21 August 2009

Welcome to New Students for Term 2 at IPC

By Shirley Ghozalli. Edited by Moira Blake.

New August intake Students with IPC President Prof. Wayne Edwards

This week IPC is welcoming 21 students from 9 countries: China, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. On Wednesday, 19th August, the second day of the Orientation program for these new students, a morning tea gathering was organized. This was to give the new students an opportunity to meet and get to know IPC staff members and vice versa.

The morning tea was part of a 4-day orientation program designed to give the students important information, make sure they are placed in the correct study programmes and help them adapt to their new environment. Before the morning tea the new students and some current IPC students acting as Buddies had taken part in activities to help them get to know one another. Afterwards, they had various sessions in small groups to deal with essential matters for students living on campus, many of them away from home for the first time. They were also introduced to EOC (Education outside the Classroom) and challenged to set themselves some goals and take part in some of the activities offered.

Informal Campus tours, an introduction to the Students Association and an activity run by them, as well as an English test are also included in the programme on campus. A trip to Palmerston North city is also arranged for students from outside New Zealand to set up their bank accounts, introduce them to key places in town, and enable them to become familiar with the bus service. Buddies are their guides for most of this.

Culture shock is an inevitable effect when moving into a new country. If the effect is unpleasant and lasts a long time, it can hinder the study process of the affected students. It is recommended that all new IPC students take part in this program. In this way, they are equipped to handle their studies well, find support when they need it, and deal with any culture shock they may experience, and enjoy their time studying at IPC.

Term 2 classes will begin on 24th August. Optional activities are also offered during this week. They are a movie night, and a farm visit and bush walk.

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