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Have a Perfect Start with Our Buddy Program

Starting at TUM Campus Heilbronn? Our unique Buddy Program for new students pairs you up with a current TUM student - your new Buddy, who supports you during your first semester, making your transition smooth and memorable!

A Friendly Face to Show You Around

TUM Campus Heilbronn has a Buddy Program for new students to help our newcomers to get settled in at TUM and in Heilbronn. The Buddy Program matches a group of first-year students with a TUM buddy who supports them during their first semester at TUM Campus Heilbronn. Buddies do an important job in ensuring that our new students have a successful and enjoyable start at TUM Campus Heilbronn.

Buddy Program Brochure

Find a Buddy

Your Buddy will be a friendly face who shows you around campus, integrates you into their Buddy group, and helps you adjust to university life. You'll join a large network of both international and domestic students, connecting through online and in-person events led by your Buddy or the Buddy Program Coordinator. This is a wonderful chance to meet students from all over the world, share your culture, and learn about others.
 

What Buddies do:

  • Get in touch with you by email either before you arrive or soon after you arrive.
  • Meet you at the University and show you around campus.
  • Answer your questions and share information about Heilbronn and university life.
  • Host online social hangouts for the group or one-on-one so you feel more connected to the student community.

Buddy Program Activities

Your Buddy is more than just an advisor—they're a friend and your gateway to life at TUM Campus Heilbronn. The Buddy community regularly organizes events and activities to help you settle in, make friends, and fully enjoy your experience on campus.

Some of them include:

  • City tours – Explore Heilbronn and nearby places with your Buddy group.
  • Game nights – Join board game sessions, quizzes, and more.
  • Cultural evenings – Share food, traditions, and experiences from different cultures.
  • Outdoor trips – Go hiking, sightseeing, or enjoy nature walks.
  • Sports activities – Play football, basketball, badminton, and more.
  • Movie nights – Watch classic films or new releases together.
  • Study meetups – Get support and study in a relaxed environment.
  • Social gatherings – Celebrate different occasions and traditions.
  • Company visits – Tour businesses and learn from industry professionals.
  • Shopping trips – Visit stores for essentials or fun group outings.

What Our Freshers Say

  • The program is very helpful for me. I’ve been in contact with my senior buddy since one month before my studies started. She has helped me with a lot of stuff: She planned my trip to Heilbronn from India and told me what to expect in my classes. I actually made a very good friend in her. For the future, I would like to pay back by becoming a senior buddy myself. I’d be happy to meet new students and support them in the way I was supported.

    Advitya Chopra (21)

    Information Engineering Student - India

  • The program is pretty useful. We can connect to senior students and they can share information which is very helpful for us. They have gone through the same situation like us and made some mistakes they can tell us about. I wasn’t expecting a massive Kick-off Event like that and it was really nice and impressive. I hope that there’ll be even more networking events to get to know some people from other programs. And surely I can imagine to become a senior buddy in future.

    Amir Amangeldiyev (19)

    Management and Technology Student - Kazakhstan

  • When I first came here – to another continent – my buddies arranged everything for me. I didn’t know anyone and it was very tough for me. I felt very lonely and isolated. The program has been helpful for me to at least get to know some people and reduce some of the loneliness. It helps when you have some people around that really know you. Now I’m becoming a buddy myself and I’ll take care of four freshers together with a partner.

    Oshin Bhuiyan (22)

    Information Engineering Student - Bangladesh

  • I’m super excited about the program – I never saw anything like this. It’s such a great idea overall and the team and the people who invented this are really brilliant. I get to know new people and it’s a good option to socialize. I hope to make as many friends as possible and to create relationships that will last over the years. Hundred percent I’ll become a buddy myself in future.

    Andis Tahiraj (19)

    Management and Technology Student - Albania

  • Our buddies are here to help us, they are quite supportive. We’re two buddies and three freshers in my group. We got to know each other quite well and they ask us tons of questions. That’s a great start into socialization, I even got to know some students from the master program. We don’t feel as foreigners that don’t belong here and we can gradually adopt. We have everything we need at the moment. I guess next year I will become a buddy myself. I would like to help first grade students – no matter of their nationality, gender, general background or socio-economic status.

    Mokhina Dustmurodova (21)

    Management and Technology Student - Uzbekistan

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Become a Buddy Yourself

Students sitting on the grass at campus

Become part of the Buddy Program and broaden your horizon. Meet lots of new students, network and help others to quickly find their way around campus and student life.

 

Why join?

  • Meet international students from all over the world and assist new students during their first semester at TUM Campus Heilbronn.
  • Get active and organize events and get-togethers.
  • Receive a confirmation of your intercultural competences and extra credits for your application at one of TUM Campus Heilbronn's partner universities.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes, the Buddy Program is availbable for both Bachelor's and Master's students of TUM Campus Heilbronn!
  • Bachelor freshmen are assigned a Buddy who is a Bachelor student in semester 3 or higher.
  • Master freshmen are assigned a Buddy who is a Master student in semester 2 or higher.
  • This structure ensures that new students receive guidance from someone on the same academic path.
  • You should have performed the enrolment for the BIE, BMDS, MIE, MiM or MMDT study course at TUM Campus Heilbronn.
  • You will receive the link to access the registration form in our Orientation Guide from your study course Program Manager that will be sent out to all new students. Registration is not possible before 1st September. Please register with your TUM email address only.
  • Assist a group of first-year students with advice during the semester
  • Plan and attend events such as regulars’ tables (in German “Stammtische”) and other get-togethers throughout the semester.
  • Participate actively in the Welcome Day for new students.
  • Introduce the students to life in Heilbronn.
  • Help others with finding accommodation and improving their German language skills.
  • Provide general support for first-year students in all study-related matters.
  • Commitment to spend time with your protégés.
  • English and German language skills.
  • Active participation and support of events organized within the Buddy Program Heilbronn.
  • Availability during the whole Buddy Program from the beginning of the winter semester to early summer.

What Our Buddies Say

  • My main task was to develop a matching tool for assigning buddies to freshmen. In brief, it facilitates the allocation of participants in the Buddy Program, allowing organizers to form groups efficiently. It is designed for scalability, accommodating any number of participants. The tool matches freshmen with senior buddies based on criteria like academic background and aims to create diverse groups in terms of gender, region, and hobbies. Later on, I was more involved with organizing the Buddy Program itself - planning and keeping track of everything.

    The Buddy Program is the best way to socialize at the beginning of your studies in a new city, in a new environment, and for some people in a new country. It's a very good opportunity to get to know other people.

    Nikita Grigorev

    Buddy and Program Student Assistant

  • We tried to bring the campus together in some way. And by campus I mean the students, of course, but also the faculties. Developing the Buddy Program helped me to connect with the campus even more because I could now see things from a different perspective. And through our work we learned so many things that we could later use in campus life and that helped us with problems.

    I think everyone should join the Buddy Program because it's a really good opportunity to connect with others and have a good time at the events we put on. I personally believe that anyone who joins the Buddy Program will never be disappointed or regret joining. So anyone who wants to apply or is considering it should not hesitate and just try it.

    Xhonatan Mehmeti

    Buddy and Program Student Assistant

  • As a new student and participant in the Buddy Program I was warmly welcomed and introduced to the TUM Campus Heilbronn by great role models that I can now call friends. I am now happy to give back and share the knowledge and contacts I built by being a Buddy for the next batch of students!"

    Hristo Andreev

    Buddy at TUM Campus Heilbronn

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At TUM Campus Heilbronn, we saw the need for a unique Buddy Program tailored to our international students. That's what sets us apart from other universities - where programs are only for incoming or exchange students. Our Buddy Program ensures everyone, regardless of background, is equally included.

Our message to any student at TUM Campus Heilbronn is that they don't have to stay alone. There are many people waiting for you, who want to become your friends, and you can be their friend, too.

Adelheid Schäfer-Terino
Founder of the Buddy Program