Closing Event
Closing Event winter term 20/21
On Friday 19th February our Closing Event took place and was another opportunity of getting together in this semester where life looked a little different than usual. This is all the more reason we appreciated our mentors and mentees, their time and dedication towards the mentorships. We started the evening with a short review, then asked for feedback and finally enjoyed playing Connect altogether.
How it went!
This winter semester was our “first online edition” of the Intercultural Mentoring Program (ICM). The start of the ICM with registration and matching worked out very well and we were able to match each and every mentee with a suitable mentor. At the end we were proud to welcome more than 280 participants this year. This means that we have almost tripled our number of participants compared to the first year four years ago.
Our mentors have made a very dedicated effort to get in touch with their mentees and many mentors not only supported one mentee, some even supervised two mentees or a group. Some helped with picking up their mentees at the station and brought them to their accommodation, helped them with banking or insurance issues, gave information about university requirements, or connected as a language tandem. The mentees highly appreciated their support throughout the semester as they received the right support from the beginning.
Our student assistants never got tired of bringing new ideas for great activities to our participants, even in lockdown. Whether it was a socializing event where they baked and did handicrafts with the participants, Connect game nights, or the 10 minute city walk through Freiburg they recorded as a video to welcome those who hadn’t yet seen the city, these activities were fun and highly appreciated by the participants. Even the simple act of meeting students virtually helped the them better deal with the hardships that come with being isolated. This has happened through sharing insights on how different students are handling lockdown. Our participants also let us know that they consider the "Tips and Tricks" website as helpful as it provides useful information about starting the study life in Freiburg and get mental preparations to live and study in a new country and city. The mentors and mentees let us know that they really bonded and hope that they can continue this friendship even after the end of this programme.
Moving Forward!
We asked all mentors and mentees to register as mentor for winter term 2021/22 and a lot of them already did so. We will keep them connected with each other during the summer semester, so that they can continue to network and make new friends especially for those of them who haven’t been able to move to Germany! Whether they were living in Freiburg or not, it’s certain they’ve learned valuable information that they can pass on to new international students in the upcoming winter semester.
Closing Event winter term 19/20
At the Closing Event within the Intercultural Mentoring Program many mentors and mentees came to our office to get their certificates for successful participation in winter term 19/20. They gave us a feedback about the program and let us know how valuable and important their participation within the program was.
About 96% of the mentees told us that their mentor facilitated their start of studies and provided:
- Support concerning everyday life skills
- Information about the university
- Beneficial support in planning the study (individual schedule, exam registration etc.)
- Information concerning the technical university environment such as ILIAS, Uni Account etc.
- Support in developing subject-specific working methods.
More than 80% of the mentees are confident that they will be able to participate as mentors in the next season. Because they have just experienced the feeling of being in a new country and a new academic environment, they can personally help new international students with their own experience.
But also the mentors let us know that they enjoyed being part of the program and that participating as a mentor was very important for them.
We thank all participants for the commitment and participation and look very much forward to seeing all of the next time again. Registration for the Intercultural Mentoring winter term 2020 starts now. So, if you are interested in becoming a mentor, please sign up.