Students and faculties have indicated that a contact centre is needed, a place where international students (and regular students) can go with all their questions and where they can meet up.
Now the first steps have been taken, and the Centre for Educational Support and the Marketing & Communication Department are making plans for a one-stop shop, where current and prospective students and possibly also PhD candidates will be able to go in the future. At the Contact Centre, they can expect a personal and accessible approach, including access online or by telephone.
The idea is that the help desk will also have a physical location so that students can speak to staff members in person. The Paviljoen Building, which currently houses Campus & Facility Management (CFM), will be adapted for this purpose so that Student Services and the Study Information Centre can be housed there.
The Contact Centre will be accessible in multiple ways: online, by phone and in person. Information will be made available online wherever possible, so that students can easily find the answers to frequently asked questions at any time. There will be a central telephone number as well, so that they can speak to somebody if they have additional questions, and they will also be able to visit in person if they prefer to speak to somebody face to face. Moreover, the Contact Centre will offer a meeting room for students, reflecting the ambitions set out in the Shaping2030 document, in which the university states that it aims to create an open, inclusive and connected environment at the university.
Preparations will get underway in 2020 and renovation work will start on the Pavilion Building in 2021 in order to convert it into the new Contact Centre. This means that CFM will need to find a new location. The Long-Term Housing Strategy (LTSH) programme team is currently considering which locations could be suitable. The Boerderij Building has been identified as the preferred option. It is also being investigated whether the Faculty Club Foundation can be accommodated in the soon renovated Paviljoen.
For more information: please visit www.utwente.nl/ltsh to find out about all the university’s real estate initiatives.