International Orientation Week Autumn 2023 (RetrO-Phase)

Incomers are warmly welcomed to Karlsruhe with our International Welcome Week Autumn 2023. Over 100 tutors (ESN members and Returning Students) and 30 buddies supported in organizing and running the event for over 250 participants.

The most important goal is the integration of the new Incomers in Karlsruhe and networking with each other and local students. As part of the organization, ESN members take responsibility in event organization and can gain experience in the areas of partnership, finance and communication.

At the same time the Welcome Week is the biggest and most successful recruiting of new members for ESN Karlsruhe. During the preparation period and the following week, more than 10 new members could be recruited in each of the last two semesters.

The event is accompanied by the safety team from ESN Karlsruhe, which can be contacted confidentially for all forms of intolerable behavior or other problems. With the presentation of the safety team and the values of ESN, the awareness for inclusion, responsible party and LGBTQ+ is increased.

The following events were part of this welcome week:

Sunday

German 101 Workshop 

Are you new in Karlsruhe/Germany? Here is all that you need to know!
The workshop began with a small introduction to Germany as a country and some regional and local specifics everyone should know about. 

During the following get-together, all participants of the Buddy Program had the opportunity to get to know each other personally for the first time. 

Monday

IStO Welcoming & Grouping

In cooperation with the International Students Office, the Incomers were officially welcomed for the new semester and informed about all organizational issues. Afterwards, all incomers were divided into groups and met with their group tutors to get to know each other.  

Welcome Party

Responsible Party 

Tuesday

Campus Tour

Incomers were shown around the university campus by their group tutors including the ESN Office where they had the opportunity to purchase their ESNcard. 

Speed-Friending

Want to make some new friends but don't know where to start? Our Speed Friending event is the perfect opportunity for you! During the evening you will get to talk to another person for 5 minutes at a time, then move onto the next, and repeat! At the end you'll also have free time to deepen your initial connections with music, drinks and snacks! We'll provide some question ideas if you get tired of asking the same things. All you have to bring is yourself, a good mood, and an openness to connect.

Wednesday

Hike

Exploring the black forest with an easy and relaxing hike around Bad Herrenalb including awesome views and the special "Schwarzwälder-Kirsch-Torte" afterwards. 

WineHike

As part of the WineHike, Incomers were introduced to the tradition of the "Schorle Tour." The tour started at a regional winery and after 3 hours of hiking through the Palatinate Forest, Hambach Castle was reached. During a picnic there was a short historical introduction and the Incomers could visit the castle including the museum. 

Karaoke

Motto Karaoke Party with specials like face painting, tattoos & awesome performances 

Thursday

City Rallye

Exploration of the wonderful city Karlsruhe with different challenges for the group (sport games, quiz, photo challenge,...)

Friday

City-Trips

2 Options: Heidelberg & Freiburg (Meet-Up/ City Tour with the local sections)

WG-Hopping

1 evening, 3 different locations, countless new friends and unforgettable memories

Saturday

Fun & Games 

In the beautiful Schlossgarten, incomers and tutors had the opportunity to compete against each other in various games (spikeball, football, volleyball, frisbee,...) or just spend a relaxing afternoon together. 

Sunday

Weißwurstfrühstück

There is no better way to end the week than with a traditional bavarian-style breakfast. It was accompanied by the KampusKapelle which entertained us with traditional brass music to gave us the full experience. Dirndl & Lederhosen were (obviously) mandatory for all tutors!

International Dinner

At the last event we celebrated again all the different cultures that are coming together during the semester. During the International Dinner everyone could bring typical regional food and share it with each other. In addition, during the Award Ceremony the prizes of the competitions of the week were given out. 

(In addition, we had our O-Phasen Recap on Thursday were the tutors and incomers met to watch a photo recap show)