Almost 2,000 new students will descend upon the Towns next week as they arrive for the start of the year at the Universities of Medway.

The joint campus at Chatham Maritime will welcome about 1,850 new arrivals, including 1,000 students from the University of Greenwich, 600 from the University of Kent and 250 from Canterbury Christ Church University. They will be moving in this weekend and lectures will begin on Monday, September 29.

New courses being launched this year at Medway include journalism, dental care, cardiology, construction and forensic science. For most new arrivals, the first week of university life will pass by in a blur of registration days, induction talks and, of course, the occasional visit to the union bar.

Student association UMSA, which caters for all three universities at the Chatham campus, has organised a packed programme of activities for freshers’ week designed to get everyone involved in student life and help form new friendships. It includes a school disco, pub quiz, treasure hunt and barbecue.

The first week of term will also be about students getting used to their surroundings.

They will be given tours of the campus by student “buddies”, and inductions on how to find their way around the Drill Hall Library – the longest library in Europe. Buddies will also be helping the first years move into their halls of residence and giving them tours of the local area.

The week is also a chance for new arrivals to find out about the sports clubs and societies they can join. The Universities at Medway has nine sports clubs and 13 societies. New groups starting this year include poker club, badminton, table tennis and golf.

Students can find out about these at the freshers’ fair, being held on Wednesday in the Pilkington Building from 10am to 3pm.

The event, which will be the biggest freshers’ fair to date, will have more than 60 stalls offering information on campus societies and clubs, Medway Council services, volunteering opportunities and student advice. Freshers will receive packs with everything they need to know about studying and living in Medway, along with freebies and discounted leisure vouchers.

uE06E Students can find out about activities and events at www.umsa.org.uk or by joining the UMSA group on the social networking website Facebook.