Vice-Chancellor's welcome to all new students
It has been a tradition in universities for the Vice-Chancellor to welcome new students in their first days at the institution. Not only that, it is something I greatly value doing.
I wish I could meet every new student personally, but the numbers now make it impossible. So I hope you will accept this use of the web as a practical and helpful way for me to welcome you to the University. We are a large organisation. There are something like 17,000 students, 2,500 staff, over a hundred courses and dozens of buildings. At first, it might all seem rather bewildering to you. We have given you lots of documents, and there are still more to come. There is a great deal for you to take in. That is why we have set aside this first week entirely for new first-year students. I hope it will give you time to settle in, find your way around, make friends, and get yourself organised for the tasks still to come. Not every week will be like this one!
Many of you will know Coventry very well, as over a quarter of our full-time students come from the Coventry area, and even a higher proportion of our part-timers do. But many of you will not really know Coventry at all. Some of you will have travelled thousands of miles to study here, and will be in the UK for the very first time. That’s one of the elements which makes Coventry University stand out – our diverse student population and our global outlook. I hope you will all soon feel part of the City. Coventry and the surrounding area have much to offer students; the City is large enough to have a great deal of variety, but small enough to get to know quickly.
The city is very proud of our University and very welcoming of our students, so I hope you will interact positively with, and take an interest in, what is going on here. I also hope that you will take part in the clubs and societies that the Students' Union runs and, if you are interested, play sport in one of our many teams.
The vast majority of you have come here because this was the University of your first choice. You set your plans, achieved the requirements for entry, and made it. Congratulations and well done! But I know that for some of you your journey was not as simple as that. But whatever your background, our task now is to help you to build a successful future.
We will do the best we can to help you fulfil your ambitions and aspirations. Your role is to do the best that you can, and to make the most of the opportunities that the University provides. It's our intention that by working together you will graduate with your qualification and the prospect of a good or better job, to the enormous pride of you and your family.
On behalf of all my colleagues here, the Board of Governors and the City of Coventry, I offer you the warmest of welcomes, and our very best wishes for your future success.
Professor Madeleine Atkins, Vice-Chancellor