A Student Forum provided an opportunity for the academic coordinators to welcome the students and for the members of this highly international cohort to introduce themselves. Coming from different parts of the world and with diverse academic and professional backgrounds, the students could finally meet not only each other, but also the wider team behind the joint programme.

As this is RESCO’s first cohort, the forum was also an important opportunity for the partner universities to learn from the students’ first-hand experiences. Discussions addressed the challenges they faced before and after arrival, the information that could be provided earlier or more clearly, and areas where additional support may be useful for future cohorts. At BME, a dedicated member of the International Mentor Team (IMT) supports the RESCO students, while practical information for international students is collected on the IMT website.

The programme also offered an opportunity to discover BME beyond the classrooms. Students joined a guided tour of the BME Library, learning about its services and visiting some of its less visible areas, including the underground storage facilities and the historic steel-and-glass structure. The latter was a particularly fitting sight for a cohort with a strong civil engineering background. A campus tour introduced further university facilities and a few unexpected features of BME, including its operating nuclear research reactor.

Alongside the student activities, the consortium partners held working meetings to discuss the questions raised during the forum and coordinate preparations and tasks for the upcoming semesters.

The gathering provided a valuable start to the programme’s in-person community, connecting the first RESCO cohort with the academic teams who will accompany them throughout their Erasmus Mundus joint European study experience.