Conducted by the Central International Office (CIO), these chat sessions are hosted on the instant messenger service offered by the university’s online student portal Delft Tulip. A pre-cursor to the Introduction Programme, the chat sessions are meant to help incoming international students ask questions on a host of topics. “The chats are held weekly. At 15:00 there is a faculty-wide chat and at 16:00 we address topics such as housing. On an average we see 90 students in each chat, at the one on housing there were 190 attendees,” said Sophie Vardon, Student and Staff Introduction Coordinator. While the chat is hosted by a person with experience in the topic a member of the CIO is also present to address other questions. The questions asked range from, “Can I travel with an additional person on the shuttle bus?” to “Where can I stay if I arrive before I get my DUWO accommodation?”
“In light of the fact that we have students in various time zones around the world, we decided to host the chat at 16:00. But, we understand that even this is early morning in the West Coast of the US and late at night in China, so students from these parts may not be able to join us. We explain that those who can’t be part of the chat are more than welcome to write to us,” added Vardon.
While the topics of the chats are chosen on the basis of questions that come-up in other conversations and previous years’ feedback, the CIO also makes it point to update their frequently asked questions section after the chats.
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