When you arrive in a new environment, you may feel a bit lost and unsure who to turn to. To support you during your student life abroad, you can count on a variety of peer support services. Whether you need help with everyday life, academic challenges, or building a social network, programs to connect with peers are available at each partner university.
Please check the following chapter to learn more about how each Arqus university organizes its support services.
Graz
At University of Graz, the student union (ÖH Uni Graz) provides support for students via their different departments (Social Affairs Department, Accessibility Department, Foreign & International Departments, Cultural Department, Sports & Health Department, Queer Department, etc.)
International exchange students receive additional support through the Erasmus Student Network which is also linked to the student union. ESN Graz offers support to students throughout their exchange stay, from the buddy program focusing on arrival and getting settled, to the regulars table as well as a multitude of events and trips throughout the semester. Students can also sign up for the ESN membership card which offers a variety of discounts. ESN is an excellent opportunity to meet and mingle with local students and have a full exchange student experience.
The University Sports Department (USI) offers non-credit-bearing leisure sports courses for students, providing excellent opportunities to connect with both international and local members of the university.
The Integrated Studies Centre serves as the central information and contact point for people with special needs and/or chronic diseases who are already studying or planning to study at the University of Graz.
Granada
At the UGR, we feel that diversity provides a great opportunity for creating rich learning environments and promoting social integration. The UGR Buddy Programme (in Spanish: Programa Mentor) is a student-oriented initiative designed to help out our international students with their cultural, academic and language integration at the UGR.
Our buddy programme aims to make the transition as stress-free as possible – enhancing the academic and personal experience of incoming international students, enabling them to form close bonds with our home students, and introducing them to everyday UGR life. Moreover, the Buddy Programme provides our home students with a significant opportunity to gain insights into new cultures and lifestyles, practice their language skills and build up their international networks.
The programme kicks off in September every year and normally runs for a semester or full academic year (depending on the availability of our home students). The UGR’s International Relations Office will pair up incoming students with a UGR mentor, prior to their arrival, belonging to the Faculty or School where these students will be undertaking their studies. The mentor or buddy will provide them with on-going support both before and during your time at our University. They will help them with everything from completing administrative procedures, searching for accommodation, and finding your way around the University campuses and Granada. They will also organize cultural activities such as visits to monuments and historical sites; guided tours; excursions; concerts; plays etc. (students can decide on these activities with their mentors).
If you are an incoming international student and wish to take part in our buddy programme, you must:
• Propose activities to your mentor.
• Attend meetings.
• Help UGR assess the buddy programme by evaluating your mentor. A month after your arrival, you will receive a survey link to rate your mentor’s activities. Before departing Granada, another survey will be sent for you to provide a comprehensive evaluation of your mentor. We greatly appreciate your feedback, as it provides us with valuable information to help us improve future editions of our Buddy Programme.
• Before returning to your home University, you must sign the activities report (memoria de actividades).
To participate in this initiative you just have to click on the option I apply for the Buddy Programme (at the moment of the online application).
If you were not able to apply for the Mentor or Buddy Programme through the online application, you can also fill in this Mentor Programme application form and send it scanned to programamentor@ugr.es.
Once you apply, the International Relations Office will assign you during the month of July a mentor from the Faculty/School of the UGR where you will be studying, whenever possible. The mentor will be a volunteer student from the same school. The mentor assignment depends on the availability of mentors in each Faculty/School. If you have applied for a mentor through the online application and there are mentors available at your Faculty/School, your mentor will contact him/her/they by email once the buddies-mentors are assigned. If you do not receive any email, you should ask for your assigned mentor at programamentor@ugr.es.
Lyon 1
The buddy system in Lyon 1 is handled by ESN Cosmo Lyon (Erasmus Student Network). Your buddy will be a young person from Lyon who will welcome you, show you around the city, help you with the administrative formalities and introduce you to other young people in Lyon. You can join the program by registering on the dedicated webpage: https://buddysystem.eu/en/register
In addition, students can benefit from a tutor system offered by the university and managed by Master’s students, which focuses on providing academic support.
Vilnius University
Arriving in a new country for an extended period can be challenging, with many changes to navigate. An ESN buddy from Vilnius University’s Erasmus Student Network can make the transition much easier, offering support during your first week and throughout your entire study period.
The Erasmus Student Network Vilniaus Universitetas (Vilnius University’s Student Association) promotes student mobility and helps international students integrate into university life at Vilnius University.
ESN buddies are volunteer local students who welcome you upon arrival and provide essential guidance, such as getting to know your dormitory and the city, and assisting with documents related to your studies and residency in Lithuania, including student cards, visas, and migration issues.
Beyond practical matters, they also offer informal insights into student life, help you integrate into the local student community, and ensure you enjoy your time at university, have fun, and make lasting memories.
Padova
At UNIPD, incoming exchange students can rely on a solid group of Buddies that can help out with everyday challenges and guide them through the most relevant tasks.
Buddy support can be optioned before arriving in Padua and is guaranteed to whoever requests it.
Some Departments or Schools provide even further support through peer tutors, who specialize in matters related to specific study programs.
If you want to find out more about the Buddy system, please visit https://www.unipd.it/en/services-useful-info-incoming-students
Minho
The University of Minho (UMinho) is running the project “sou.uminho 5.0”, an innovative initiative that aims to anticipate and act preventively in situations of potential school dropout, promoting the academic success of students enrolled in the 1st year for the first time. This project was developed in collaboration with students and various schools, institutes and units from the University.
The fundamental aim of the “sou.uminho 5.0” project is for the university to become a place where students feel welcome and to involve the academic community in this process. “sou.uminho 5.0” is based on an action plan that encompasses a series of initiatives designed to innovate and modernize UMinho’s institutional practices.
Also, Students Unions and Associations promote their own initiatives in terms of peer support and buddy programmes:
– UMBuddy promoted by the Students Association, AAUMinho: https://www.aaum.pt/
– Buddy Programme promoted by ESN-Minho: https://esnminho.org/buddy-programme
Other University initiatives, include, the University of Minho’s Peer Tutoring Program, which aims to promote a healthy and proactive integration of students in the context of Higher Education, thus promoting their academic success. This program aims to contribute to the development of transversal skills, such as personal, social and interpersonal skills, which are now associated with the concept of a higher education student. It is based on a tutorial system, in which students who have been attending UMinho for at least a year (Tutors) provide individual and personalized support to students attending the University for the first time (Tutorees). This support covers issues related to adaptation/integration into Higher Education, such as structural aspects of the course, the University, the relationship between colleagues, academic characteristics and the skills to be developed in order to achieve a successful education.
Finally, the University of Minho’s Mentoring Programmes aims to promote the overall development and professional integration of students, helping them to get to know the realities of the working world and to value themselves personally and professionally.
– In the case of UMinho’s International Mentoring the aim is to give students the chance to get in touch with professionals, all of them UMinho Alumni with successful careers outside Portugal. The mentors/alumni live and work in different countries;
– Besides that, the Mentoring Program is presented as a professional development tool in which a more experienced professional (Mentor) helps someone less experienced (Mentee), based on the personal and professional experience acquired throughout their career. In this program, the mentor/mentee pairs are from different training areas, with the aim of developing the mentee’s transversal skills and, consequently, making them better able to face various professional situations, boosting their personal and professional growth.