You will soon be arriving at Warwick. I wanted to write to you before then – firstly to thank you for choosing Warwick, and secondly to say how pleased I am that you will be joining us. I will be hosting a welcome event for all new undergraduate students on Monday 3 October at 9am in the Butterworth Hall, Warwick Arts Centre, and I do hope you will join me there.   
 
You really are joining a great community at Warwick, where we champion and value our inclusivity. I hope your academic life and friendships will be enriched by the international mix of people on our campus, with students and staff from across Europe and the world.  Ours is a highly cosmopolitan and diverse experience in which different perspectives are essential to the generation of ideas. It is an environment in which the ability to voice those ideas is a core value, and in which staff and students should operate with mutual respect and with the confidence that equality of opportunity is accessed by all.  I hope you will find it a nurturing and stimulating place to be.
 
You’ll quickly find that we’re always developing and improving the University campus too, and this year is no exception with the opening of our Library on a 24/7 basis, and the opening of the new teaching and learning building, with fantastic social learning spaces, private study zones, a video wall, a 500-seater lecture theatre and, of course, wifi throughout. Our region is also a particularly great place to be this year - we’re very pleased to work with Coventry University to partner Coventry’s bid in 2017 to become the next UK City of Culture in 2021.  
 
There are also great services, and staff, to support you throughout your time at Warwick – we have Residential Life Teams, Personal Tutors, Support Services, Careers, Skills and Library teams, and the Students’ Union to name but a few.  Through membership of societies and clubs, volunteering, enterprise activities, language courses and activities available at the Sports, Arts and Music Centres, there are lots of ways to keep entertained, learn new skills, improve your CV and develop new friendships.  All these opportunities, people and services are here for you. You will be able to learn more about them in the next few days and weeks. We also use our MyWarwick student portal to share news, information and developments that we hope you will find useful as you settle in and take part in life at Warwick.  
 
As new members of the University, I’d particularly like to encourage you to work with us to ensure we can continue to shape the very best future for Warwick. There are many opportunities for you to share your views and to contribute, from getting involved in Staff-Student Liaison Committees, to taking part in our surveys and snap polls, engaging with SU democracy, or helping us to innovate teaching practice with IATL.
 
I am relatively new in my role, having become Vice-Chancellor in February. So I know all about that mixture of delight and apprehension that I’m sure many of you are experiencing as you take a new step in your life. Warwick is a great place to be, and we will do all we can to help you to make the most of it.  I hope to see you at my welcome events. Thank you for joining us, good luck, and welcome.