CORRECTION - deadline General Meeting

Dear Crossways students and alumni,

I'm so sorry but there was a confusion regarding the deadline for registration. I meant, Monday 13 October. Since there was this confusion, I thought it was a good idea to extend the deadline until Wednesday 15 October to give you a couple more days to think. (ALUMNI are more than welcome!) Unfortunately it has to be that soon otherwise there might not be available places at the hostel.***So, just to make it clear, on Thursday 17 October we will be making reservations at the only hostel in St Andrews for the ones registered, which means that if you don't register there might not be a place for you.*** 

RESEARCH SPEECH - Regarding the short speech about the topics we are studying, it is an informal talk where you explain what you have been doing. If you are a first-year student, you can talk about a subject that interests you or the main field of your BA. The length of your talk is completely up to you, anything from 10 minutes is fine. The aim is to let everyone know what you're doing, your interests etc -- this may interest others and perhaps even help you create a study network.

Some pointed out they might not feel comfortable talking in front of professors. I guess it's a valid point, so we can make it only for ourselves, since the idea is to make our colleagues acquainted with our work. The original idea of having professors was due to the fact that they might be able to help giving (new) directions to our projects.

SEMINARS - The topic of the seminars are not yet defined because... They depend on you! :) As soon as I have all registration forms completed I will let you know the seminar topics and who are presenting them. Just to clarify that anything related to the Crossways/Mundus experience is welcome, not only academic subjects. So, if you're keen on talking about a specific city, that's cool. One can have a 10-minute talk about visas for Portugal (my current nightmare), for example. In summary, anything that you'd like to share with your colleagues or think they would be interested in.

CROSSWAYS ISSUES - Delphine gave a very good suggestion, that we could organise meetings about the Crossways issues among the students who are in each city prior to the general meeting. It's really a great idea, but unfortunately it's (humanly) impossible for me to organise them all. So I'd like to know if anyone self-nominates to be each city's representative to i) organise the meetings and ii) bring the topics discussed (issues raised and possible solutions) to the general meeting. It would be really good because, as Delphine said, it would enable those who are not coming to have a saying too. So I'll be looking forward to hearing from each university's representative!

Sorry for the long email. Thanks if you got this far. 

Please please please get involved -- let's make this a very cool, fun, instructive experience for us all!

Yours,

Roberta

Crossways General Meeting 2008 - St Andrews

We have the confirmation from the Mundus coordinating team that funding is available for the event (specifically for accommodation). We are organising a three-day (two nights) event -- big thanks to Elisa, Delphine, Natalya and Izabela for the suggestions and tips about St Andrews. A *very* special thanks to Alessandra who has been just wonderfully helpful.

You can find an initial draft of the event's schedule attached. Of course it is provisional and can be changed, according to your suggestions and will. What we have for sure is:

* Room at the university booked - Friday from 1 to 4pm

* Lunch provided by the University of St Andrews on Friday

* Confirmation of funds for one-night accommodation in a hostel

So, the next step is to fill the registration form at

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=or4LIuwcekTBuoz9Mqg4Xw_3d_3d

if you are sure you are going. You should be aware that if you wish to participate on the 3 days, one night of accommodation will be at your expense (one night in the hostel costs about 18€/15£) as well as travel costs.

Please make sure you the chart below before registering.

The deadline for registration is Wednesday, 15 October (people who are now living in St Andrews also need to register if they wish to attend the event). Of course you should feel free to join later, but I have to stress it should be very difficult to organise accommodation because there is only one hostel in town. So, if you want to make sure you will have a place to stay, please let us know *now*.

If you are going to register, perhaps you should be considering buying the tickets. You should know that it takes

- approximately 2.5 hours from Edinburgh airport

- approximately 3.5 hours from Glasgow - Prestwick airport

- approximately 20 minutes from Leuchars train station (if you're coming by train from the UK, you should buy the ticket to Leuchars)

For details on how to get there, please click here.

Once we know for sure who is going to participate, we can start organising the seminars and improving the schedule.

I will be looking forward to seeing you all there!

All the best,

Roberta Gregoli

Crossways students' representative 2008-2009

How to get to St Andrews

       by Alessandra Gallerano

TRAVEL INFORMATION* - Arriving in St. Andrews 

 

By Plane: 

 

From Edinburgh Airport 

Either 

 Bus Airlink 100 (leaving from terminal forecourt, outside the main entrance, every 10 min) to Edinburgh Heymarket Train Station > Train to Leuchars > Bus to St Andrews ( n. 99, 99A, 99B, 96) > get off at St Andrews main bus station > the hostel is at less than 5 min walk from  there! (see directions below)  

• Fares: Airlink 100 : 3£ single; 5£ return   

          train to Leuchars :  6-11£ single (depending on available online offers) 

 local bus to St Andrews: 2.25£  

• Journey Time: 20 min (Airlink bus) + 1h (train) + 20min (bus to St Andrews) + waiting times  

Or 

 Bus AirDirect 747 (from terminal forecourt, outside the main entrance, every 20-30 min) to Ferry-  Toll Park & Ride Bus Station > direct Stagecoach Bus  to St. Andrews ( X59-60) > get off at St Andrews main bus station > the hostel is at less than 5 min walk from there! 

• Fares: AirDirect 747 £4.50 single or day return; 

               Bus to St Andrews: £8 single; 10£ return 

• Journey Time: 25-30 min ( AirDirect 747) + 1.45h (bus to St Andrews) + waiting times 

 

From Glasgow International Airport 

 Bus 757 - AirLink Direct Express to Glasgow City Centre > direct StageCoach  bus to St Andrews (X24;X26;X27)   OR  > Train to Leuchars (change in Edinburgh) 

 

• Fares: 757 AirLink: £2.90 single 

  StageCoach bus: £ 8 single; £10 return 

  Train: 17.50 £ single (fares can change depending on available online offers) 

• Journey Time: 30 min (AirLink) + 2:30-45h (StageCoach bus) OR 2.15h ( train to Leuchars) + waiting times 

 

From Glasgow Prestwick Airport 

Train to Glasgow Central (£3.5o by showing flight ticket; 1 hour journey) Train to Leuchars OR Stagecoach Bus to St Andrews (you will have to walk from Glasgow Central Station to Glasgow main Bus Station-15 min walk)   

 

By Train:   

Train to Leuchars > Bus to St Andrews  ( see above for detailed information)  

 

By Coach:   

Coach-rides from (more or less) everywhere in the UK to Edinburgh or Dundee are run by MegaBus; CityCoach or National Express.  

 

From Edinburgh: 

See above for detailed information 

From Dundee:    

Bus n. 99 or 96 to St Andrews (about 45min. ride; fares: 2.45-4.50£,single, depending on the bus) > get off at St Andrews main Bus Station.  

 

Useful Links:  

For info regarding:  

- AirLink 100 and AirDirect 747

- AirLink 757

- Trains from Glasgow Prestwick Airport

- Trains to/from Leuchars

- StageCoach and local busses to St Andrews (the best way of looking up timetables is searching by service number – on the centre-left, in the above indicated website) 

- Other Coach services: 

http://www.megabus.com/uk/     

www.citylink.co.uk  

www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm  

 

DIRECTIONS to St Andrews Travel Hostel (provided by the hostel) 

The Hostel is located in ST MARYS PLACE only 5 mins from the BUS STATION above the restaurant called the GRILL HOUSE. You turn right when you leave the bus station cross the road and then turn left into ST MARYS PLACE walk 100 meters up the street and the Hostel is on your Right. 

* The Stagecoach buses fare prices are last year’s. It might have changed, although no information is available on their website.