On Monday, 5 September, RCSI welcomed its new cohort of students to the College. 493 students will begin their courses in Medicine, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy and get to know their way around the College, while also being introduced to the academic and administrative staff.

Orientation Week 2016, which kicks off today, will last until Friday, 9 September and will run in tangent with Fresher's Fortnight which continues until Saturday, 17 September.

This year's undergraduate intake of 407 medical students, 56 pharmacy students and 30 physiotherapy students come from Ireland and a host of other countries across Europe, North America, Australia, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. 58 of these students will then go on to study at Penang Medical College (PMC) in Malaysia after completing their pre-clinical programme in Dublin.

The Heads of RCSI's three undergraduate schools, Professor Arnold Hill (School of Medicine), Professor Paul Gallagher (School of Pharmacy) and Professor Marie Guidon (School of Physiotherapy) have welcomed their respective new students to RCSI this morning with an opening address which kicked off Orientation Week.

Further talks were delivered by Philip Curtis, Associate Director of Admissions and Student Services and Dr Orna Tighe, Vice Dean for Student Support & Development. The students will be provided with an overview of the extensive range of academic and non-academic supports that are available to all students in the College by staff across a range of departments. The Students Union will also brief the new incoming students about the range of social activities that they have organised as part of Fresher's Fortnight and introduce the RCSI College's Clubs and Societies which play such an important part of life as an RCSI student.

The 2016 Buddy Programme will also get underway with second and third year pharmacy, physiotherapy and medical students volunteering to act as ‘buddies' for the new students this year. The Buddies provide an invaluable resource in the form of friendly, knowledgeable and experienced students, who welcome the new students to RCSI for the first time and provide them with first-hand knowledge about the College, the courses, extra-curricular activities and student life in Dublin.

Later in the day Professor John Hyland, President of RCSI will host a reception which is an opportunity for our new student's families to join in the excitement of the beginning of their life as an RCSI student. The President will be joined by Professor Cathal Kelly, CEO/ Registrar, RCSI who will provide an overview of the College and its wider activates. This will be followed by a presentation from Professor Clive Lee, Professor of Anatomy, who will provide a unique perspective on RCSI and some of its distinguished graduates. Students and their families will also have the opportunity to meet with academic and non-academic staff at the President's Reception.

On Tuesday, 6 September, the Annual Undergraduate Prize-Giving Ceremony will be held in conjunction with the White Coat Ceremony which is held in the in the Exam Hall. The White Coat Ceremony is undertaken in the first week in College as a common ceremony for all Medicine, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy and Physician associate students - to mark their new role as student health professionals, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails as they study and learn with and through the generosity of patients and families and the general public.

The evening also comprises of an awards ceremony for students throughout the undergraduate programmes from Foundation Year through to Senior Cycle who achieved excellence to date. The ceremony will be live streamed to enable families and friends who are unable to attend the event can watch proceedings from anywhere in the world.

As well as orientation, it is also Fresher's Fortnight for the students. There are a wide variety of social events organised with highlights of this week including sign-up day for Clubs & Societies on Wednesday, 7 September; the Fresher's Festival on Thursday, 8 September in the RCSI sports grounds in Dardistown and a ballad session on Friday, 9 September. The activities next week will include an RCSI Outdoor Sports Day in Railway Union Playing Grounds on Friday, 16 September and the fortnight's activities conclude with a ‘Pink Party' organised by the Cancer Society on Saturday, 17 September.

The Orientation and Fresher's activities and events are being organised by various departments across the College including Admissions, Student Services, Student Academic and Regulatory Affairs (SARA), IT and staff from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences as well as the Student's Union.