FRESHERS' EVENTS 2020
Alumni groups around the world host events to help give offer-holders an insight into Oxford and welcome them as they embark on their educational journey at the University
While the prospect of studying at Oxford can be exciting, it can also be a daunting one for many, particularly during these challenging times.
The events also provide the opportunity to meet fellow students and hear intriguing stories about life at the University from current students and alumni.
Please see below for the latest details of freshers' events taking place this year - please note that many events this year are taking place virtually online rather than in person, due to restrictions in place on gatherings as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Details of further events will be added as and when we receive notification of them.
If your alumni group is holding an event, please email the Networks Team with the details.
UK
Date: Tuesday 22 September
Time: 5-6.30pm
Venue: Online via Zoom - a link will be sent to those who register.
RSVP date: Friday, 4 September.
Contact: For students from Sussex, please email Priscilla Hother to register for the event. For students from Kent, please email Judith Tew to reigster for the event.
Date: Thursday, 24 September
Time: 6-8pm
Venue: Online session - please email the group to book via the contact details below and a link to join the session will be sent to you.
RSVP date: Monday 21 September
Contact: Please email the group to register for the event, stating your college and subject.
Date: Thursday 17 September
Time: 6.30pm
Venue: Virtual event - please register by completing the online booking form. Please note that the event page is password protected - the password is "oxford10fresher" (without quotes).
RSVP date: By 6.30pm on Wednesday 16 September. *** PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EVENT IS LIMITED TO 100 ATTENDEES AND PLACES WILL BE ALLOCATED ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS ***
Contact: Please email James Khan, Sally Hayward or Andrew Seow with any queries.
Date: Thursday, 27 August
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Online Q&A session - a meeting link and login details will be sent to those who register.
Details: Following on from the success of their event last year, the group is inviting incoming students to join them for a live online Q&A session where they can find out more about life and study at Oxford. The group is asking committee members to share memories of their own time at Oxford, advice for freshers, or reflections on their studies, which will be shared at the event.
RSVP date: Monday 24 August.
Contact: Please email Peter McDonnell with any queries or to book for the event.
Date: Wednesday 23 September
Time: 7pm
Venue: Online via Zoom.
Details: The group's fourth freshers’ meeting will follow the successful pattern of previous years, with a panel of current undergraduates in the meeting to speak about their experiences and answer questions. The meeting will be held online this year, but the group hopes the meeting will answer incoming students' questions and enable them to make connections by college or subject.
RSVP date: Wednesday, 16 September.
Contact: Please email Sarah Herdan with any enquires or to book for the event with your college, subject and course. A Zoom link will be sent out a few days before the meeting.
Date: Saturday 12 September.
Time: 10.30am-12pm.
Venue: Online via Zoom. Please email the group to register for the event using the contact details below and a link to join the event together with joining details will be sent to you.
RSVP date: 5pm, Friday, 11 September.
Contact: Please email John Young to confirm your attendance beforehand and with any queries.
Date: Tuesday 22 September.
Time: 7pm
Venue: Online via Zoom. Please email the group to register for the event using the contact details below and a link to join the event together with joining details will be sent to you.
RSVP date: Sunday 20 September.
Contact: Please email Keith Lyall with any queries or to register for the event, providing your full name, college and subject.
EUROPE
Date: Friday 11 September
Time: 6-8pm (local time).
Venue: Virtual event - a link will be sent to those who register for the event.
Contact: Please email Alison Jane Bell to book for the event.
Date: Friday 4 September
Time: 7pm
Venue: Yfantourgeio, 67-71 Lefkonos Str., Phaneromeni, 1011 Old Nicosia, Cyprus
RSVP date: Monday 31 August.
Contact: Please email secretary Nicolas Kyriakides if you would like to attend.
Date: Tuesday 15 September.
Time: 7pm
Venue: The online session will be held on Zoom.
Details: The group invites incoming students to join them for their annual freshers' welcome, which will this year be held online. Attendees can make friends with fellow students and gain invaluable advice from Oxonians on their time at Oxford. The event is free of charge and is restricted to Oxford and Cambridge alumni and their partners.
The itnerary for the evening will be as follows:
- (5 minutes) – Welcome by the OCAS President
- (10 minutes) – Brief introduction from each attendee (name, home town, College, course)
- (5 minutes) – Presentation: ‘5 things I love(d) about Oxford’
- (5 minutes) – Presentation: ‘5 things I love(d) about Cambridge’
- (5 minutes) – Presentation '5 tips for preparing for university’
- (5 minutes) – Presentation ‘5 things I wish I’d known when I started university’
- (20 minutes) – Question and answer session
- (5 minutes) – Event close by the OCAS President
*** Please note that the in-person event scheduled for the same date at the BamBuDah Boat in Prague has been cancelled. ***
RSVP date: Friday, 11 September.
Booking: Register in advance for the Zoom meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Contact: Please email group President Monika Mareková with any enquiries.
Date: Saturday 3 October
Time: 3-4pm (local time)
Venue: Online event via Google Meet - please book via the contact details below and a booking link will be sent to you.
RSVP date: 2pm, Saturday 3 October.
Contact: Please email Amelia Herridge Ishak with any queries and to book for the event.
Date: Tuesday 22 September
Time: 5pm
Venue: Online event on Zoom.
Details: The Oxford & Cambridge Club of Geneva invites freshers from the Geneva area to a Freshers Welcome Call via Zoom, to celebrate their success in being accepted to study at Oxford. During the hour-long call, the group will also share with attendees some tips to ensure that their time at Oxford is a success. The group will also provide a mechanism to introduce attendees to other Oxford freshers with similar interests.
RSVP date: Monday 21 September.
Contact: Please email Don Birch with any queries or to book for the event and a Zoom link will be sent to you. When you reply, please advise your college and field and level of study. To facilitate introductions, please also approve that your email address may be shared with other call attendees using the wording 'I agree to circulate my email address to other Oxford call attendees.'
Date: Friday 11 September
Time: 6-8pm
Venue: Online event - please use the booking link below to register for the event.
Booking: Please complete the online booking form.
Contact: Please email Brian Melican with any queries.
Date: Tuesday 15 September
Time: 6.30pm
Venue: Chiche, 20 Avenue Pasteur, L-2310, Luxembourg City.
Details: OUS Luxembourg invites offer-holders to a complementary annual fresher’s dinner in Luxembourg - the event will be an opportunity to meet Luxembourg alumni, Luxembourg Oxonians (alumni and current students) and fellow Luxembourg freshers.
If you are unable to attend the dinner, the group would still be keen for you to get in touch as they customarily send a book token to new Luxembourg students at Oxford, and would like to keep you informed of their events. Please contact them via the contact details below.
RSVP date: Sunday 30 August.
Contact: Please email the group Chairman and Secretary if you would like to attend, indicating your name, college, and degree subject.
*** PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS CHANGED TO A VIRTUAL EVENT FROM AN IN-PERSON EVENT ***
Date: Thursday 17 September
Time: 9pm
Venue: Virtual event - a link will be sent to those who register for the event.
RSVP date: Monday 14 September.
Contact: Please email Andrew Moore with any queries or to book for the event, noting your full name, college and subject.
Date: Saturday 12 September
Time: 3pm
Venue: Online event via Zoom - please book via the contact details below and a booking link will be sent to you.
RSVP date: Friday 11 September.
Booking: To book for the event, please complete the online booking form.
Contact: Please
AFRICA
Date: Thursday, 3 September
Time: 5.30-6.30pm
Venue: Virtual event - please register by emailing the group using the contact details below and a meeting link and login details will be sent to you.
Details: The group invites incoming students to join them for their virtual freshers' event, which will include a welcome address by the group's President, a chance to hear from each attendee, insights from current students and recent graduates and a Q&A session.
Contact: Please email Adeola Adenubi with any queries or to book for the event.
ASIA
***** PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED ***
Date: Saturday 15 August
Time: 2-8pm
Venue: Zhejiang Province Western Returned Scholars Association, Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou City, Shangcheng District, Nanshan Road, No.178-1, People's Republic of China.
Details: The group invites you to join them for their freshers' event, where you will have the opportunity to meet alumni, current students and recent graduates. There will also be a Q&A session, with light bites and drinks served to attendees.
Booking: Please note that the event is now fully booked.
Contact: Please email Xiaofeng Xu with any queries.
***** PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED ***
AUSTRALASIA
Date: Thursday, 3 September
Time: 5.30-7pm (AEST)
Venue: Virtual event - please register by completing the online booking form.
RSVP date: Thursday 27 August
Contact: Please email Hannah Gould with any queries.
NORTH AMERICA
Date: Thursday 17 September.
Time: 7.30pm (CST)
Venue: Virtual event.
Booking: To book for the event, please complete the booking form.
RSVP date: Wednesday 16 September.
Contact: Please email the group with any enquiries.
Date: Thursday 10 September.
Time: 7-7.45pm.
Venue: Virtual event - please register by emailing the group using the booking link below and you will receive instructions via email as to how to connect prior to the event.
Details: The group invites incoming students to join them for their virtual freshers' event, where they can meet other New England students heading to Oxford and network with alumni and current students as they share their experiences and advice.
Booking: To book for the event, please complete the online form. You will be asked for your college and matriculation year (2020!), then please use the 'menuchoice' field to indicate undergraduate or graduate, and the 'notes' field to indicate your subject/course of study.
RSVP date: Tuesday 8 September.
Contact: Please email the group with any queries.
Date: Thursday 10 September.
Time: 6pm (local time)
Venue: Virtual event.
Booking: To book for the event, please complete the booking form.
Contact: Please email the group with any enquiries.
Date: Thursday 24 September.
Time: 5.30pm (EST)
Venue: Virtual event.
Details: This Zoom session is only open to University of Oxford offer holders due to start a course in Fall 2020. You may attend if you have a conditional or unconditional offer, but the email invitation does not mean your offer has been made unconditional. If you have any remaining offer conditions (academic or financial) you will need to meet these before you can start at Oxford.
The pre-departure session will consist of a 30 minute presentation from James Tibbert, Head of Student Information and Immigration at Oxford. There will then be time at the end to ask any remaining questions you may have. We will cover a range of topics including induction events, visa information, settling into academic and social life at Oxford, academic expectations, and new COVID-19 protocols.
There will also be an opportunity to hear from recent Oxford alumni on their experiences and engage in a non-formal discussion to ask questions about everyday life at the University.
Booking: To book for the event, please complete the online form.
Contact: Please email the North American Office with any questions.
