Welcome Days UC Leuven
Our Welcome Days will guide you through all "need to know" and "nice to know" information on Belgium, Leuven and our university of applied sciences. From a warm welcome at our campus to a city tour in which you can get to know your fellow students a little better; this week will ensure a one of a kind start of your stay with us.
Welcome to Leuven
Welcome Days February 2026
- 2-6 February. For whom: all students enrolled in English-taught programmes (degree, exchange and short courses).
- The final schedule of activities for 2-6 February will be available on this webpage closer to the event. In the meantime, you can have a look at this preliminary programme to have an idea what welcome days at UCLL look like.
When travelling to Campus Connect for the first time, students can buy a bus ticket by using their bank card or credit card on the bus, or by downloading the De Lijn app in advance and buying a cheaper 10-journey ticket there.
We strongly recommend all students to arrive in Leuven at the beginning of February to settle down with no rush. Need a short term stay option till the date your rental contract starts? Check here (book far in advance).
Good to know before you arrive
Check this presentation to get valuable tips before you arrive to Leuven.
Pre-arrival practicalities (6.36 MB)
Welcome Days February 2026
Registration for the Welcome Days is compulsory. We will send a registration form in December via e-mail. Please note that the below programme is tentative. More activities will be added in the next couple of weeks. For now, it is important to note that you must be present from 2-6 February.
Monday, 2 February
- 13:00 - 13:15 Arrival at campus Campus Connect. (bus 4, 15, 43, 609, bus stop Haasrode UCLL in Interleuvenlaan)
- 13:30 - 13:45 Welcome by UCLL management at Campus Connect, room D0140.
- 13:45 - 16:00 Welcome Days kick-off. You will receive first-hand tips about living in Leuven, you will find out all about UCLL's student services, you will meet your classmates, and much, much more ...
- 20:30 - ... Belgian Night at Pangaea organised by ESN Leuven en LOKO
Tuesday, 3 February
- 09:00 - 11:00 Breakfast at Pangaea by ESN Leuven. Cost: € 4 (pre-registration required; amount to be paid on the spot in cash or by card)
- 20:30 - ... Pub crawl organised by ESN Leuven
- 20:30 - ... Cozy evening with board games organised by LOKO
Wednesday, 4 February
- 9:30 - 10:00 Arrival on Campus Connect, block C. Check-in.
- 10:00 - 12:30 Info fair at Campus Connect, Atrium and rooms C101-110. You will meet important actors of the city of Leuven who will provide you with some helpful practicalities: people from the city hall of Leuven and our super friendly student police officers. You will also meet our ICT team (digital environment of UCLL, intranet, student account, etc.), the Admissions and Registration teams, and the UCLL student union Insignia.
- 12:30 - 13:30 Free lunch offered by UCLL
- 13:30 - 14:30 Dutch Crash Course at Campus Connect.
- 15:00 - 16:00 Student stuff market by LOKO
Thursday, 5 February
- 20:30 - ... Karaoke Night organised by ESN Leuven
Friday, 6 February
- 22:00 - ... International party at Waaiberg
Throughout the academic year, several activities are organised by Insignia, Pangaea, ESN Leuven and LOKO International. More information is available on the ESN Leuven and LOKO International websites, but you may also want to follow @insignialeuven, @pangaea_kuleuven, @esnleuven and @lokointernational on Instagram. Please note that you may need to register in advance for activities by these organisations.
All exchange students have mandatory info sessions with the International Officers within their respective faculties:
- Faculty of Health [Nursing] (Date and time to be confirmed)
Faculty of Management [Business and Law] (Date and time to be confirmed)
Faculty of Social Work (Date and time to be confirmed)
Faculty of Teacher Education (Date and time to be confirmed)
Faculty of Technology [Applied Computer Science] (Date and time to be confirmed)
UCLL Welcome Days 2024 - 2025
Relive the highlights from our Welcome Days for academic year 2024–2025!
UCLL Welcome Days 2023 - 2024
Have a look at what previous editions of this event were like! So much fun around! 😉
Living in Leuven
If you want to get a headstart, we can recommend having a look at our Living in Leuven city guide for students on the Student Life webpage. It will answer most (if not all) questions you may have about student services, cost of living, transport, etc.
Also the Life at KU Leuven webpage provides useful information in a nutshell.