Marshmallow Challenge”, and revealed some concepts that are key for the success in university-life, such as organization, perseverance and responsibility.

The activities at the welcoming ceremony for the new UFRO students in 2019 have been organized by the University Insertion Program (PIU), which promotes an easier start in higher education for freshmen.

“I chose the UFRO because it has all I need and it is the best option in the whole region for studying what I wanted to. I really liked the activities at the welcoming ceremony. It helped to get to know our fellow students better and to get to know the university authorities”, Nicolás Morales said, who just entered the program in Physical Education Pedagogy, Sports and Recreation.

“This welcoming ceremony is very fun and helps a lot to prepare for what is coming next. I think that this welcoming activity is unique and I liked that the activities included everyone. I chose the UFRO because I always knew that it provides an education of high quality”, Fredy Araos confirmed, who is beginning to study Law.