Welcome Reception for Incoming Students
On 25 April, 2023, the International Office hosted its first Welcome Reception for the new exchange students since the Covid pandemic.
The official welcome and speeches took place in the historical Main Ceremonial Hall, followed by a buffet in the Small Ceremonial Hall. Nearly 1000 incoming students start their exchange semester at the University of Vienna every academic year. At the reception representatives of the University officially welcomed them. Incoming exchange students (Erasmus+, Non-EU Student Exchange Programme) of the current summer semester as well as exchange students of the winter semester who stayed for the summer semester were invited. Mobility coordinators, representatives of ESN - Erasmus Student Network at the University of Vienna and staff of the International Office responsible for student mobility were also present. The invitation was very well received, with up to 400 registrations and over 300 students attending the reception.
The well-attended Ceremonial Hall shortly before the start of the event.
Barbara Good, the head of the International Office moderated the event.
Vicerector Manuela Baccarini spoke kind words of welcome.
Manuela Baccarini, Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs.
Monika Voithofer, who is a Mobility Coordinator at the Department of Musicology spoke about the university of Vienna being a home for the incoming students.
Victoria Vanbellinghen, an incoming law student from the Université catholique de Louvain, which is also a Circle U. partner of the University of Vienna, told us about her experience in Vienna so far.
President Pia Irmer, Vice President Verena Aistleitner and Treasurer Christina Dobler from ESN (Erasmus+ Student Network) also attended the event.
The team of the International Office (f.l.t.r.): Michaela Fiska, Karin Krall, Siina Karbin, Maria Risku, Christina Schuster, Katharina Ferrando, Sabrina Karahodzic. Especially at the beginning of the semester, the colleagues from the studend mobility team of the International Office support the incoming students with advice and practical help.
After the official opening, the informal part of the evening started with a buffet.
Some further impressions of the event...
A few fun facts for the current academic year
- This year's exchange students come from partner universities in 28 countries.
- These are the top 5 countries of origin for our incoming students :
Erasmus+: Germany (225), Italy (100), France (97), UK (65), Spain (59)
Non-EU Student Exchange Programme: USA, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Kanada - The top 5 degree programmes for our incoming students are:
Law (151), International Business Administration (87), German Philology (84), Political Sciences (70); between 40 and 50 incomings study History, Psychology, Translation Studies - The Partner Universities who are sending the most students this year are:
University of Ljubljana (28), Humboldt Universität Berlin (23), University of Bologna (22) - Twice as many female exchange students are here than male students (675 vs 313)
- The shortest distance from their home university to the University of Vienna was travelled by students from Bratislava (55 km), the longest distance this year was travelled by Erasmus+ students from Las Palmas (Gran Canaria/Spain 3523 km) and by students within the Non-EU Student Exchange Programme from Sydney, Australia (15,973.44 km).