More than 5,000 students will arrive on campus for move-in next week, and the University of Utah is excited to partner with IKEA Draper to receive them.

Supporting the U staff and volunteers, 60 IKEA staff will be on campus helping to unload vehicles in the lower campus, setting up a parents’ lounge in Kahlert Village, and running a U on-campus pickup location for online orders.

“This is a really unique partnership with IKEA Draper that we are excited to bring to campus to support students and their families,” said Jake Sorensen, director of sponsorship and advertising at Auxiliary Business Development. “We hope this is just the beginning of partnerships like this that provide significant value to students and, at the same time, help the university better serve the campus community overall.”

The partnership also involves two special discounts for students at the U: IKEA college starter boxes that include basic college essentials with a 15% discount, and 20% off a minimum purchase of $150 or more, until Aug. 31 for students who bring the coupon in their move-in guide into IKEA Draper.

“We are happy to partner with the University of Utah during their move-in week. With the rising cost of living, IKEA wants to ensure that students and young people are met with affordable solutions that enable them to be productive and have a comfortable and organized environment to study in,” said Andrea Rivers, loyalty manager at IKEA Draper. “We believe that’s our contribution to helping them reach their goals!”

Since June, IKEA Draper has participated in the New Student Orientation events, where students received coupons in the move-in guides. Additionally, students had the opportunity to enter social media giveaways to win college essentials items.

The move-in experience

Every fall, Housing & Residential Education works with the Department of Public Safety, Commuter Services personnel and dozens of volunteers from Student Affairs and offices across campus to make move-in an unforgettable week for students and their families. Traffic enforcement, dining, student services, facilities and several other areas partnered to provide the best campus experience.

This year, families will have a designated space to relax while their students make friends and have fun. The parents’ lounge will be located in Kahlert Village’s courtyard. The area will have music, vendors, photo props, Pepsi products, and more. After the event, all the lounge’s equipment and furniture provided by IKEA Draper will be donated for use across campus.

The exclusive IKEA Draper U pickup location will be set at the top of The George S. Eccles Legacy Bridge—the pedestrian bridge connecting the lower to the upper campus, near Kahlert Village. When purchasing online, customers must use the zip code 84113 as their pickup location to get their items on campus on Aug. 13-15.

“We are anticipating a fantastic and smooth move-in,” explained Paul Peterson, associate director of Resident Services at Housing & Residential Education. “This new partnership has allowed us to establish an amazing relationship with a local company while creating significant savings for the university. We definitely want to continue and expand on what that looks like in the future.”