First International Day

There was regional food, folk dancing, henna painting and lots of emotion. Crowds of students from the English Division and The International Student Council came to the first International Day. Many of them do not leave Poland for their families and relatives for the entire 5-6 years of their studies. No wonder International Day was like a homecoming for them, which they miss immensely. 

There are 621 foreign students studying at Wroclaw Medical University. For the first time, they organized a joint, inclusive meeting to showcase their culture, customs and traditions. 

- I'm happy that so many people came, because everyone put a lot of effort and commitment into it. Our students are fantastic. There was a lot of excitement, and everyone who attended the first International Day at our university felt emotional," says Dr. Katarzyna Neubauer, UMW professor and associate dean of the Faculty of Medicine for English education. 

Most involved in organizing this remarkable event were Hanna Popiela, president of the International Student Council , Vanshika Vikram Singh, a student from India, and Alex Ye Wai Yan, a second-year medical student from Burma. 

- For us, this meeting has great significance. My friends from India have been in Poland for 5 years, studying medicine at UMW, and none of them have gone home during this time, they have not seen their parents, grandparents and friends. Therefore, for us this meeting is like coming home for Christmas. It's full of emotion and emotion," says Vanshika Vikram Singh, a UMW student from India. 

- I only helped with the organization, they themselves really wanted to meet and show their cultural diversity. In everyday life there is no time for this, and here there is space and time to show where they come from, how they dress, what they cook," adds Hanna Popiela.  

In the lobby of the UMW Main Library on Marcinkowskiego Street, students prepared stands where they served traditional dishes. One could taste a variety of dishes, talk in many languages, learn about other customs, see unusual costumes. Students prepared performances - there was singing and dancing. It was crowded, cheerful and colorful. 

- I don't remember seeing so many people in this hall for a long time. I didn't expect that so many students would come, that I would see such crowds. You can see that there is a need for such meetings and integration," says Prof. Piotr Ponikowski, rector of the Wroclaw Medical University. 

Rector Prof. Piotr Ponikowski and Prof. Agnieszka Piwowar, Vice Rector for Students and Didactics at UMW, presented awards to the most active foreign students and those people here at the university who help them on a daily basis. And this is both in their duties related to studying at UMW, but also in their daily life outside the university.

The award was received by Hanna Popiela, Lioba Niesmann, the Clean up Oder group, namely Helena Gebarska, Natalia Hiler, Chidubem Odera Mba, Melissa Szmukala, Alex Ye Wai Yan, Wanda Ambrosius, Jakub Jarmolowicz and the ED Office team, among others. ED Office is an extraordinary place where students can always talk, are listened to and get support. 

From the hands of Rector Professor Piotr Ponikowski, Kamran Hennessy, a 2020 UMW graduate, received his diploma and became the first Ambassador of the Alumni Program. This is an important endeavor created at UMW by students.