What is the Buddy System?

The Buddy System is the link between Erasmus and local students and is based on the principles of volunteer work and intercultural exchange.

Who are the Buddies?

Buddies are local students that want to welcome Erasmus students and help them get settled in Vienna.
This can be for example by: answering questions before the arrival in Vienna, helping to find the way around the city, or simply by hanging out and getting an inside scoop on Viennese student life.

What's in it for the Buddy?

The main reward is the contact itself with international students. Being a Buddy is often the best way to feel the "Erasmus spirit" back home, to stay in touch with people from all over the world and to practice a foreign language. So it's no wonder that most Buddies have either been or Erasmus before or intend to in the near future.

What's in it for the Erasmus student?

Erasmus students benefit primarily from all the help they get settling in. The first few weeks are known to be the hardest for any Erasmus, when facing a different country, language, new habits. That's where the Buddy System jumps in. On the other hand, having a Buddy may be of some help in terms of making friends in the local student community and to expand the Erasmus experience in Vienna. 

If you want to participate, please follow the link below that applies to you:

  •  If you are an exchange student and you want to get a buddy - get a buddy 
  • If you are a local student and you want to become a buddy - be a buddy 

If you have questions about the Buddy System,

just contact us here