A few years ago, ESN VU Amsterdam and VU International Office decided to join forces and organize one buddy programme for all incoming exchange and Semester in Amsterdam students.

Most of these students stay in Amsterdam for only a relatively short period of time (five months), which means they must adapt to Dutch culture and society very fast. Also, exchange students tend to get stuck in what we call the exchange bubble. They live and hang out with other exchange students and most of them hardly meet any Dutch people during their stay in Amsterdam.

As a buddy, you will be matched to 3 to 5 exchange students who come to study at VU Amsterdam during the first semester (mid-August to January) or the second semester (end of January to June). You will be expected to answer questions about what it’s like to study at VU Amsterdam, the best places to go out in Amsterdam, the major tourist sites, and so much more.

In short, you will be showing them the ‘Dutch way of life’! 

Before we match you to the international students, you are obligated to attend an introduction workshop about intercultural communication. This will make you better prepared for making cross-cultural connections and make the most of your time as a buddy.

We will organize two of our online introduction sessions in January (Spring semester) or July (Fall semester). After you signed up, you will receive links to the Zoom meetings via e-mail. You have to attend one of these sessions in order to be admitted into the programme.

After you participated in one of the introduction workshops, your name will be added to the final buddy list.

Each buddy will be matched with 3 to 5 international students. We try to make the buddy groups as culturally and geographically diverse as possible (for example, you could be matched to students from Singapore, Italy, Finland and Canada). In this way you can get to know each other, learn about different cultures and develop your intercultural skills.

If you want to be matched to a student who speak a specific language or is from a specific country you will have the chance to let us know when signing up, and we will try to accommodate this as far as possible.

We will also make larger buddy groups, consisting of several buddies, so that you can also meet up and organize activities with a larger number of buddies / international students.

Of course helping out international students is rewarding in itself, but in addition to this, these are the benefits we can offer to you:

• You will develop your intercultural skills;
• You will make friends from all over the world;
• You can take part in our social activities free of charge;
• You will receive an ESN VU Amsterdam membership card;
• Your (English) language skills will certainly improve;
• Becoming a buddy is a good experience and way to prepare yourself if you wish to go on exchange yourself;
• Participating in the Buddy programme will contribute to demonstrating your international skills on your CV;
• You will receive a Buddy certificate at the end of the programme.

"I had a great time being a buddy. It is nice to welcome people and all the incoming students were so bubbly and excited to be in Amsterdam, it was nice to see. The follow-up hangouts were very chill and people were free to decide if and how often they wanted to join. I would definitely do it again."
- Debora

"The buddy program is truly an amazing program to connect with international students. Plus I was able to help international students with all the questions they have about the VU and student life in the Netherlands. It was very interesting to see the different (food) cultures during the Buddy Picnic. Lastly, I would recommend other VU students to sign up and become a buddy, not only will you have fun during the events, but you will also connect with a lot of different people from around the world. And of course you will meet other students from the VU that you would otherwise never meet."
- anonymous

"The buddy program was a great experience to meet new students from all around the world and broaden your horizons. I had great fun with the students and learnt so much about other cultures as well! :)"
- Aryan Sharma

Please note that you must be available from the time our international exchange students arrive in Amsterdam. The arrival & orientation programme for the first semester will take place in the 2nd half of August and for the second semester at the start of February.

We will organize several social activities during the semester, please check the planned activities for the upcoming semester below. You are expected to attend these social activities, together with your group of international students.

Sign up for Fall 2026 has closed!

• July 2026: Buddy Information Sessions (details will be communicated via email)
• August 2026: Buddy matching, meet and greet with your international students, first Buddy event
• September 2026: Second buddy event
• October 2026: Third buddy event

The VU buddy programme for incoming exchange students is organized by the International Office in collaboration with ESN VU Amsterdam.

Contact: buddy@vu.nl

Juli 2026: Buddy Information Sessions

Augustus 2026: Buddy matching, Meet & Greet, eerste buddy activiteit

September 2026: Tweede buddy activiteit

Oktober 2026: Derde buddy activiteit

Next to the Buddy activities organized by VU Amsterdam, we encourage you to meet up with your buddy group yourself. Here are some suggestions for activities you can do with your group:

• Show them your favourite spots on campus;
• Show them your favourite spots in the city of Amsterdam;
• Bring them to your home town or cook a traditional Dutch meal/meal from your home country together.

Activities that previous buddies did with their group:

• Ice skating
• Eat pancakes on a pancake boat
• Have lunch together on campus
• Walk around the Vondelpark
• Bowling
• Visit the IJ-Hallen