Orientation kicks off en masse

UCT welcomed thousands of students into its midst on 1 February as the bulk of the university's orientation programmes kicked off.

Seeing red: Prof Marian Jacobs, clean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, and orientation leaders Letisha Lalu (left) and Mampho Dlulane made sure first-year students received a warm welcome.	Weighty matters: This morning, law students received a talk on UCT transformation as part of their orientation.

After the humanities and commerce faculties had set the tone with their programmes last week, the majority of the expected 4,200 new first-year students got their first taste of life as a UCT student today. Upper, middle and health sciences campuses were swarming with brightly coloured T-shirts as uniformed orientation leaders (OLs) worked to give the freshers a fun and informative welcome.

The new students were treated to a combination of upbeat receptions from their OLs and useful talks from university officials. During the orientation programme, students will be briefed on just about every aspect of life as a UCT student.

The orientation programme is designed as an enjoyable yet enlightening window on life at UCT, and is packed with a myriad of activities. From curriculum advice from academics, safety tips from the ever-willing Campus Protection Services (CPS) and a low-down on the sport and societies scene, students will be sufficiently equipped to confidently wade into their careers at Africa's leading academic institution.

UCT expects to have some 25,200 students on campus this year.