Everything is packed up after a long haul of hustle and bustle, from making up your mind to pursue further education in Canada, choosing the best institution and most suitable program, arranging visa documentation, and finally getting approval, all ready to embark on a journey of little known and more unknown to a completely new land.
As the sun is rising on a brand-new chapter of a student’s life. With excitement and a touch of nervousness, newly arrived students gather on the premises of campus for the much-anticipated orientation day. The term “Orientation’ may seem familiar to nearly all students; however, the chances are higher that they are still perplexed in regard to this terminology. In simple terms, it stands for a program or series of events primarily designed to aid new arriving students in familiarizing themselves with the institution, its campuses, resources, residential options, registration, code and conduct, regulations and policies of the institution, and immigration, especially for foreign students.
The fundamental purpose of organizing the event is to help students make a smooth transition to succeeding in their academic achievements, making friends, creating the foundation for success, and perfectly adjusting to a completely new environment and culture. This article primarily focuses on some of the most anticipated objectives and essentials of the orientation:
Welcome Speech:
It is a day that normally sets off with a welcome speech from the institution’s administrators, professors, and student leaders. The main essence of delivering such a speech is to encourage, inspire, and motivate the new students so they can overcome their anxiety about being in a new environment and get all ready to embark on a remarkable academic journey that passionately awaits.
Academic Advising:
It is the best opportunity for new students to meet and interact with academic advisors to navigate their academic programs, course registrations, and academic support services, understand program requirements, and clearly set academic goals. Having a clear understanding of all academic requirements would help new students to pre-plan everything in accordance with their academic and career objectives.
Campus Tours:
It is most likely that many orientation days include essential guided tours to acquaint students with the campus layout, lecture halls or classrooms, libraries, study rooms, cafeterias, parking areas, dormitories, fitness centers, computer labs, or other physical locations to familiarize them. Such a guided tour helps students quickly assimilate to the new environment and focus on their academic ventures without much anxiety.
Social Integration:
Students come across the opportunity to meet and interact with and know one another, build a network with a sense of community where one another can help in need, such as in academics, day-to-day activities, community gatherings, and ultimately even after graduation to seek a professional career. An opportunity such as social integration is a great way to form early friendships and promote a sense of belonging and acquaintance in the absence of loved ones away from home.
Social awareness of the code of conduct, regulations, and policies of the institutions:
On this event day, new students are made aware of the country’s new culture and social life so that they do not stumble unknowingly and can blend in comfortably. As a new entrant in the country, students may lack significant information and knowledge about how social and cultural norms operate. Therefore, it could be the best chance to get to know and act accordingly.
In addition, every institution is governed and operated under a certain set of rules, regulations, and policies, and it is most significant that each student has first-hand information about them in order to prevent them from breaching any provisioned policies and codes of conduct. Thus, orientation day equips the students with what they must know before commencing their adventurous academic ventures.
In a nutshell, orientation is a great way and platform for students not only to learn about the practical facets of the institution but also to begin forming a core understanding about academic phenomena, the institution’s physical locations, building relationships, expanding supporting networks, and establishing a sense of belonging where they feel more comfortable and confident as they begin their academic career by easing the transition into new academic and social settings.
Furthermore, the International Career Counseling Centre (ICCC) is more than committed to offering every visa-granted student the opportunity to participate in a pre-departure session before students take their flight to Canada. In the event, team ICCC, to a large extent, helps students visualize what it seems to be like on the orientation day at the Canadian institution and aids them in preparing what documents to carry with, what to expect after landing in the Canadian airport, further course registration, and so on. Therefore, students applying through the ICCC are most likely to have ample knowledge and information about the orientation at the institution; however, it is strongly advised to participate in the event so there won’t be any sort of misleading situation while navigating through complex academic ventures in Canada.
