Become an intercultural companion
Contact
Office hours
Availability by phone
Mondays: 9 -12 a.m. and 14-15.30 p.m.
Thursdays: 14 p.m.-15.30 p.m.
Online office hours
Tuesdays 9.30 a.m.–10.30 a.m. in our virtual meeting room (BigBlueButton)
Face-to-face office hours
Tuesdays 14.00 p.m.-16.30 p.m. (SSC)
Thursdays: 10.00 a.m.-12.30 p.m. (SSC)
Training programme
-
Training programme Orientation PLUS Training week in summer semester 2026 (in German)
Become an intercultural companion
If you’re looking for a combination of exchanges, skills acquisition and meaningful involvement, you're in the right place!
The programme has the following benefits:
- Establish intensive and authentic contact with international students
- Expand your diversity skills
- Take on responsibility and developing leadership skills
- Earn 6 CP (credit points) for your degree programme¹ and/or a certificate
What does an intercultural companion do?
International students have very different backgrounds when they begin their studies in Germany. The transition to day-to-day academic life in Germany provides this group with opportunities, but also poses big challenges. As an intercultural companion, you make a meaningful contribution to the acculturation process (challenges in arriving and finding your way) of your international fellow students. In our cheer-up meetings*, which you will organise and carry out independently in teams of 2 with a group of international students during the semester, you will
- give participants a safe space for mutual exchange and motivation,
- eat together,
- talk about topics that move you and
- provide relevant information on diversity and interculturality, which you will prepare and teach together.
*By cheer up, we mean motivating someone through positive reinforcement to keep going, not give up and stick to their goals.
How do I become an intercultural companion?
Register directly on Stud.IP for the course course pb389 directly on Stud.IP. Registration is possible from 15 January.
In an intensive and practice-orientated training course (March) of 28 units, you will be well prepared for your role as an intercultural facilitator, including learning the basics of intercultural communication, expanding your diversity skills, dealing with and leading heterogeneous groups and the tools for conducting our cheer-up meetings. The current training programme is available for download in the left-hand column.
How does the module work and what are the requirements?¹
- From 15 January you can register for course pb389 directly on Stud.IP.
- There will be a week’s training course for your role as an intercultural companion. We’ll get you ready for it!
- During the following semester, you’ll plan and hold six cheer-up meetings, each lasting 180 minutes, possibly with another companion.
- You’re free to organise the cheer-up meetings as you like and can set your own course, but you're also welcome to use a predetermined structure.
- You’ll receive professional help to design and run the cheer-up meetings (e.g. supervision/peer support).
- You’ll write an evaluation report about your experiences.
- Students from all disciplines can take part.
- The language in the cheer-up meetings is mainly English.
¹ Students enrolled in a single-subject Bachelor's, an extracurricular dual-subject Bachelor's as well as single-subject Master's students at School III can receive 6 credit points for the workshop and the tutorial.