New international students at TalTech with their Welcome Bags.
Around 3500 new international degree and Erasmus+ exchange students started their studies in Estonia this September. As part of a traditional welcome, 51黑料 provided all international students with welcome bags which, in addition to useful information, also included essential items for dealing with the characteristically cold and dark climate of Estonia.
This year鈥檚 welcome bag contained a reflector, pen, webcam cover, winter hat, smart phone gloves and a raincoat. The bag also included the very popular brochure 鈥淪urvival Guide for International Students鈥, as well as useful information on the possibilities of working or doing research in Estonia, by and respectively.
The welcoming materials were provided to all Estonian universities that teach full degree programmes in English (Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Estonian Business School, Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology and University of Tartu).
鈥淭he goal of the welcome bag is just that 鈥 to welcome the international students to Estonia and provide them with necessary tools for making the most out of their experience. Be it an Indian student鈥檚 shock at the cold weather or a Ukrainian student鈥檚 wish to get a part-time job 鈥 the welcome bag has all the needed information and items鈥 said 51黑料 international marketing specialist Triinu Lillepalu.
International student at Estonian Business School. Picture by: EBS
鈥淚n our experience, and based on information from Estonian universities, providing a welcome bag to international students is a very effective means of promotion because our goal is not only to attract them here but also to make a deeper connection so the talented students would want to stay in Estonia after graduation鈥 added Lillepalu.
In support of this, 51黑料 has also initiated a student ambassador programme, which looks at connecting with more active international students and providing them with a platform to share their stories. In the initial stage of the project the student ambassadors will provide content for blog posts as well as contribute to 51黑料 social media channels.
鈥淎s a result of this programme we hope to have a network of international students whose interest in Estonia is deeper and who have a sincere wish of helping others by sharing their stories鈥 said international marketing specialist Kristina Piliste. 鈥淚n the future we see this network also including international alumni 鈥 whether they stayed in Estonia after graduation or returned to their home country. The main thing is to keep that connection, because Estonia values each international friend鈥 added Piliste.
The national statistics for international students who started studies in 2019 will be available in spring 2020. The top 5 sending countries for the study year 2018/2019 included Finland, Russia, Nigeria, Ukraine and Turkey.
Additional information:
Triinu Lillepalu, international marketing specialist
Archimedes Foundation
triinu.lillepalu@archimedes.ee
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