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Full house at Unimeet Gothenburg’s welcome evening

So many languages are spoken at the Museum of World Culture, when Unimeet Gothenburg welcomed over 500 international students, researchers and staff to Gothenburg. Participants were greeted by the Lord Mayor and listened to panel discussions with representatives from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology, SKF, Mycorena and Göteborg & Co. Quizzes, performances and competitions also took place.

Students and staff from all over the world gathered during the evening to participate in the various activities. Photo: Happy Visuals.

“We moved here a week ago from Belgium and will study an Erasmus semester in journalism at the University of Gothenburg” say Ysaline Despontin and Hippolyte Waiengnier. Despite the weather, which seems colder than in Brussels, the duo is looking forward to learning about the city and meeting other students during the evening.

Ysaline Despontin and Hippolyte Waiengnier are looking forward to getting to know the city. Photo: Happy Visuals.

Since 2020, Unimeet Gothenburg has worked with welcoming international students to Gothenburg with the ambition of strengthening the city’s abilities to compete as an international city of knowledge. The project is also aimed at researchers and internationally recruited staff who work at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers. During the evening we meet one of them, Carolin Behrens from Germany, who is doing her PhD in Service Management and Logistics at Chalmers.

“I have been in Gothenburg for ten days and already like the vibe of the city. I would like to broaden my network and get in touch with the business community in Gothenburg. These types of events are therefore 100% relevant to me and all of us as international researchers.” says Carolin.

Caroline Behrens already enjoys the vibe of the city. Photo: Happy Visuals.

On the welcome evening, some 20 organizations and companies were present to talk to students and staff. We meet Evelina Järvinen from the running shoes organization Icebug. She was there to talk about Icebug’s project Forest: Gothenburg’s free running group that organizes various events, always with sustainability and the environment in mind. “We are here tonight to get more people to visit the forest. We want everyone to feel how nice it is to run all year round in the forest. When you come as an international student, it can be more difficult to find different training groups, therefore we want to invite everyone to our free running group so that they feel welcome”, says Evelina.

Evelina Järvinen and the free running group Forest Femmes, wants to attract more people to run in the forest all year round. Photo: Happy Visuals.

The Cultural Administration of Gothenburg is also present during the evening with representatives from both the Röhsska Museum of Design and Craft and the Gothenburg Museum of Art. Showing the cultural life that Gothenburg has to offer to international groups is very important. “Gothenburg was built on history from all over the world. To visit our different historical and art museums gives international students recognition, more knowledge and hopefully a desire to discover more”, says Linda Noreen from the Gothenburg Museum of Art.

Visitors under the age of 20 have free access to all the city’s museums and art gallery. If you are over 20 years old, the annual pass for SEK 120 gives unlimited entry to all museums. More information here.

The evening ends with a concert from Steget and many photos were taken at the selfie wall, highlighting the destination Gothenburg. By sharing their best picture, the participants could win prizes from the gym center Fysiken.

At the selfie wall, participants could compete with the best picture and win great prizes. Photo: Happy Visuals.

The welcome evening is project-led by Unimeet Gothenburg, an initiative from the Trade and Industry Group at Gothenburg & Co, in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg.