The Alumni Hungary experience and journey starts way before graduation. It actually begins when somebody starts her or his studies in a Hungarian higher education institution. We call this whole experience a student-alumni lifecycle.
This strong relation means that the collected Hungarian memories, study experiences will determine if somebody will be an alumni member or not, and also affects how active this member will be. And of course the professional experiences gained during the education phase will be the basis of future professional career and networking. That is one of the main reasons Tempus Public Foundation (TPF) gives the opportunity to foreign students to take an active role also beyond the university context as a Study in Hungary ambassador or as we call: Campus Buddy. But what does „Campus Buddy” mean and why would somebody like to be one?
With the help of the very popular Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme many students from different parts of the world come to study and live in Hungary. Each year the number of the scholarship holders is growing – which means that more and more young and talented students start their academic studies in Hungarian higher education institutions. They become part of a campus life but we would like to be sure that their educational, social and cultural experiences not only meeting their expectations but they can be improved even better!
Tempus Public Foundation– the main coordinator of the programme – finds it very important to never leave any student alone, to help the smooth integration of the international students and to show them that if they have a great new idea, TPF can give a platform to it. According to it, the Campus Buddy community came to life in 2017. TPF released a call for the scholarship holders to join a fresh, friendly, innovative and exciting community, to be a Campus Buddy!
A Campus Buddy is an easy-going person who is happy to show some moments of his/her life in Hungary; from studying to living and having fun, spreading the word in social media and representing his/her home country in online campaigns. Campus Buddies are sociable international students who are enthusiastic about studying in Hungary and keen to represent Hungary through their own experiences.
Buddies get together for workshops, communication trainings, meetings and also to garden picnics and other fun free-time activities. They like these gatherings a lot; besides the professional aspect of the events it is always good to be together, share ideas and work on exciting projects together. The latest project focused on presenting their daily life in Hungary by creating short videos and writing articles. Buddies often participate in national appearances like Sziget Festival where they promote Study in Hungary to other international students at the TPF stand.
Since 2017 TPF has periodically released a call in which they are looking for international students studying in Hungary who are active in social media and have outstanding achievements in their fields of studies. These students are living in different cities in Hungary but the programmes and projects they are doing together brings them closer to each other. We are happy to see that thanks to the Campus Buddy system international students are making new friends and become the member of an amazing community where ideas gets real.
And of course as we already referred to at the beginning of the article, being a Campus Buddy is also a good experience before becoming an international volunteer and member of the Alumni Hungary Network.
Of course students can already join the alumni community as junior members before graduation, with the aim to be active members in the future.
