You have reached this far, and you are about to start your university years at the capital of Queensland, Brisbane. You are probably wondering how to set off your new journey. To make your experience fun and easy, all universities organise an orientation week or what is called O-Week to help you get to know and explore your university life in Brisbane. O-Week is the week before lectures in semester one and semester two hosting numerous activities and sessions that will help you meet other colleagues and explore your campus.

As a university student in Brisbane, you will be living in the capital of Queensland that has various well-known universities. Each university has its community and campus life. Participating and getting involved in the orientation period will get you to know more about your new home in Brisbane. So, let’s explore the O-Week at Brisbane Universities.

1. University of Queensland

The O-Week at the University of Queensland starts this week and lasts up till the 21st. The university offers a Getting Started session that will help you gain information about important dates to mark on your calendar and find your way around the campus and support services available. You also get to meet your new friends on campus and get a university tour together. The session is recommended for all new students and a must for international students to ease their new step in their new city. Moreover, there are program sessions to attend at your faculty that are available on the website.

The University of Queensland offers a Welcome Hub that welcomes students daily in their O-Week. It is a meeting spot with many entertainment events, including food, prizes, hang out space and campus tours. You will find new friends for yourself and ask the questions you have in mind. Overall,  you will have all the support you need.

Towards the last days of the orientation, you might want to attend IT and eLearning sessions on the 20th and 21st of February to familiarise yourself with the learning systems you are about to use in the lectures, including setting up Wi-Fi and your student email account. There will be various personal skills workshops to learn essay writing and time management skills as well. Last but not least, get a tour in the library facility as it will be a big asset for you during the semester.

2. Queensland University of Technology 

The O-Week at the Queensland University of Technology also starts this week till the 21st across Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove campuses. They hold orientation workshops and seminars for international students to get around the campus and explore the student clubs and societies. The orientation sessions will help new students get to know about the university’s technology, facilities, learning and support services. The tours will provide navigation throughout the campus. Also, The O-Week's event will have competitive sports activities in basketball, baseball, cricket, hockey, motorsport, running, rowing, tennis and rugby. If you love videogames, you can join the eSports activity in the custom-designed eSports arena and meet like-minded friends!

Attending the O-Week, you can grab QUT t-shirt and semester planner. Food is there too, so enjoy the famous $2 lunches with free pancake breakfasts! These events are a great opportunity to meet up with new friends and enjoy a snack while watching live music all day long.

3. Griffith University

Griffith University is holding the O-Week Market Day  this week up till 27th of February. Each day throughout the week, the university will turn into a street market with live performance, product sampling, and countless stalls. These stalls will be a place to find information about clubs you would be interested in joining, and get yourself some sweet gifts! You will find a lot of help as these booths are the spot to reach for when you have a question or need guidance on the campus. You will get yourself familiarised with the university and facilities through attending the Market Day. Be sure to meet your colleagues and explore together!

The university has created a service called MyOrientation as part of O-Week planner. It provides personalised services to help you with tasks such as enrolling, getting a student ID card and understanding the learning systems. You can access the service from here to sign up and get your access code.

4. Central Queensland University

The O-Week at Central Queensland University begins on the 20th of February. It is recommended for international students to attend the event to get familiar with the university programs and facilities. All your colleagues will be there, so it is a nice chance to meet your friends and move around the campus to know more about university life. You will find various stalls that offer help and get to know multiple information about the university's support and learning systems.  

Moreover, if you are enrolling in an online study program at the university, it offers online orientation sessions with modules, videos and quizzes. These sessions will be similar to the O-Week event where you get to know about the learning management system and all essential information about the university.