This is the average UIT participant
International students take part in the introduction week. Photo DUB
More than 3,400 students from all corners of the country and beyond are ready to spend this week getting to know the city of Utrecht and its student life. DUB wondered who the average UIT participant is, and studied the data of the UIT registrations to find out. We discovered a number of surprising – and less surprising – facts about the new batch of students.
Among other things, DUB found:
That if you encounter an UIT participant, there’s a chance of over 1 in 3 that that person was born in 2001 – meaning they’re either eighteen, or will turn eighteen this year.
That the age difference between the youngest and oldest participants in the Utrecht Introduction Week is more than nineteen years. The youngest participant is only 15 years old, while the oldest will turn 35 during the UIT week.
That that participant isn’t the only one celebrating their birthday during the UIT week: in total, 55 UIT participants celebrate their birthdays this week. Sixteen of them are turning 18.
That 60 percent of participants are women.
That the UIT participants are from 753 different cities, towns and villages in both the Netherlands and beyond.
That almost 7 percent of participants currently already lives in Utrecht. 24 percent of participants is from the province of Utrecht.
That in total, there are students from nineteen different countries participating, with 32 nationalities.That among the internationals, Germans are the largest group.
That 31 percent of participants indicated they preferred vegetarian food.
That if you encounter an UIT participant, there’s a chance of over 1 in 3 that that person was born in 2001 – meaning they’re either eighteen, or will turn eighteen this year.
That the age difference between the youngest and oldest participants in the Utrecht Introduction Week is more than nineteen years. The youngest participant is only 15 years old, while the oldest will turn 35 during the UIT week.
That that participant isn’t the only one celebrating their birthday during the UIT week: in total, 55 UIT participants celebrate their birthdays this week. Sixteen of them are turning 18.
That 60 percent of participants are women.
That the UIT participants are from 753 different cities, towns and villages in both the Netherlands and beyond.
That almost 7 percent of participants currently already lives in Utrecht. 24 percent of participants is from the province of Utrecht.
That in total, there are students from nineteen different countries participating, with 32 nationalities.That among the internationals, Germans are the largest group.
That 31 percent of participants indicated they preferred vegetarian food.
You’d think the UIT is mostly popular among upcoming freshmen, for whom the city is still a new place waiting to be explored. But the city supplying – by far – the highest number of UIT participants, is Utrecht itself. Of all participants, two hundred are already living in Utrecht. That’s nearly 7 percent of all UIT participants, and is three times the number of students from Amersfoort, second place in supplying students.
More internationals than people from Drenthe
In total, there are participants from 753 different towns and cities, from Aagtekerke to Naarden and Zwolle. However, there aren’t just people from the Netherlands participating in the UIT week. This year, 55 international students are participating in the UIT, the same as the number of students from the province of Zeeland, and more than the number of students from the provinces of Drenthe and Flevoland. Germany is supplying the highest number of internationals: no fewer than nineteen. Other participants are from (among others): Belgium (13), Chile (1), Saint Martin (1), Tanzania, and Switzerland (3).
In total, there are participants from nineteen different countries. Looking at the participants’ nationalities, the group is even more diverse. Among the UIT participants, no fewer than 32 different nationalities are represented.
Number of UIT participants from Dutch provinces. Illustration DUB.
Law most popular study programme
Looking at the previous education of the over 3,000 prospective students, it’s clear most come from the Dutch vwo or gymnasium. This is reflected in the educational institution they’ve registered at. Seven out of every ten UIT participants are going to study at Utrecht University. These aren’t exclusively Bachelor’s students: 81 (pre-)Master’s students are participating in the introduction week.
The 2,360 prospective Bachelor’s students registered for 45 different study programmes. The UU has 49 Bachelor’s programmes. The Law programme is the most popular one by far, followed by Psychology. It’s unknown what programmes the 81 (pre-)Master’s students have registered for, but we do know that of these group, 22 are pre-Master’s students. Thirteen of the 81 are from abroad.
Age of UIT particants. Illustration DUB
Mostly ‘00s kids
More than 40 percent of the UIT participants are either younger than eighteen, or only turned eighteen this year. The chance of encountering an UIT participant this week who was born in 2001, is over 1 in 3. In total, nearly 60 percent of participants were born in the 2000s. still, it’s not just Generation Z kids that are joining the UIT week. The oldest participant is 34, and will turn 35 during the UIT week. He’s more than nineteen years older than the youngest participant, who’s only 15.
The oldest participant of the UIT week isn’t the only one with a birthday this week: there are 54 other participants whose birthdays are also during the UIT festivities. Sixteen of them are turning 18 during the UIT. That means they’ll be able to switch their ‘below 18’ wristband for an ‘18+’ wristband, and will be able to order alcohol at the bar.
Not just hanging around in bars
If you think most participants see the UIT as an opportunity for endless bar hopping, you’re wrong. For the first time, participants were able to choose the type of group they wanted to be assigned to: ‘culture & info’, ‘parties & associations’, or a mix of both. Although only one in fifty students chose an informative, cultural programme, it’s not the case that all the other students chose the exclusively parties & associations groups. 72 percent of students chose a varied programme.
Another remarkable thing about participants’ personal preferences is that one in three stated they wished to eat vegetarian meals. This, despite the fact that only 3 percent of Dutch people are vegetarians. Furthermore, 35 percent of participants decided to donate to the charity sponsored by the introduction event: the Move Foundation.
This data story is based on the number of registrations (3,348) for the Utrecht Introduction Week as of Monday, August 5. Participants were still able to register for the UIT until Friday, August 9. In those days, another 350 students registered for the UIT, making the total number of students lower than last year, when more than four thousand students joined the UIT week.