AUS all set to welcome new students at Fall 2020 Orientation Week

American University of Sharjah (AUS) is all set to welcome more than 1,000 new students at its first virtual Orientation Week held to usher in the Fall 2020 semester. The week-long event, which will commence with a special welcome session for new students and their parents on Friday, August 21, will be followed by a wide variety of exciting, interactive sessions, activities and virtual tours to help first-year students acclimate to academic and social life at AUS.

New students and their parents will have the opportunity to interact with the Chancellor and other key university officials during the event. They will also be able explore various university departments and facilities, with senior officials on hand to answer any queries that the students or their families might have.   

To ease the incoming students’ transition to university life, each first-year student will be assigned an AUS Peer Leader to guide and mentor them, not only through Orientation Week but throughout their first year at university. The peer leaders support new students as they navigate their way through the wide range of activities organized during the week, including sessions on academic policies, university rules and procedures, academic support, social activities and cultural events, and virtual tours of the university library and the many resources it offers.

With AUS holding its Fall 2020 semester online, Racha Amari, a peer leader and a third-year architecture student at the university, said:

“Because of the challenges posed by COVID-19, new students this semester will not have the face-to-face experience that I had when I joined university. That is why it is important that we, who are familiar with university life, reach out and assist all those joining us this fall. During Orientation Week, peer leaders welcome and guide new students and answer queries they may have about academic and non-academic aspects of university life.

“I look forward to helping mentor first-year students even after orientation ends and classes begin online. I remember when I joined AUS, I was very shy and hardly interacted with anyone or asked any questions. I, therefore, ended up being confused about a lot of things. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen to any other student. I chose to become a peer leader so I could help those who are too shy to come forward with questions or need help,” said Amari.

Speaking on the occasion, Professor Kevin Mitchell, Chancellor of AUS, said that all university departments have worked hard to ensure that the incoming students will have the best of what orientation has to offer as they transition into their new life.

He said: “We have been working hard to develop an Orientation Week program that is both informative and interactive as a result of the integration of technology. Admission to the university is competitive, and the new students who will join AUS in Fall 2020 have distinguished themselves through their past academic performance. We are pleased to welcome them and look forward to their contributions to AUS in the future.”