VSU welcomes new foreign students with integration & cultural exposure event

As part of the massive internationalization program of the university, the International Affairs Office (IAO) conducted an integration and cultural exposure program for new foreign students to orient them about Filipino culture including academic guidelines and other institutional policies followed by the university. 

Dubbed as the 3rd International Students’ Welcome Week, this event ran from October 16 to 23, 2023 commencing with a general orientation session that covered university policies and an introduction to the various student services provided by the institution.

Subsequent sessions delved into essential topics such as disaster risk management with Dr. Julius V. Abela as the topic lecturer, and an in-depth discussion on Philippine laws including the Data Privacy Act, web operations and online services with the University Legal Officer Atty. Rysan C. Guinocor and Integrated Media Center Head Dr. Ulderico B. Alviola presenting these topics.

For the 1st semester of 2023 to 2024, a total of 7 international students were admitted to the university adding to the 4 previously enrolled graduate and undergraduate foreign students in the previous semesters.

VSU now has a total of 11 international students coming from Bangladesh, Brazil, Germany, Iran, Nigeria, and the Czech Republic. Out of these figures, 5 of them are recipients of an internally funded fellowship program for international students that is financed directly by the university mainly for foreign nationals from developing nations and emerging economies.

VSU is the only state university in the country to have an internally funded fellowship program for foreign students. Since its implementation in 2021, this scholarship program has already produced 2 alumni from Nepal and Indonesia.

Since there is a growing number of foreign students studying at VSU, the IAO implemented some changes in their procedures to ensure inclusivity and that no preferential treatment is afforded to foreign students.

IAO Head Dr. Ana Marquiza M. Quilicot expresses her gratitude to the Admissions Office for the implementation of policy changes that will allow foreign students to take care of their own enrollment at the university. 

This shift from the university managing all aspects of enrollment of foreign students to encouraging them to take charge of their enrollment on their own signifies a commitment to fostering an inclusive environment for both domestic and international students. 

“Integration to the university and cultural experience were the goals in conducting this event. That is why I’m very thankful to the Admissions Office because our international students will now have to undergo the same process followed by our Filipino students. Before, IAO took care of everything. But right now, we want our foreign students to integrate themselves into the university without any preferential treatment or special privileges. We only provide them with a clear list of required documents and they are now responsible for completing their enrollment procedures independently,” Dr. Quilicot explained.

The IAO Director also underscored the importance of mutual cultural exchange, stating that presenting and sharing cultures between international and local students is an essential experience that will promote greater diversity inside VSU.

To fulfill this, the international students were exposed to Philippine arts and culture with a fun-filled workshop with the VSU Culture and Arts Center (CA) Director Dr. Jude Nonie A. Sales.

Faculty, staff, and students of the Institute of Human Kinetics (IHK) also participated in the culture and arts workshop to allow foreign students to engage with the local undergraduate students who are currently taking up the Bachelor of Science in Culture and Arts Education (BCAEd). 

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