Be a Buddy!
A Buddy is a “mate”, a fellow, a friend. Students who come from abroad for one semester are lucky if they have such a contact person, especially at the beginning. “Where is the nearest supermarket?”, Where can I go out in the evening?”, How can I borrow books from the library?” – these are just some of the many questions our internationals are facing at the start. A buddy, who knows the challenges and needs of an everyday student life, has always the right answer or helps the students finding a solution.
If Buddies want to undertake a semester abroad themselves, they are given preferential treatment in the allocation process of places at partner universities.
Buddies are preliminary asked to support Incoming Exchange students who visit Carinthia only for one semester.
Being in contact with our Incoming Exchange Students, Buddies encounter a new cultural world – so to say “an intercultural experience at home”. New friendships are made, you get to know the country of the other, you are able to improve your foreign language skills and you are invited to participate in Social Events organized by International Relations Office with the support of the Students Union ÖH (excursions to Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck, Ljubljana, ice skating, sledding, hiking and much more). At the end of their activity, Buddies also receive a “Buddy-Certificate” by the Executive Director, DI Siegfried Spanz that underlines their relentless and gratuitous commitment.
All you have to do to become a Buddy is to write an e-mail to international[at]fh-kaernten[dot]at. Once it is determined which students will be here next semester, the matching of couples begins. We would be very happy if you are open-minded towards all the Incoming Exchange Students. However, we will gladly try to respond to your wishes. For instance, if you already know at which university you want to spend your semester abroad, then we will try to allocate you Incoming Exchange Students from this country. In this way, you can be sure that you are not only going to have a great semester as a Buddy in Carinthia, but also enjoy the best support during your stay abroad.
