Lancaster University is set to improve its online guide for international students. It aims to inform prospective students about the culture and student life at Lancaster through a series of short video clips.
The Lancaster International Students’ Guide, according to the current website, is: “made by students, for students”. The editor of the website, Chirag Gude, is calling on both international students and students from the UK that study at Lancaster to contribute to the production of the videos and the online guide. He is appealing for enthusiastic and creative individuals to add to the team with a view to finding new ways to welcome students to the University.
The current guide at international.lusu.co.uk needs to be updated in order to cater for the 2,300 international students that come to the university from over 100 different countries. The search for new contributors to the website is integral to the success of Lancaster’s future international alumni.
The team at Lancaster International Students’ Guide wants to highlight the need for current students to share their experiences of life at Lancaster from different aspects of the work and leisure spectrum. The guide intends to answer any queries or problems that international students may have both before and during their stay at the university. It presents information such as advice on applications, entry requirements, accommodation and the best places to eat on campus.
Starting university is a stressful time for many students and travelling abroad to study and experience a completely different culture can prove even more daunting. Some international students will only study at the university for a term so it is important that they are helped to get the most out of their stay at the university and from their visit to the UK.
The International Student Advisory Service at Lancaster University offers support to students with regards finance, academic difficulties, or problems adjusting to a different culture. The Lancaster University International Students’ Guide, however, addresses ways in which international students can integrate with student life and become aware of activities and events at Lancaster. It provides an aspect on the social life as well as the academic.
Making students feel welcome at the university is a fundamental way of adding to Lancaster’s Alumni Relations Programme which is a network comprised of over 52,000 international graduates. This network emphasizes the value of the work of Chirag Gude and his team with the online guide. The guide requires renewed interest and input if it is to continue attracting international students to Lancaster. In the long term it hopes to strengthen the links between Lancaster University and other countries to create a more cosmopolitan community.
