Welcome to the BU community.
We hope this summary will help you make the most of your first few weeks at BU by sharing need-to-know information and activities you can get involved in.
If you have any questions about your time at BU, our AskBU team is on hand to answer any queries you may have at this time, You can also find a range of useful information in our commonly asked questions page.
Make sure you have completed online registration and enrolment
If you haven’t already completed your online registration and enrolment for your course, please do this now. It only takes about 20 minutes to complete and is necessary to engage in your learning on Brightspace, our virtual learning environment. You will be asked to pay for, or tell us how you intend to pay for, your tuition fees and check things like our Student Agreement.
Access online resources
Our quick links to BU services page should point you to all the essential resources you need whilst at BU.
If you have a problem, our IT information pages will give you all the information you need to get started and contacts if you need to ask for help. Whether you are looking for information about your work and timetable, how to access key system or guidance for remote study, these information pages should be your first point of call.
Claim your free week of Unibus travel
Our UNIBUS service connects our campuses with Poole, Bournemouth and Boscombe, with the regular U1 service running between our Talbot and Lansdowne campuses. Other services include: U2 (Poole to Talbot Campus), U3 (Southbourne to Talbot Campus) and U4 (Westbourne to Talbot Campus).
If you have joined BU in January 2024, you are eligible for a free week of travel on the Unibus services. To gain access to the free week, you must download the Unibus app from the app store on your device (IOS or Google) and register with your BU student email address. Once registered, you must email [email protected] to confirm you have completed this step and include the date that you would like your free week of travel to start from.
This offer for new students in January is only applicable until Friday 23 February 2024 – with the last day of free travel being Friday 1 March 2024. Free passes are manually approved by a member of staff, so please allow 1-2 days for your free pass to be activated before use.
Careers support for students
The CareersBU team can help you take advantage of everything that BU has to offer and get your future off to the best possible start. We recommend finding out more about the service and seeking advice early on in your studies so that you can make the most of the resources available to you including workshops, webinars, Graduate Skills+ Award, one to one appointments and more.
The service can help you in a range of areas such as helping you to understand the UK work culture, write a CV or cover letter or find a part time or graduate job. Find out more by watching the video below, or by visiting MyCareerHub:
Sign up for SUBU's International Buddy Scheme
The International Buddy Scheme organised by your Students' Union at BU (SUBU) is designed to offer peer to peer support to help you settle into life at university and in Bournemouth.
By signing up you will be matched with a current student Buddy Volunteer who can help answer your questions about BU and share their hints and tips. The scheme will last four weeks, and you will explore a different theme with your buddy each week.
Applications for the International Buddy Scheme are currently open - so if you are interested in getting involved sign up now on the SUBU website.
Get involved
Together with SUBU, we have organised a range of events to give you the best possible welcome to the BU community. You can browse our full schedule by downloading the BU mobile application, or visiting the SUBU website. Some of the activities you can expect include:
- Tours of Talbot or Lansdowne Campus with Student Ambassadors:
- Talbot Campus tours will start outside the Students' Centre between 12pm and 1pm, Monday 22 - Friday 26 January.
- Lansdowne Campus Tours start on the ground floor of the Executive Business Centre between 12pm and 1pm, Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 January.
- Meet other international students and learn more about life in the UK at our International Student Orientation Day on Wednesday 24 January.
- Get familiar with the Bournemouth area by joining one of our Bournemouth Town Tours on the 25 January, 8 February or 22 February.
- Learn more about student clubs, societies, sports teams and volunteering opportunities at SUBU’s Refreshers’ Fair on Thursday 8 February.