Fourteen hundred international students explore Leiden during OWL
With its FestivOWL theme, Orientation Week Leiden (OWL) promises to be one big festival for new international students in Leiden. During this introduction week, they will get to know the university, Leiden’s unique traditions − and each other.
It’s Monday morning and 1,400 students from 48 countries have gathered at Lammermarkt. Some make small talk while others wait to see what will happen. The mood soon changes when the board of the 12th OWL takes to the stage to welcome them.
Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl has also come along. ‘I hope you thoroughly enjoy this week. Keep an eye on and take care of each other’, she says.
Then Fleur Spijker, alderman for Economy, Knowledge, Sport and Health, welcomes the students and gives a brief rundown of Leiden traditions such as Leidens Ontzet, the University’s beginnings and, of course, cycling in town.
Singing at OWLovision, dancing at CoachOWLla
After the opening speeches, the students spread out across the square looking for their group so the packed programme can begin. The activities are all festival-themed. A city walk is planned later that day followed by an evening of karaoke hits.
And the rest of the week involves going on a canal tour, discovering the different faculties and the Hortus botanicus, and dancing at the CoachOWLla festival. On Friday, Leiden will be transformed into an orange paradise for a ‘King’s Day’ complete with traditional Dutch games.
How have the students’ first days in Leiden been and are they looking forward to the week?
OWL chair
Daniela, chair of the OWL board, can’t wait for the week to start. She is relaxed because so far everything has gone according to plan. She and the six other board members have worked hard over the past months to put together a great introduction programme.
She grins as she remembers her own OWL: ‘I came to Leiden from Colombia last year and met my best friends here. I want that for other students too. I hope they make friends this week who will join them on this journey, and of course, make great memories.
Murphy and Sophie have come together from Taiwan for the Master’s in Industrial Ecology, a collaboration between Leiden University and Delft University of Technology. A teacher recommended the programme to them because of their background in environmental technology.
They are a bit nervous because the city is new to them. ‘We’ve got an app group with Leiden students from Taiwan, so we’ve already got a few contacts here. But I’m really looking forward to getting to know new people this week,’ says Sophie.
Luca comes from Germany but is already fairly familiar with the Netherlands, having studied in Tilburg before coming to Leiden. He is now doing the Master’s in Public International Law. ‘I moved to The Hague last weekend, which luckily is close to Leiden.’
He doesn’t really have any expectations of OWL and just hopes to meet new people and have lots of fun. The parties on the programme sound promising. ‘What I like about the Dutch is how open and welcoming they are. It’s easy to feel at home here.’
Icebreakers
Once everyone has found their groups, it’s the mentors job to break the ice. Silly games help the students learn people’s names and find out more about one another.
Anna from Switzerland arrived in the Netherlands yesterday for her linguistics programme specialising in language documentation. She still has to get used to young people not giving each other a big hug when they meet like they do in Switzerland.
‘I hope to settle in this week, get to know Leiden, see the university and find out how everything works. But what I’m looking forward to most is the karaoke night!’ Anna is hoping someone will help her find a room soon because she is currently staying with a friend she once met at a conference.
Ali already has a Master’s in Law from his native Turkey but has come to Leiden to specialise in European and International Business Law. He can’t wait to start because he has heard that Leiden has one of the most popular law programmes in the world.
What strikes him most about the Netherlands? ‘It’s so windy here! And everything is so well organised, which I like.’ Ali already has a few Turkish friends here but wants to get to know new cultures and other students from his programme this week.
Sol from Sweden and Morgan from the United States are in the same group and have just met. Sol has come to Leiden for the Master’s in Media Technology. ‘This is the only place where you can do this degree, so I had to come to Leiden’, Sol says.
Morgan is doing a Data Analytics semester. Whereas Sol is loving the bike paths − ‘It feels so safe cycling here compared with Stockholm’ − Morgan is still a bit nervous about cycling but is getting better all the time. Both have already managed to find a room. ‘I think the architecture here is really unique, especially the cool new buildings I’ve seen’, says Sol.
OWL ends on 30 August with the OWLlapalooza, the closing party in Nobel. The EL CID and HOPweek (for students in The Hague) introduction weeks have already taken place.
Text: Jip de Bloois
Photos: Danique ter Horst