CONNECT UK INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

Since the start of term, every Wednesday we meet from 1-3pm and host a lunch for both KU International and Home students alike. We sometimes have a floating population with a mix of the regulars and new comers trying it out for the first time each week.

Each Thursday we host a Quiz Night, which was previously at Starbucks in the first semester, but our new venue is Caffé Nero in the Kingston Bentall Shopping Centre. Different members offer to create and host the quiz each week. We have a great turn out with small prizes for the winners.

To integrate the diversity even further, we also try to organize international cultural events from time to time. For example Thanksgiving – this year we arranged a Thanksgiving dinner, which our American friends really appreciated. But it was not just the typical thanksgiving meal. We requested our society members to bring some traditional food from their own countries & cultures, which was added to the big meal and along with the traditional thanksgiving food, we all got to try out a lot of new dishes which we wouldn’t normally have. This event was a lot of fun and the turnout also proved a great success.

Another example of making efforts to diversifying our society were our famous Sushi Nights last semester at ‘AJI Japanese Restaurant & Takeaway’ which is located on Eden Street. It’s a fairly new & unique place in Kingston and this academic year we have had an understanding with the manager to provide us with some great group discounts. We have had 2 events there so far – one as a general Sushi Night and the other a Halloween Party. For quite a few of us it was our first time getting to know about the Japanese & the oriental cultures and trying out their authentic foods. That was a great success too and a full house again.

We’ve also teamed up with the Oriental Society at KU and we will be planning a little something soon as this academic year comes to an end. Along with that, we are also good friends with the committee over at the Sri Lankan Society and also hope to work with them at some point before this academic year comes to a close. And finally we have also been in touch with ‘Student Trips UK’ who have offered us discount packages for day trips, which would be a great sight-seeing opportunity for a lot of our students in the company of their friends. We did do a Walking Tour of London City last summer which was really fun and extremely affordable at the same time but it was just through a different company.

Our ‘Love Your Uni’ event each March has always been a great success. During this time we hold a lunch at the Kingston Hill campus, which has a much greater turn out in these weeks. We also hand out Tea and Coffee on both campuses. The week also involves a large group activity such as a Dance Party or a Game Night. It’s a great time to connect with others even further and create a welcoming environment.

These are from an 80’s Themed Dance Party held in winter 2012.

Now that you know what we are about and where to find us, please do visit us sometime for some friendly conversation and be a part of the international student integration here at Kingston University London