One of these students is Noor Verhoeven. ‘I just moved to Enschede, but originally I’m from the nearby city of Borne. I hope to meet a lot of new people during this introduction period. My study is going to be Creative Technology and I’m curious to see what student life in Enschede has to offer.’
Free pizza
Another student who just arrived is Arousha Tofigh, who is going to study Civil Engineering. ‘This market already looks very interactive to me. I just moved to the Netherlands from Dubai and I have secured a room on campus. I would love to meet other international students or possibly other students from Dubai. The sports they offer here look interesting to me and I just had free pizza. It’s great to have a bike, that makes it much easier to get to places.’
It’s quite crowded at the Dimensie stand, a bit further away from the entrance. The spoken language is English, but you can also hear German and Dutch. Board members and their successors have their hands full convincing new students to join the study association. ‘It’s going quite well,’ says Julian Steinke, the current chairman of Dimensie. ‘A lot of international students have enrolled for this study programme. I think we can count on about 80 percent of them being international, which is about what we expected.’
Overwhelming
One of the new Psychology students is Justin Ueckmann from Germany, who now lives in Enschede. ‘The Kick-In is really overwhelming. Not only when it comes to the information we’re getting, but also impression-wise. But I’m enjoying myself. Most people are around my age, which makes it easy to connect to other students. The activities I’m mostly looking forward to? The sports games tomorrow and the pool party.’
Someone else who still has to process all the information, is Jaime de Bruin. ‘The market is filled with promotion folders. I hope to meet a lot of new people in Enschede. And I assume I have to put some effort into my study, but to be honest I’m mostly looking forward to the student parties. I’m going to study Civil Engineering and I already became member of study association ConcepT.’
Juggling and hamburgers
It’s a bit more quiet at the stand of juggling association CatchUp. Judith Friesen, a member of the association, says that a lot of people are trying to juggle, with mixed results. ‘They stick around for a bit and then continue walking around the market. We have a small association with about 21 members. After our introduction practices, we hope to welcome more members, of course. The fun part about a small association is that you know everyone on a personal level, which adds to the informal atmosphere.’
At student association Taste, it’s a lot less quiet, looking at the full terrace. ‘It’s going quite well,’ says Reinoud Mulder. ‘I only focus on the Kick-In as a committee member. Our association is celebrating its thirty-year anniversary, so of course we’re planning on making an impact. The kiddos are in line for free hamburgers and the atmosphere is great. My advice for the new students would be to stop by and enjoy some nice parties while you’re here.’
Sustainability
The person overseeing the entire operation is Elin Biel, the chairperson of the Kick-In committee. ‘We’re expecting around 1600 to 1700 students, that’s more than last year. Until now, everything is going well. There were some minor speed bumps, but we haven’t ran into major obstacles. We have an extensive plan for every activity. Added to that, all activities are equipped for changing weather conditions. So whether it’s extremely hot or wet or something in between, we’re prepared.’
One of the aspects that’s getting more attention this Kick-In is sustainability. ‘It’s hard to make radical changes from one year to another,’ says Biel. ‘But we now have bags and bottles made of easily recyclable materials. And we’re separating waste. This way, we strive for a more sustainable introduction period every year.’
‘We’ve also paid attention to the Master Kick-In, which we think we brought to a higher level,’ Biel continues. ‘There is more focus on the future careers of students, since we think that’s interesting for them. My recommendation this year? I would say the open-air theatre at the Oude Markt in the city center.’
Weather forecast: bad for the weekend, afterwards better
Jordi Huirne is a meteorologist at Weeronline. He gives his weather forecast for this introduction period:
‘Today is still a warm day, with a maximum of 27 degrees Celsius. But tonight, the warm summer weather will be driven away, leading to colder weather from Friday onwards. That’ll mean rain and thunderstorms. And a maximum temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius.’
‘Saturday, it’s even colder with 18 degrees Celsius and a lot of rain. Sunday, the odds for rain are a bit smaller and it’s a bit warmer than Saturday. Monday, there’s still a chance of rain, but temperatures keep increasing. The remaining days of the Kick-In are quite pleasant, with only a small chance of rain here and there and a temperature between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius.’
