Welcome Home Mingle - students evaluated their semester abroad
On 4 February, a "Welcome Home Mingle" was arranged for the first time in the University Library at Jönköping University (JU), for students who have been on a semester abroad during the autumn semester. The purpose of the mingle was to let students talk about their experiences from studying abroad and get the opportunity to give feedback on what they think the process was like, from submitting the application to being abroad.
It is the International Office (IO) at JU that organized the mingle. In previous years, they have used smaller ‘Debriefing meetings’, where students have had the opportunity to talk about their studies abroad and give feedback on their exchanges. This year, IO chose to organise a larger and more relaxed event, where students could share their experiences with each other and with IO staff.
Hear students talk about their experiences during the semester abroad in the video below. (English subtitles available).
"Valuable feedback"
Mudar Hill, International Relations Manager at IO, was one of several staff members who mingled with the recently returned students on Tuesday afternoon. Mudar and his colleagues were very pleased with the event and could see a increased engagement and valuable feedback, both good and bad, from the students.
"We had more students attending than at previous events we have organised, which gave us a great opportunity to hear about their experiences and see how they have been getting on," says Mudar.
Mudar Hill talked to several students about their semester abroad, and received a lot of valuable feedback.
IO organises inspirational sessions for students before the semester abroad, where they are informed about course selection, application processes and finding accommodation. During the semester abroad, IO staff are available to students if they need help, which was also evaluated during the mingle, which they see as a recurring feature for the next return of students
"We also received many valuable suggestions for improvement. Especially on how to prepare students better and which partners we should review, for example where courses were not up to standard or accommodation was difficult to find," Mudar concludes.
