Where you can belong #belongatbu

International student life - Location, location, location

• is located in a beautiful part of the UK • Set in the south of , right next to 7 miles of sandy beach • Next door to the historic towns of Poole and Christchurch • Near to the New Forest and the Isle of Purbeck – both beautiful areas of nature • Only 2 hours to London by train • Get travel networks to the rest of the UK including flights to mainland Europe

Life in Bournemouth & Poole UK map

Train travel times

Oxford – 1.5 hours London – 2 hours Bristol – 2.5 hours Birmingham – 3 hours Cardiff – 3.5 hours Manchester – 5 hours Liverpool – 5 hours York – 5 hours Edinburgh – 7.5 hours

Paris – 5 hours Week One – settling into UK life

Week One (19-25 September) includes the following activities to help you settle in:

• Course induction and enrolment • Campus tours • Lectures and workshops to help with:

 Introduction to UK academic life  British Culture and adjusting to life in a new country  Shopping & budgeting  Immigration  Personal Safety

Fun things to do in Bournemouth…

• Take a trip in the Bournemouth balloon • Take a walk along Bournemouth or Pier and… • admire the view of the beach • Get an adrenaline rush on Bournemouth Pier’s zipwire • Visit the Oceanarium • Cheer on ‘The Cherries’ (AFC Bournemouth) with your friends • Enjoy a meal in Charminster with a great choice of restaurants from all around the world.

Trips and Tours

A great programme of excursions throughout the year, starting in Week One (19-25 September)

• London • Isle of Purbeck • Christchurch • Bath • Oxford • Brighton & Chichester • The Isle of Wight • Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The making of Harry Potter

Places to visit in your first term Clubs and Societies

If there isn’t already a society for you, you can Over 100 different clubs and societies set up your own! Recently our Indian • For different nationality groups students came together to create the Bournemouth Bharatiya • Religious societies Club (BBC) • Sports clubs

• Academic societies All BU Students are automatically a part of the Students Union. • Hobbies/interests, e.g.

SUBU can help students  Baking society develop new skills, enhance  Photography society your employability and most  Cocktail society importantly have fun! Volunteering

SUBU Volunteering • 5 minutes • One day • One afternoon every week … whatever suits you! It could be: • Conservation projects • Helping old people • Doing something creative • Setting up a charity event and lots more… On campus facilities

• Four badminton courts • Two Astroturf football pitches • Fully equipped gym/training • Health Zone & Injury Rehabilitation Services • Two dance and activity studios • Spin Studio • Shower/changing rooms and lockers Sports classes

SportBU offers a wide range of activities and programmes for everyone to get involved with. Everything can be accessed on a pay-as-you-go basis but our memberships offer fantastic value for money.

Group Fitness Classes e.g. Step/spin Participation Sport e.g. Netball & Boxing Health Zone & Rehabilitation Services Instructional Courses e.g. martial arts/Dance Intramural Leagues e.g. Football, Table Tennis Gym Memberships Varsity Sport & Scholarships

All teams and athletes compete for BU in the BUCS leagues. We have 42 teams and support numerous individual disciplines. BU was ranked 28th in the overall BUCS league during 2014/2015 (out of 165).

We have identified 4 focus sports (Cricket, Tennis, Golf and Volleyball) in which we compete with the very best institutions in the UK.

Supporting elite athletes is a crucial element of our sports development programming at sportBU. We offer two support programmes for elite athletes -

• BU Sports Scholarship- £500-£5000, apply on-line , athlete pays upfront and then claims money back

• EXCEL – no monetary value attached, in-kind services given e.g. free gym membership, weekly sports massage University Music at BU University Music. Talbot House . 01202 965018 . [email protected]

If your looking for a diverse, ambitious, exciting yet friendly and sociable place to discover music then we want to hear from you!

Individual Tuition Choral & Contemporary Choirs Practise Rooms Big Band Scholarship Programme Orchestra Volunteering Free Concerts

www.bournemouth.ac.uk/music-events • Global Café • Every Wednesday during term-time, free tea, coffee and cookies

• Global celebrations • Diwali, Chinese New Year and more..

• Global Buddies BU’s Global • Learn about other cultures and share your own • Improve your cross cultural communication skills Community • Make new friends from all over the world!

Read information on our Global BUddies webpages Apply online from July Part time jobs

Find a part-time job workshop Opportunities in .How to apply for jobs Bournemouth Town .How to get a national insurance number . Hotels .Understanding the restrictions of your Tier 4 . Shops . Restaurants (General) student visa

Opportunities at BU .Student Ambassadors Make sure that you allow enough time for your .Library assistants studies! .SUBU (the student shop) British Culture

Some common observations from international students:

British people… • Love to queue! • Say “please”, “thank you” and “sorry” a lot • Are punctual/on time • Drink a lot of alcohol • Value equality and (in general) respect people’s different races, genders, religions, sexuality… • Talk about the weather a lot! British • Call university staff by their first names • “alright?” means hello! Culture • Strangers might call you “Love” and “darling” The weather in Bournemouth

Bournemouth weather is good by UK standards

In September, expect: • Average temperatures of about 15 degrees Celsius • Unpredictable and mixed • Maybe more rain and wind than you’re used to!

• Very diverse (we eat curry and Chinese more than we eat Fish & Chips) • Lots of potatoes • Our bread is “different” • We have good cakes and pastries • Lots of dairy (compared to Asia) • Take-aways and restaurants can be quite expensive • Easy to find different international foods in British Food supermarkets and specialised shops • Cooking with your house-mates is a great way to make friends and save money Where you can belong #belongatbu

Any questions?