Of the 25 nationalities present, Canada, Mexico and Brazil were particularly well represented. There were also several students from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Arab Emirates.

The purpose of the welcome activities was, on the one hand, for the exchange students to get to know one another, and, on the other, to provide them useful first-hand information about both UIC Barcelona and the city of Barcelona.

As a result, in addition to the welcome session organised by the International Relations Service, they also attended presentations by the academic coordinator of each faculty, the Institute for Multilingualism and Student Services.

In this regard, for the first time ever, the students had the opportunity to take part in a special Catalan-language workshop entitled “Catalan for Dummies”, led by the Institute for Multilingualism. The session included a presentation on the Catalan language, its history and its connection to other Romance languages. The workshop was interactive, with exercises and conservation activities, to give the students their first taste of Catalan.

On the last day, the students were treated to a guided bus tour of Barcelona’s main tourist sites. The route was led by two official guides, along with members of the International Relations Service.