Would you like to be a buddy?
Through the weBuddy programme you can meet people from all over the world, developing new friendships in the process. You can practise your languages, get to know new cultures and expand your intercultural skills. If you're planning to go abroad, you can meet visiting students from our partner universities.
What does a buddy do?
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You will support new international students in their early weeks in Hamburg, helping them with the following activities:
- Picking them up from the airport and bringing them to their accommodation
- Helping them open a bank account or take out health insurance
- Accompanying them to official appointments and to complete other formalities
- Helping them get oriented at the university (myHAW, cafeteria, libraries, course schedules)
- Joining them for leisure activities
How do I benefit from being a buddy?
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You'll meet students from around the world and will have the chance to practise your languages, expand your network and make new friends. Although you won't be paid for your work as a buddy, it will help you when you apply for a semester abroad, a scholarship or a job. You will receive a 'Buddy certificate' for your volunteer work which you can also use towards the Certificate of International Competencies.
When are buddies needed the most?
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At the beginning of each semester. This is when we welcome a few hundred new international students. Their first days at the university and in the country are crucial to helping them get settled and achieve success in their studies. The support they receive from their buddy is especially important during this phase. This means that buddies should be available at the beginning of September for the winter semester and at the end of February for the summer semester.
The new international first-year students usually have a lot of questions about studying and living in Hamburg. They also often need support with various formalities (such as registering their address or opening a bank account), especially if they don’t speak German very well. Contact with the buddy is most intensive during this initial period and becomes less intensive over the course of the semester. Later the buddies mainly meet up for lunch, to hang out together (e.g. at a weBuddy event) or to do language tandems.
We usually start recruiting buddies in June for the winter semester and in December for the summer semester.
When can I register for the buddy programme?
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You can register during the following time periods:
- June/July and December/January to be a buddy for an exchange student
- February/March and September/October to be a buddy for a Bachelor or Master student studying a degree course at HAW Hamburg
How do I get a Buddy certificate?
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Would you like to receive a certificate for your weBuddy activity? We're happy to give you one! To apply for it, please fill out this questionnaire. We'd like to get an impression of how your experience was and how we could improve the weBuddy Programme. Please give us your honest feedback! We won't be assessing you.
If you have supported more than one buddy and your experiences with each person have been different, it makes sense to complete the questionnaire more than once in order to capture this.
