International Students Orientation Programme (ISOP)
This programme is designed to help international students with the transition from their country of origin into the new culture and lifestyle of South Africa.  The main objectives of ISOP are to:

To help students adjust to the new educational environment and demands
To provide interesting, stimulating, rewarding and practical information to help the students prepare themselves for the tasks and challenges that they might encounter
To teach students how to handle other aspects of their lives that may affect their academic success
To help students how to identify, find and use facilities and services of the university and surrounding environment
To provide a setting in which students can develop interpersonal relationships with others
To assist students through their cultural adjustment and enable them to share their own cultures and experiences with other students
To encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities to enhance their physical and social wellbeing, leadership abilities and other talents.
Intercultural Day
The objectives of the International Cultural Day are to encourage social cohesion, cultural understanding, tolerance and unity.  Students are grouped per their country of origin and given a budget to prepare their country’s cuisine of choice.  The main activities for this important day in our university calendar are:

Poetry
Cuisine (traditional)
Traditional Dances
Traditional attire and heritage
DoI, through its mandate to drive the Internationalisation strategy of the university, is to encourage interaction and harmony amongst staff and students.  The expected outcomes for Intercultural Day is that participating students/groups will exploit this one-stop and rare opportunity to interact with the VUT community regarding their cultural diversity and offerings as well as act as ambassadors for their respective countries.
International Information Day

The objective of the International Information Day is to bring a wide range of partners, both national and international, to provide the VUT staff and students with highly relevant information and opportunities on:

Scholarships
Placements and internships
Exchange programmes
Social, economic, legal and recreational services (e.g. banking, sports, policing, immigration, health, societies, tourism, etc.)
The International Information Day is a foundation and stepping stone to new and existing collaborative activities that the university has with international, public, social and private institutions.  Above all, it plays a significant role in preparing students for their lives and future careers.
First Year Excursion

The First Year Excursion is a whole day event just after the ISOP, which is organized by DoI for all new international students.  The objective of e event is to familiarize the new international students with the touristic attractions of the Vaal Region and the Gauteng precinct.  The students get to visit, among others, the Sharpeville Memorial in Sharpeville, the Nelson Mandela House and the Hector Peterson Memorial, both in Soweto.