Welcome to UOIT: Orientation 2014

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) is abuzz with activity and fun events as new and returning students arrive on campus for the start of the 2014-2015 academic year. The 2014 Orientation theme is UOIT Olympics – Ignite Your Passion.

The big focus of Orientation programming is the successful transition of first-year students into the university community. The incoming class of about 2,800 students are prepared for a positive start to their university career thanks to the efforts of the Office of Student Life, which organizes two days of Orientation activities so students have the opportunity to:

• Discover how to get involved and engage with the wider university community.
• Familiarize themselves with services available to support student success.
• Learn about the history and traditions of UOIT.
• Meet their peers, upper-year students, and faculty and staff at UOIT.
• Navigate the campus and learn their way around.
• Understand the academic expectations of being a university student.

Day 1 of Orientation is a day spent largely with a student’s faculty cohort group – where they learn more about being a student at the university, and have the opportunity to connect with upper-year students, staff and faculty.

Day 2 is The Wild Goose Chase – an annual friendly inter-faculty competition comprised of engaging activities designed to help students learn how to navigate the campus, get to know each other better, and learn more about the university, its history and our campus culture. At the end of the day, one of the faculties is awarded the coveted Wild Goose Chase trophy: Stanley the Goose.

In support of Orientation activities, Student Life designates 150 upper-year student volunteer Orientation leaders (OLs) who complete two full days of job-specific training, which includes Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) training, as well as the Mindsight mental health awareness online training module developed by Dr. Wendy Stanyon, Associate Professor, UOIT Faculty of Health Sciences.

Fall semester lectures begin on Thursday, September 4.