Buddy Programme

*Read information for Buddies below*

General Buddy Programme information

The Buddy Programme aims at helping the arriving international students feel welcomed and integrate with their new life in the Netherlands and at the University of Twente. After registering for this Programme as an international arriving student, you get matched to either a Dutch student or another international student that has been living in the Netherlands for more than 6 months. This student will be your “buddy” for the first 10 weeks.

When having questions about the Buddy Programme, please contact us.

In collaboration with the Student Union, we organise the pick-up service before each semester! Have a warm welcome to the Netherlands!

Dear (future) Buddies 

Thank you for considering to become a Buddy!  All Buddies will agree that they have learned a lot during their involvement in the Programme. You get to know new cultures and get the chance to talk about your activities at the University of Twente. You will be linked to an international student who you will guide through the Netherlands and help to get familiar with the UT community.

Before the Programme, a training for all the Buddies will be hosted. The edition starts during the first week of the quartile. To have the student introduced to the UT community think of activities, such as taking your matched student for an evening with your roommates or training of your sports team. Or maybe the student has a request themselves. They might be interested in some kind of association, so help them out and accompany the student to these activities. 

Although the Buddy Programme mainly focuses on getting familiar with the UT community, the student may very well ask you about opening a bank account or their visa. Of course, we do not expect you to know all this and therefore, you can use the knowledge of the Buddy Committee or the frequently asked question list.

Expectations:

• Available during one of the Buddy Training.
• You will be matched before the Kick-In. Available for questions before the start of the Kick-In is preferred.
• You as a Buddy are expected to be available in the first module and to actively help the student.
• Besides availability via WhatsApp or different media, it is expected that you are available for one activity per week.

For questions, please reach out to the Committee via buddy@union.utwente.nl.