Each year the Welcome Point at the University of Warsaw offers a series of events to help new international students and doctoral candidates to familiarise with the academic environment of the UW.
The Welcome Month is a yearly initiative of the Welcome Point of the University of Warsaw. Students and doctoral candidates from abroad can get familiarised with new academic and social surroundings of the university. Newly-admitted students can take part in meetings with their peers, chat about student’s rights and obligations, go around the university campus with a guide, participate in a library training, Polish culture workshops and many more.
Welcome Day
The Welcome Day traditionally starts a series of events for new international degree-seeking UW students. During that day meetings that are held in either Polish, or English, create an opportunity to learn about the structure and functions of academic units, basic rules and principles of the university, as well as obtain more other useful information. Representatives of the administration offices are available to talk about procedures and regulations. Further, representatives of the Students’ Union of the UW are eager to present student’s rights and obligations as well as give a lot of practical information and useful tips on student’s life at the campus.
The meeting with the Students’ Union is held on 29th September at 13:00 on the main campus at Krakowskie Przedmieście. For those who are not able to take part in a stationary event, the Welcome Point is organising an additional online meeting in the first week of October.
More details can be found on the Welcome Point’s website >>
Campus orientation in Poland
In cooperation with the University of Warsaw Museum, the Welcome Point offers guided walks around the university campus at Krakowskie Przedmieście. The initiative is called the “Campus Orientation” and is provided for Polish and non-Polish speaking students and doctoral candidates. The tour guide shows the most important buildings that are situated within the main campus area, such as Kazimierzowski Palace as the university’s oldest building and the seat of the UW authorities, Tyszkiewicz-Potocki Palace as an aristocratic residence for the last Polish king’s niece, etc.
The guided walks need prior registration from their participants:
- in English, 29th September at 14:30 – a registration form >>
- in Polish, 4th October at 13:00 – a registration form >>
The tours’ starting point is at the Main Gate of the University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28.
More details are available on the WP website >>
Onboarding at the UW
The Welcome Point also invites all the international students and doctoral candidates to the “Onboarding at the University of Warsaw” workshops. The activities provide a smooth assimilation to the academic environment in Poland, its norms and customs, and communication models in multicultural surroundings. The participants will also have a chance to discuss and exchange their ideas and experiences in particular situations related to studying at the University of Warsaw.
The workshops are held on:
- 5th October at 15:30 for MA and BA students, and doctoral candidates – a registration form >>
- 10th October at 15:30 – this meeting, under the ZIP programme, is dedicated specifically to: 2nd and 3rd year BA (undergraduate) students, 4th and 5th year long-cycle students, and MA (post-graduate) students – a registration form >>
More information is provided on the WP website >>
Library training
The library training in one of the must-have list items to check off. This year the international students can take part in the training on two different dates. Each meeting is held in the building of the University of Warsaw Library at Dobra 55/66. The participants will learn about the UW libraries’ online collections as well as they will be shown library procedures such as signing up, searching and using the BUW’s traditional and electronic catalogues.
The trainings are organised on 13th October at 11:00 and 18th October at 15:00.
To join the workshop, prior registration is required.
Details are provided on the WP website >>
Cultural orientation workshops
The cultural orientation workshops help newcomers to overcome their apparent communication and culture shock experience. New international students and doctoral candidates are presented with tools to facilitate their assimilation to the Polish culture and the multicultural environment at the UW. Further, they are shown Poland and the city of Warsaw to help them understand and deal with any situations and problems they might encounter.
The workshops are organised on:
- 12th October at 15:30 for MA and BA students and doctoral candidates – a registration form >>
- 19th October at 15:30 – this meeting, under the ZIP programme, is dedicated specifically to: 2nd and 3rd year BA (undergraduate) students, 4th and 5th year long-cycle students, and MA (post-graduate) students – a registration form >>
More information is provided on the WP website >>
Welcome Point
The Welcome Point (WP) was officially opened in September 2017. The unit is a central information service point for international students, doctoral candidates and employees. It is located in three sites within the University of Warsaw: the main campus at Krakowskie Przedmieście, the Ochota campus – the CeNT building, and the Faculty of Economic Sciences.
At the beginning of each academic year, the Welcome Point opens its temporary branch, called “pavilion”, on the small courtyard of the main campus. The WP team together with students provide various kinds of information on university-related issues, e.g. formal procedures, course registrations, as well as those regarding the university library (BUW), an electronic student card, student organisations, language classes, cultural and sports activities, etc.