By Miguel Ángel Ambel Ruiz

Once you have arrived in Limerick, UL will inform you of different activities and programmes that might be of interest to you. As a UL student, I will tell you why I think these programmes are a great way to help you get involved in the UL community and meet fellow new students!

Clubs and societies

Clubs and societies are very well known in UL, and almost all students are part of at least one of them! Since there are a wide variety of clubs and societies, it is easy to find one that suits your interests: sports, religion, comedy, music…

If you are an international student, I recommend you join the International Society. This will allow you to meet international students that have the same concerns as you. The International Society organises International nights at Stables as well as trips in Limerick and other counties. Members will have discounts on these trips. Visiting Ireland has never been so easy!

Sign up here: https://ulwolves.ie/

Tandem

The Tandem programme is also part of UL. If you want to practise your language skills with native speakers, you should join the language exchange! You will be assigned one or more partners with whom you will be able to speak the language you are learning and teach them your own language.

Furthermore, every week the Tandem staff organises debate sessions, where native speakers talk about a topic. A discussion with language students will be held afterwards.

Ambassador programme

If you will like to help International students adapt to life in Limerick, you can apply for the Ambassador programme. Your duty is to write blogs or make video blogs explaining different things that you consider interesting for International students to know. The Ambassador programme staff are very empathic and supportive, so a good atmosphere is guaranteed. Ambassadors will also host events (online or on-campus) and can use the UL global Instagram account if desired.

Volunteering

Another way of helping people is volunteering. There are different types of volunteering all across Ireland, so make sure they are hosted in Limerick or in a place that you can go to!

Leap card

If you live on-campus, you may find that the city centre is a bit far from your student village: around 45 minutes on foot. Although walking is very healthy, we understand that sometimes you do not feel like it or do not have the time to do so. An alternative is cycling. On-campus accommodations lend bikes to students if they need one. Another option is taking the bus. A one-way ticket is €2.40, which may be expensive if you intend to go to Limerick city often. This is why having a leap card is a good idea. It costs ten euros, and with it, the bus will only cost €1.68 (30% discount), and you will have discounts in some shops!

Once you have arrived in Limerick and have settled, you can think about all these tips, which might hopefully help you meet people and make your life easier.

Find out more about UL Global here:

Instagram: @ULGlobal

Facebook: @ULGlobal

Twitter: @ULGlobal

LinkedIn: @ULGlobal

YouTube: @ULGlobal