Why it was needed

It was needed because a lot of International Students that were coming to my University were asking the International Office for basic area information from a students perspective, which they couldn't give. It also helped the International Students feel more settled when they came over as they already knew someone.

What's being done

I contacted the Community Volunteers Department and they helped me to work out what I would need. The International Office printed some flyers which I had designed and sent them to all of the International Students who were coming over and they let us know by e-mail if they wanted a buddy.
We recruited student volunteers to the project and once the UK students were matched with the International Students, they e-mailed regularly over the summer until the International Students came over to the UK. The students met up during an event we held at the University's Diversity Day and some buddying naturally ended then and some students made great friends with their buddies which carried on throughout the year.

How it started

By seeing that there was a need for this kind of project and speaking to International Students about their experience of coming to the UK.

More

Yes - I made sure that when I sent out the forms for the UK and International Students to send in that I asked them for information about their interests and hobbies so that I could match them with a buddy that they had something in common with. We did training with our UK students to make sure that they were aware of other religions and cultures so that they did not offend their buddy.