Buddy System for students
The success of studying in another country is largely dependent on how well you can adapt to and integrate into your new environment. To help you achieve this as quickly as possible, student association I*ESN and MAK mentor system facilitate you with a buddy and mentor system, in collaboration with Tilburg University.
ESN Tilburg, guidance by our international student association
Before TOP Week, ESN Tilburg ensures that all new international students will be assigned a buddy or a mentor. A buddy guides master students, and a mentor guides exchange and bachelor students. These buddies and mentors are students in Tilburg and are members of ESN Tilburg, our International Student Association. They work on a voluntary basis to help make the most out of your time in Tilburg.
- The buddies and mentors will help you find your way around campus, the city of Tilburg, and life in the Netherlands in general. Think of where to get a bike, how to contact a doctor, as well as the best places to eat and drink in Tilburg.
- They are your contact person for the whole semester and will make sure you have the best time possible in Tilburg!
- Your buddy or mentor will also guide you to the activities that ESN Tilburg organizes.
- They make sure that your questions about ESN Tilburg are answered, and that you are up to date about all the events and activities that are going on. To participate in the events that ESN Tilburg organizes, you have to become a member of the association.
MAK Mentorship System - supported by Asset - Tilburg School of Economics and Management
MAK is a group of 30 volunteering students and one of the main goals is to support prospective and current students at TiSEM (Tilburg School of Economics and Management) in their personal and academic development.
- MAK will organize several activities during the introduction period to show you how to get used to Tilburg and TiSEM.
- Next to this, MAK offers study support in different ways, such as in tutorships for bachelor and (Pre)-Master students.
- If you are a bachelor student, MAK will guide you through your first year with a program called PASS. Together with mentors they will help you to MAKe sure your academic career will be a success!
Take a look at www.maktilburg.nl to find more information and discover all possibilities.
School specific information:
Law and Technology Buddy System
General structure of the buddy system
Students can sign up to be a buddy. Each buddy will be in charge of a buddy group of up to 3-5 students. These groups are formed in order to help facilitate social interaction and support in a group setting. Buddies are there to provide social and mild emotional support, and are not a replacement for professional help. Student representatives will be in charge of assigning buddies and adding students who reach to them to a group.
Procedure: how to get a buddy?
A student who would like a buddy reaches out to the student representatives to ask for a buddy by sending an e-mail to their student representatives. The student representatives then connect the student to an appropriate buddy on the list based upon any important preferences that the student had shared. When contacting the student representatives, students should indicate the following:
- Name and university e-mail address
- What intake they are a part of?
- What type of support: one time contact, via email/online, in person interaction?
- If they are okay with it being a group setting?
- Location: where are they located and if they able to meet in person with the buddy?
- Any preferences for a buddy?
Buddy guidelines
These guidelines consist of considerations on what a buddy would need to be and what can be expected from a buddy.
- They are an informal point for social and mild emotional help. They are not replacement for psychological or official educational help.
- They are put in contact with students via the student representatives.
- The minimum number of times a buddy must be willing to meet up with students in person and/or have contact online.
- The minimum requirement form of contact: must be available online, offline is optional.
Additional support
It is important that students have access to a confidential advisor outside of the buddy infrastructure, so that they are able to report concerns, worries and problems. This confidential advisor is a trusted person within TILT who is not involved with the Education Team. Her name is Tineke Broer.