What is the Buddy program?
The Buddy Program is designed to support you during your first weeks in Germany with the help of current and former students of Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. At its core, the program relies on the voluntary commitment of Frankfurt UAS students who are willing to share their time and experience to help make your transition from your home country to Germany as smooth as possible.
Most Buddies are German students, but it's not uncommon for international students who have been studying at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences for more than one semester to also take part. The program is meant to help you settle in, navigate unexpected cross-cultural challenges, and—most importantly—build friendships beyond your usual language or cultural comfort zone.
Not an exchange student but interested in being a Buddy?
If you are currently studying at Frankfurt UAS and are interested in being a buddy for exchange students, you can find further information on how to register here.
A Buddy is usually an experienced Frankfurt UAS student, who will be paired up with you before your arrival. Thus, it is important that we receive your arrival time as early as possible. Not knowing when you arrive will make it very difficult for us to pair you up with a Buddy. The same goes for students that arrive later than the September 1/March 1, since many Buddies take time off from their work and internships to be available during the first days.
Our buddies are volunteers, which means that they are not paid for their commitment. For this reason, they might not be able to accompany you to every event that we will offer, but they are certainly encouraged to do so. Also, there is no obligation to spend time with each other. It is up to you and your Buddy how much time you want to spend together.
Although we’ll try to match you up with a Buddy from your field of study, we can’t guarantee that this will be the case. Sometimes timing issues (i.e. that your Buddy can pick you up from the airport/train station) will have priority.
If possible, the Buddy will pick you up at the airport/ train station. He/she will assist you with signing your rental agreement, navigating the public transport or booking a hostel for the first night. They will also help you with organizational matters and formalities inside and outside the university, such as registering at the town hall or explaining the difference between ‘Vorlesung’ (lecture) and ‘Übung’ (exercise).
After you have successfully applied for an exchange semester through our platform Mobility-Online, we will send you registration details along with your acceptance letter. Your participation in the program is free of charge.