International students in Europe can benefit from Buddy programmes
Settling in a new place and a country can be overwhelming. The international students can find the arrival to new environment exciting but equally challenging as studying in a new university does not mean just meeting new peers, teachers but also facing new cultures, new ways of learning and other things related to everyday life such as climate or food that can be very different from their home country.
As the universities are planning to welcome back the international students who were not able to arrive due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, it is important that students are helped to become part of the community. Many higher institutions are creating scenarios depending on the restrictions at the time of resuming the lessons in September 2021 and these might include in-person, online or hybrid lessons. The return can be challenging for home as well as international students.
There are student support programmes in Europe to help international students get used to their host country. A number of universities have been practising buddy programmes to match home students with international students.
The home student buddy helps the foreign students to get settled during the first weeks. The buddy can help with administrative tasks, practical matters, such as sharing tips on accommodation or procedures at the university. Home students can also help to discover local culture, practice the language and introduce the area attractions to the international students. This is a mutually beneficial experience leading to know more about different cultures, accepting other cultures and eventually creating a multicultural and friendly university community.
Some universities have their own buddy programmes whereby students can be matched with a buddy through the buddy system.
Students can sign up to the Buddy System project, an Erasmus+ supported project, to find a buddy which was created in 2013 by 4 students in Lille after a year abroad with the Erasmus+ program. The project came to life with the support of the University of Lille. Since 2015, more than 25,000 users of 145 nationalities have taken part in the Buddy System project.
The students can find out information about opportunities of support that are available when they arrive on the website of their university or college. To find out more about the Buddy System project students can check the website: https://buddysystem.eu/en/the-project
