Buddy Program, become a mentor to new PSL international students!
Would you like to help, guide, and advise new PSL international students upon their arrival to Paris? Register now for the PSL Buddy Program!
It is not always easy when you are an international student who has just landed in Paris: travel from the airport to your new accommodation, find your PSL school institution, understand the administrative formalities to be completed... Any student who has studied abroad can certainly share about this feeling of being sometimes lost and wising for the support of a “local”!
The PSL Welcome Desk thanks you for your participation in the "PSL Buddy Program" in previous years and invites you to take part in it once again. The idea is simple: to welcome PSL international students, we connect "Local Buddies" (PSL students for at least one year) with "International Buddies" (international students admitted to PSL) before their arrival in France via the Partner@PSL platform.
The “Local Buddies” can organize the reception of the “International Buddies” at the train station or the airport, if possible; guide them in their first steps in Paris, show them their PSL school and the CROUS restaurant service, as well as share a friendly moment together. Find more information on the program visiting the Partner@PSL platform website!
Funded as part of the Bienvenue en France call for projects launched by the French Ministry of Research and Higher Education, the PSL Buddy Program is a free service open to all PSL students and doctoral students.
Any student or doctoral student enrolled in a PSL institution for at least 1 year. A "local buddy" can be either French or of foreign nationality.
- Mission 1: Get in touch with the "International Buddy" as soon as they receive the details.
- Mission 2: Welcome their "International Buddy" as soon as they arrive in France (airport or station if possible).
- Mission 3: Help their "International Buddy" to do some scouting in their future institution before the start of the academic year / show them around the PSL campus and take them to the PSL Welcome Desk.
- Mission 4: Show them the dining system of the CROUS.
- Mission 5: Show them the most popular places in Paris.
- Mission 6: All ideas are welcome
This will depend on the answers you provide in the PSL Buddy Program platform Partner@PSL! You will be put in touch with a student with whom you have something in common.
Please note that mentorship does not automatically match your institution or level of study (e. g. an international master's student at the Observatoire - PSL may be mentored by a French doctoral student from the ENS - PSL). The key idea is to welcome the international student upon arrival in late August/early September.
In addition to the satisfaction of helping your "international buddy" and facilitating their installation in Paris, being a "Local Buddy" has many advantages, especially if...
- You like to meet people from all over the world;
- You want to practice another language;
- You have a passion and you want to share it with others;
- You are convinced that helping others is the key to your personal development
No, all "local buddies" are volunteers. However, do not hesitate to send your CV to the PSL Welcome Desk (welcomedesk@psl.eu) if you would like to join our team. We very often need reinforcement, especially at the beginning of the academic year.
You can fully participate in several mentoring programs.
Register on https://partner.psl.eu/
Create an account and fill out your profile. According to your choices and those of the "International Buddies" registered in the platform, we will match you and you will both receive each other's contact details.