Every start of the school year is synonymous of the arrival of hundreds of new students at ISEP, including a growing number from other countries. As usually, ISEP have prepared a lot of events to receive the new members such as Welcome Week.
Intended for international and mobility students, this event took place between 12th and 16th September. With the main purpose of making integration a lot easier, the International Office had planned a program full of activities: guided tours; health and safety talks; informative sessions about the challenges of integration and software at ISEP; and even moments of relaxing like a Sports event.
“I have been in some activities of Welcome Week. I think it was really helpful because they gave to us a lot of information. To be honest, I was surprised with all the solicitude. There were many indications given such as several telephone contacts for emergency cases”, said Robert, a student coming from Estonia.
This year the new mobility incoming students come from 20 different countries, from Europe to South America, even including Asia. Comparing to last year, we found a 45 percent increase in the number of students”, claimed Alexandra Trincão, coordinator of the Division of Cooperation and Image.
In fact, the international interest around ISEP is increasing a lot. Some of the reasons for international and mobility students’ choice are the ISEP’s fame and the positive past experiences from their friends and colleagues. “I’ve chosen ISEP based on reports of my friends”, said Hanna, a student coming from Poland.
The friendliness of the people is also one of the factors identified in order to explain the preference for ISEP. “I’ve chosen Portugal because Portuguese people are very nice, also the weather is very cool over here”, claimed Pepe, from Spain. In turn, Maira, from Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) added: “I was very well-received and Oporto it’s a beautiful city.”
The students’ mobility still remains as a very important part of international strategies for ISEP. In true, the more recent numbers are pointing to an increasing of the ISEP’s international image.