International Student Network Nijmegen

DAY ONE: REGISTRATION

One half of life is preparation, the other half is improvisation. As you are in the Netherlands now, it goes without saying that an umbrella and winter gloves are essential items of your survival gear all through this year.

Registration in Cultuur Café

20:00 - 21:00 @ Cultuur Café, University campus

You will probably already have signed up for the orientation days by e-mail. Tonight in the Cultuur Café, which is located on the campus of the Radboud University, you will be able to register formally for the orientation days. Here you will meet your fellow international students. We will assign you to a mentor group and introduce you to your Dutch mentors who will guide you during the orientation days.

Please don’t forget to bring €35. Included in the price are all the activities of the orientation days (restaurant, parties, excursion) except for the costs of the mentor dinners.

Welcome Party

22:30 – end @ Café Piecken, Professor Bromstraat

Of course we end this day partying. The ISN prides itself with a long history of organizing excellent parties. We consider partying to be serious business and have therefore made it one of our standard activities. If partying is what you like, this ISN activity will make sure you will have lots of fun during your stay.

DAY TWO: CITY OF NIJMEGEN

Word of welcome in the old city hall

16:00 @ Korte Nieuwstraat 6

Today we will give you an impression of our city. The mayor himself will welcome you to Nijmegen in the medieval city hall. The city hall is otherwise closed to the public but will be opened especially for you, so please be on time. We will meet in front of the city hall.

Guided city tour

16:30 - 18:00

To get you acquainted with the city in which you will be studying the upcoming period, your mentors will show you around the center of Nijmegen. Starting at the city hall they will guide you through the lovely streets of Nijmegen, along the river Waal, and into the shopping area. They will give you some historical background information and practical tips on where to look for what.

Dinner in a restaurant

18:00 - 20:00

Hopefully the city tour gave you a good impression of Nijmegen and made you feel excited about studying here. After such a walk you probably feel hungry. Let’s have dinner!

Supersonic Pub Crawl

20:00 - 23:00

That’s better. With our stomachs filled we can go for a drink, or several. To give you an idea of the many nice pubs we have in Nijmegen we have selected some of the liveliest ones for you. Every 45 minutes your mentors will take you to another pub where you can take part in some hilarious pub games.

Stereotype Party

23:00

DAY THREE: UNIVERSITY OF NIJMEGEN

Today you will have the opportunity to explore Radboud University and to attend your first ‘lessons’ at the university. You will be welcomed by the International Office. We will meet in front of the tallest building of the university, the Erasmus building.

Dealing with the Dutch: The cultural context of business, work and studies in the Netherlands by Jacob Vossestein

11:00 - 13:00 @ Collegezalen Complex 4

Jacob Vossestein (1949) is a Dutchman with over 20 years of training experience in the field of international management and communications. As an intercultural trainer, he has specialised in working with people from overseas who have contact with the Dutch through their work or studies. Based on these experiences, he wrote the best-selling management book called 'Dealing with the Dutch'. He also writes on other subjects, but always with a link to international cultural encounters. His travels took him to over 60 countries. This interactive lecture is organized by the International Office.

Lunch in the university's restaurant, the Refter

13:00-14:00 @ Refter

We hope that you feel more confident in dealing with the incomprehensible people that we are. Our advice: just smile, nod, and offer us a drink. You have now some time to enjoy the delicacies of our university restaurant. An excellent opportunity to observe the refined Dutch table manners. The costs of your lunch are not included in the price of the orientation days.

Word of welcome by the Rector Magnificus and guest speakers

14:00 -14:45 @ Collegezalen Complex 4

The Rector Magnificus of Radboud University, prof. mr. S.C.J.J. Kortmann, will now welcome you officially to Radboud University. Several guest speakers have been invited to present their organizations that might be of interest to you during your stay.

Campus Tour

14:45

When the presentations have finished, guides from the main faculties will show you around the university campus where you will be studying the upcoming period. Guides from the following faculties will be present: Arts, Management, Law and Social Sciences. Once your guided tour has finished, head for the Cultuur Café. Your mentors will be waiting for you here. If there is no representative of your faculty, you can go straight to the Cultuur Café to have a drink with your mentors who might show you around the campus themselves.

Mentor dinners

17:30

One ISN activity, other than our parties, which you will be able to enjoy frequently is the mentor dinner. Every month you can meet with your mentor group and have dinner together at one of your places. This time one of your mentors will invite you at his or her place and will prepare a meal for you and your mentor group. The costs of the mentor dinners are not included in the price of the orientation week.

International students Party

22:00 @ Billabong, van Welderenstraat 126

DAY FOUR: UNIVERSITY SPORT CENTER

Sports day

13.00 @ the University Sports Center (Heyendaalseweg 141)

Radboud University has a very modern sports center. Today you will get to know its many facilities. Do not forget to bring sport shoes, sport clothes and a towel, as well as something to eat. Today your mentors can also help you register at the University Sports Center and obtain a sports card, which gives you access to the sport center's facilities. Do not forget to bring a passport photograph. You might want to have a look on their website. Check-in: 13:00 at the lobby of the sports center.

Mentor dinner

18:00

For the last mentor dinner of the orientation week we would like you to prepare a special dish from your country for your group and especially, given their efforts, for your mentors. During the rest of the year mentor dinners will be organised at least once a month. The idea is that every time a couple of members of a group set it up and invite the others at their place. This can be continued as long as the group is motivated.

Bowling

22:00 @ Bowling Center Olround, Heyendaalseweg 90)

As we will be leaving very early tomorrow morning, we will not be throwing a party tonight. Instead we'll go bowling together! Your mentors will show you the way to the bowling centre.

DAY FIVE: EXCURSION TO AMSTERDAM

Coach to Amsterdam

08:30 @ Central train station of Nijmegen

OK, parties, mentor dinners... what else does ISN do? Well, every month we organise an excursion to one of the many great cities and interesting places in the Netherlands. You can see what excursions we have planned this year under Excursions.Today we will be heading for our capital. Comfortable coaches will drive us to Amsterdam. We gather in front of the central station of Nijmegen, as is usual on our excursions. Be sure you are on time today, i.e. ten minutes early. The bus driver will not wait. If you miss the coach you will miss the whole day and that would be a pity.

Visit to the Maeslantkering

10:00 - 12:00

As you probably know, "Nederland" means "low country". More than half of its population lives below see level. The Dutch people are internationally famous for the ingenuity with which they protect themselves against the thread that the sea poses. Today we will admire one of the marvels of this ingenuity. The Maeslantkering is a storm surge barrier primarily protecting Rotterdam and its surroundings.

Coach to Amsterdam

12:00 - 13:00

Free time in Amsterdam

13:00 - 20:30

From here mentor groups are free to do whatever they want. Discuss the possibilities with your mentors. Please stay with your mentor group. Be aware of the fact that it is forbidden to drink alcohol on the streets of Amsterdam. Please have your passport with you, be aware of your personal belongings, and do not use any drugs. You will be given an emergency phone number. If you have any problems please call us.

Coach to Nijmegen

20:30 

Please make sure you are back at the coaches. Before we arrive at the central station of Nijmegen we will make a stop in Lent to drop off the ones who have settled there.