Two Danish and Swiss students seeking postgraduate business qualifications, a Brightwater resident hoping to be a physical education teacher and a Melbourne assistant nurse aiming to further his career were among hundreds of enthusiastic faces at USC Orientation today.

The campus at Sippy Downs is hosting three days of Orientation with information, activities and entertainment for 1,900 new students, including 500 new international students. Semester 2 starts next Monday 22 July.

Program sessions will be held tomorrow and Wednesday, with students to enjoy free barbecue lunches and live music from 11.30am to 1pm on both days.

Today students lined up early for a free pancake breakfast before Market Day stalls opened. A crowd enjoyed the lunchtime Welcome to Country by the Gubbi Gubbi Dance Troupe, including a few student volunteers who learned some new dance moves.

Malene Stroemsted from Denmark and Larissa Stalder from Switzerland met a pair of surf lifesaving volunteers at a market stall before finding out about their degrees in Management and International Business respectively.

Hayley Maddick of Brightwater was looking forward to a combined degree in Secondary Education and Recreation and Outdoor Environmental Studies. She hoped to teach physical education in schools, like her brother Ben who accompanied her to Orientation today.

Assistant nurse Arjun Nijhawan, who came to Australia from India in 2015, said he had moved from Melbourne to the Coast to study Nursing Science (Graduate Entry) at USC. He aimed to work as a registered nurse in the mental health sector.

David Webster and John Rances were chatting at the breakfast. David, who works in the IT industry, enrolled in a Bachelor of Information and Communications Technology to advance his career. John Rances moved from Brisbane to the Coast to study Nursing Science (Graduate Entry) at USC while working part-time in the aged care sector.

Arts student Sandra Throndsen and Diploma of General Studies student Iselin Fronteri, both from Norway, were unfazed by the Sunshine Coast’s wintry breeze as they walked to Student Central. And new Animal Ecology student Jay Saayman found out about USC’s many student services from staffer Deborah Flashman.

Details about USC Sunshine Coast Orientation