Calm and pleasant start to reception weeks
On 12 August, there was a roll call at KTH, with anticipation in the air and happy students welcoming new students with dance and music. And isn't it extra fun to come to work when Abbas Gimme, Gimme, Gimme or the Village Peoples YMCA rings out across campus?
According to Pelle Dalhammar, UA at the CBH school, it has been a calm and pleasant start to the reception weeks.
“This is the most intense time of year for us, but there has not been any need for putting out fires this year. The atmosphere on campus has been very good,” he says.
This year's application numbers look good – also for international students – but of course we won't see the real results until the semester really starts.
There are more applicants this year than before for both the Foundation year programme and the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering programme. Sara Naumann, programme manager for Chemical Engineering, is cautiously positive.
“After the call, we had 61 new entrants to Chemical Engineering, compared to 47 last year. Of course, I expect that some of the 61 will disappear and I will also call some reserves. The goal is to have at least 60 at the start of the semester, and this year it actually looks like the student base is sufficient for that,” she says.
This year is the first time that a more extensive reception is also being organised for the Foundation year programme students, which Rose-Marie Hammar, who together with Anders Clenander is responsible for the programme on Campus, thinks is great.
“Since the foundation year is a one-year programme, it is good to create contacts early on that the students can keep even later. The hope is that this will increase the students‘ opportunities to create a social context, give a sense of belonging to the foundation year and create a sense of belonging with classmates and older students,” she says.
Text: Åsa Karsberg