Our presentation outlines the Tampere University international degree students’ onboarding process on- and offline from acceptance to the University to the end of the first year of studies. Get practical tips, hear about our onboarding practices, and gain ideas and insights into creating, developing and evaluating an inclusive FYE for international students.
EFYE2024 – CopenhagenAcademic integration/belonging | Social integration/belonging
| This presentation looks at the first-year experiences in the Tampere University study community and addresses the everyday questions related to creating, developing and evaluating them. The presentation focuses specifically on the international degree students’ onboarding process and we will share our model for this as well as practical tips on how we have tried to improve the experience of our students. In the presentation we look at how the sense of belonging can positively influence the student experience both academically and socially and how we are trying to create a community where every student feels valued and connected. In addition to sharing our onboarding process practices, the presentation will also look at some approaches we use for evaluating the impact of our FYE efforts. The session focuses on building a community and togetherness through an orientation programme that involves the degree programmes, faculties, student associations, and internal and external services at Tampere and the University. These are brought as close to students as possible, aiming to create a sense of agency and participation for every student from day one. Our goal is to promote a culture that embraces openness, equality, and approachability for all students, especially those who might come to Finland from different cultural norms. The presentation can offer strategies, insights and ideas into practices and models for FYE. As we continuously try to improve our processes, we hope to get the discussion going and hear about experiences from other higher education institutions, too, particularly regarding their international student body. |
What do participants experience or learn?
Academic teaching staff, Student mentor/tutor, Administrative staff, Academic adviser.
Relevant for all students, but with a specific focus:
International students
Students as participants.