Information for Buddies
Be Buddy – The Buddy Programme of the International Office at RWTH Aachen University
- You love socialising with people and you would like to make international contacts?
- You would like to be globally engaged, improve your language skills and develop intercultural competence?
- You know your faculty inside out and really know your way around the campus?
If so, we would like you to take part in our international student mentoring programme, helping newly enrolled international students during their first weeks at RWTH to find their way around and to meet, mix with, and learn from other students.
Your task as a buddy
You contact your mentee already prior to his or her arrival at Aachen, answering her questions concerning studying and living in Germany. Further, you may arrange to welcome your mentee at the train station or airport and accompany her to her student flat. In the first weeks of the term, you should show your mentee around, pointing out the most important institutions, facilities, and points of contact at RWTH, such as the Registrar's Office, the International Office, the Humboldt House, and the Students' Union, for example. You are to support him or her in coming to terms with student life in Aachen, and offer to be her first contact person during her stay.
As a rule, buddies and mentees participate in the programme for at least three months; if desired, this period can be extended.
Who can be a Buddy?
- You are a student of RWTH Aachen University, and you take a strong interest in foreign cultures. You would like to meet international students and help them settle in at university and in Aachen, understanding the feelings, issues and the practicalities of being a new student at RWTH.
- You are at last in your second semester at RWTH, having a good grasp of the study opportunities offered by your faculty
- You have excellent German language skills are and also fluent in English or another foreign language.
As a thank you for your dedication and contribution to university life we offer you
In return for your voluntary services to the international student community you will receive a certificate which testifies to your social and intercultural commitment during your studies at RWTH. Further, you will participate in a course on intercultural competencies and invited to take part in the events of the Leisure & Pleasure programme at a special student rate.
Registration
If you are interested in being a buddy for the upcoming semester, please fill in the registration form. We will match you with a mentee as soon as possible.
Buddy Training Sessions
In order to prepare you for your job as a buddy, we would like to invite you to our buddy training sessions, whichl take place each month.
In the training sessions, you will be introduced to questions of intercultural communication, but apart from developing intercultural competence, you will also contribute to creating a sort of FAQ catalogue containing information and contact persons for your mentees, especially as regards legal and formal matters. As buddies, you are the first contacts for your mentees in case that they have any questions, especially during their first weeks in Aachen. If you don't feel competent or entitled to answer certain questions, of course you can send your mentees on to our Info Service Center, or to the relevant contact person. You will be introduced to the competent contact persons in the course of the training sessions.
When does the next training take place?
Please note that we expect all future buddies to take part in our training programme! Upcoming training sessions will be announced on our Events web page.