This semester, 36 mobility students from different countries and universities came to Universidad de La Frontera, 29 to join the undergraduate programs and 7 to join the graduate programs.

The International Affairs Office of Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) organized an orientation week for the new incoming mobility students, with the traditional welcome ceremony, in which the students were able to get to know the numerous programs and offers that will make their stay in the La Araucanía region in Chile a unique experience.

The first orientation meeting, led by Antonia Espinoza Corzo, the head of the Student Mobility Office, consisted of a series of talks on topics of great utility for the incoming students, such as enrolment and subject registration procedures and the presentation of UFROs different units, which will be very useful for the students’ acclimatisation.

“We invited those units that might contribute to the success of our incoming students, such as the Student Development Office, with its student clubs and associations, and the health department; and the Office of Comprehensive Training and Employability, to present the offer of elective subjects, which the mobility students can choose from, as well as language courses, which also include English and Spanish. The initiative Temuco Univerciudad (“UniverCity”) was also present, showing them the large offer of activities in our city,” Antonia Espinoza pointed out.

In addition to the 29 undergraduate students who join UFRO during the second semester, seven graduate students from different countries in America and Europe arrived in Temuco.

“Throughout the semester, we organize several activities, such as trips, fairs and festivals organized by the International Affairs Office and the university; events organized by the members of our Buddy Program; and activities organized by the initiative Temuco Univerciudad, which are open to all mobility students in the city of Temuco,” Antonia Espinoza explained.

It is worth mentioning that the welcome ceremony gave start to the official Orientation Week, which also included the workshop “Living abroad”, where the young students received a number of tips on how to confront the possible challenges of international student mobility; a tour around the city of Temuco; and a welcome activity organized by the “Buddy Program”, which consists of local students who support the incoming mobility students to facilitate their adaptation process.

THE STUDENTS

	Cristian Luna, Nursing, National Autonomous University of Mexico “This activity was very helpful and interesting. Temuco offers a lot of things to do and places to discover, and also the offer of activities here at UFRO sounds very interesting.”
	Millaray Lefimán, deputy director of the Buddy Program of the Student Mobility Office “I presented our program today. The incoming students had the chance to contact us before coming to Chile, so we could help them with issues such as where to go, what clothes to bring, and so on. We wanted them to know that we are a team that works together and that there is an outreach team and our team leaders. Today, we wanted to show them what we do and the activities we have planned for them throughout the semester.”
	Lisa Van Zutphen, International Relations, University of Groningen, the Netherlands “I think that this activity is very useful and interesting, since I did not know anything about UFRO, only those things that my contact of the Buddy Program told me. In the Netherlands, I study International Relations and at UFRO, I will take several courses in Psychology. After receiving all the information today, I think I will also choose an elective in athletics.”