FAQ

As an extracurricular activity, there are no fixed things that you have to do as a buddy. Just think about what you wanted to know when starting out your studies. In the handbook sent to you in August you will find suggestions for the first contact and further hints on what can be useful information. All in all the goal is to share your experiences with a first-year student, so they can quickly find their way around.

Since the buddy groups are formed along hobbies, you might like to spend some free time together. Some buddies just meet a few times, but others might become best friends, everything is possible.

There is no strict time commitment that you are signing up to, so the answer is: it depends. In the beginning first year buddies might have more questions and drop you a quick message every now and then. Later it might be that you meet once a week for coffee or go biking together. It is all up to you.
We do expect you to be at the Kick Off Meeting in September and at the Closing Ceremony in December and also to fill in the three questionnaires that help us evaluate this pilot of the Buddy Network Law. These also give you some structure and impulse to be in touch as a buddy team. In the end the Buddy Network Law is what you do with it.

No. The Buddy Network Law is an extracurricular activity and all buddies are volunteers. This also makes for a nicer group dynamic and less pressure on the big buddies.

We do the matching through an algorithm, so the groups cannot be freely chosen by the students. Our buddy groups are formed along hobbies, but we also take language skills and cultural background into consideration.

First the big buddies sign up to the Buddy Network Law. They are asked in May/June to commit to the programme for the upcoming academic year, starting in September. Their number defines how many places we have for the first-year students who would like to join. Places for the little buddies therefore go on a first come first served basis.

We do matching automatically and hope you will enjoy meeting new people with whom you share some common interest(s). You and your friend can both sign up, but chances are you might not end up in the same group. Of course you will still meet at the common events we organise within the Buddy Network Law.

No, you cannot be a buddy while you are on exchange. The idea is, that you can physically meet with the buddy group and that you are able to spend time together.

You can benefit from the experience before and after your exchange, though. Before you go on exchange, the Buddy Network Law provides a good way to broaden your horizon: internationalisation at home. After your exchange you can find some of that intercultural experience you had and might miss in your buddy group.

The aim is to be inclusive, so everybody is understood. English is the lingua franca for the Dutch and the international students, because everybody has at least an A2 knowledge of that, most have an even higher proficiency. With these different levels the Buddy Network Law is also a great way to practice your English in a safe environment.

De coördinatoren spreken ook Nederlands, dus als het makkelijker voor je is om vragen te stellen of zaken in het Nederlands te bespreken, voel je dan vrij om dat te doen.