In keeping with tradition, the academic year at Széchenyi István University will begin this year with a fantastic “zero week” where the freshmen will get to know each other and the university with a series of events on both the Győr and Mosonmagyaróvár campuses. The aim of the events is also to ensure that by the end of the “zero week” activities, the participants will have been forged into a real and genuine community, the freshest and youngest members of the Széchenyi family.
Once again, the campuses of the Széchenyi István University in Győr and Mosonmagyaróvár are full of students: the newest citizens of the institution arrived recently to start the next stage of their lives in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.
During the events, the freshmen are informed about the most important issues that concern them, including the basics of the university education system, scholarships and grants, and sports opportunities. And in the “subject briefings” organised by the Student Union, everyone can hear first-hand the most important information, advice and survival tips for their own academic program from experienced upper year students, as well as related lecturers and mentors from the various faculties.
The most important goal of the Freshers’ Week and the Mosonmagyaróvár Balektábor is to integrate newcomers into the university community: learning about the institutional traditions, integrating with their peers, and getting a taste of student life. All this in teams, under the supervision of team leaders, in a playful way, competing with each other – and of course, in the evenings, with parties to relieve the days’ fatigue.
“Freshers’ Week and Bale Camp are two of the most important and biggest events of the Student Union and in terms of preparation, it’s like putting on a small festival,” Dávid Vályi Nagy, this year’s camp leader, explained. He added that this year – in sync with the record-breaking enrolment numbers – the number of places has been increased by nearly a fifth, so more freshmen, upperclassmen and organisers are participating in the week’s events than ever before.
This year, the organisers have also introduced some new features compared to previous years, raising the quality standard of the event and making it run more smoothly.
“On the first day, we’ve prepared optional activities for freshmen, who can try their hand at night football or dorm bouncers, in addition to team activities. We’ve also revamped the final competition, where this time teams can showcase their choreography on the Bridge Garden stage, after which we’ll move to the parking lot area to continue with playful exercises. Another new feature is that this time the catering will be controlled by using your student card, which will greatly simplify both the operation and administration processes.”
– said Greta Borda, Assistant Camp Manager.
On behalf of the management of Széchenyi István University, Dr. Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International and Strategic Relations, welcomed the freshmen at the opening of the Freshers’ Week, saying that nearly 5,000 students had chosen Hungary’s sixth best higher education institution as their place of study, and then continued to welcome the newest members of the international student community from more than 70 countries. Dr Csaba András Dézsi, Mayor of the host city, stressed that Győr is a fantastic place to train professionals who can find a job before they graduate.
In addition to Fresher’s Week or Gólyahét in Hungarian, the Student Self-Government of the Széchenyi István University is also organising a smaller camp for students of the faculty in Mosonmagyaróvár, called Balektábor, in keeping with the centuries-old tradition of the farmers of Órtár. Participants can get to know each other and university life through a variety of activities.
“We make sure that our freshmen have fun and bond with each other: they can take part in team games, concerts, a cooking competition and a hike to the Hanság Museum, among other activities. We also think it’s important for them to get to know our traditions and the career paths of our former students: the song garden is an excellent opportunity to do so, where graduated farmers tell stories about their life paths after graduation” – said Gábor Horváth, President of the Student Self-Government at the Albert Kázmér Mosonmagyaróvár Faculty.
The three-day event is a great opportunity for the first-year students to explore the Mosonmagyaróvár campus, as well as having fun. During the campus tour, they can also get to know the heads of the departments and the lecturers. The Bale Camp will end on Friday at the Győr Freshers’ Week when the freshmen from Mosonmagyaróvár will arrive as a team to visit with the Győr freshmen and hence the greater Széchenyi University student community.
