"The Mentor is an opportunity to get know other countries and cultures"

02/02/2016

The Mentor programme intends to make easier the stay of UAB international students by offering them the support of local students and contributing to their integration in the academic social and cultural sides of the UAB. If you are a mentor, you are assigned a few exchange students from your faculty and your job is to help them and provide them with information in order to make their stay as comfortable as possible. Many mentors decide to repeat this experience, and to get to know the programme from the inside we have met with Laia, Selma, Marina, Sasha and Martí.

How did you found out about the Mentor programme?

Laia: Last year I did an Erasmus in Sweden and the Erasmus coordinator from my faculty, the Faculty of Science, sent me an email with information about the Mentor. I didn’t want to lose touch with international students, so I decided to give it a try.
Selma: I also received an email because I did an exchange programme.

Marina: In my case it was quite different. When I arrived at the UAB as a new student I tried to find out about all the activities that the campus organizes. Among all the activities I discovered, the Mentor programme was one of the projects I decided to join. One of the requirements to participate is to be at least a second year student, so I had to wait a year, but this year I could finally join the programme.

Sasha: I found out about the Mentor because I heard people talking about it and I saw it in the posters around the university. I think it’s interesting to meet people from other countries and to be able to help them. I’m thinking about studying abroad so I wanted to see how it worked here.

Martí: I came back from my Erasmus in Portugal and I found out about the programme because of the posters that were put up in my faculty.

Then, is there a direct relation between doing an exchange or an Erasmus programme and wanting to participate in activities with international students like the Mentor?

Yes, almost all the mentors have already done an exchange programme or at least they want to. It’s a great activity to keep in touch with multiculturalism, or to come into contact with it.

If you did an Erasmus programme, did you find something similar in your receiving institution?

Laia: Yes. Many people go on an Erasmus knowing that this kind of progremme exists. In my case, I didn’t know anything about it, but once I got there I received all the information about it. In other countries, it is organized by ESN (Erasmus Student Network), a student association that organizes parties and other activities. Their objective is different than the mentor’s: they help you, but not academically, it’s more like finding a friend to party with.

Selma: During my Erasmus in Glasgow I had a buddy, which is the equivalent to the mentor programme. It was very useful, especially during the first few days, to get to know the campus. But the difference with the mentor was that your buddy is not necessarily from your faculty, so after the first few days it’s easy to lose contact. I guess that as it was so useful to me in Glasgow, I wanted to try it here in Barcelona as a local student.

Martí: In Portugal there was also a buddy programme organized by ESN. Sadly I didn’t get a buddy, but I thought that the UAB needed something like that.

Is this your first time as a mentor or have you participated before during another term?

Martí: Last year I was already part of the Mentor programme and this year I will also participate both terms.
Laia: I, just like the others, took part last term and now I’m repeating the experience.

How did it go during the first term? How does the programme work? What is the day-to-day life of a mentor like?

Selma: At the beginning of the term, especially during the first few weeks, there are many programmed activities. After that, what you do with your mentees is entirely up to you. You can try to be a part of their day-to-day life by proposing plans, or you can just be a person they can contact if they have any kind of question.

Sasha: It depends on each student, but in my experience they use their mentor to ask specific questions about lectures or notes. I tried to organize trips with them, but it is difficult because each of them has a different circle of friends.

Martí: We are basically a support person during the first few weeks, but there are also cases of exchange students who also hang out with you.

Then, do you think that the Mentor’s main function is to solve bureaucratic and institutional problems or there’s also space for human relationships?

Marina: It depends on the group of mentees you get assigned to. I had a group during the first term that got along really well and they still go out together. But there are other people who go on their own because they live in a different place or have different friends.

Selma: In my case, at the beginning I only needed to answer some emails. I was the person they contacted when they had an emergency like changes in the dates of exams or flights. That’s the only contact I have with them.

Martí: Even among us local students we sometimes try to organize meetings but it almost never works because we all have different schedules.

Does being a mentor require a lot of time or is it easy to combine it with your studies?

Martí: At the beginning, answering emails doesn’t take a lot of time. Later you have to make an effort and find time to attend the Tandem meetings and other activities. It does not require a lot of time, you just need to try and keep in touch with your mentees.

You are already in the Mentor programme, but have you tried any of the other activities that the campus offers, such as the Tàndem?

Selma: Before the Mentor I didn’t know there were activities like the Tàndem. When I found out about these activities with international students I started to attend the Tàndem meetings, but then I couldn’t keep up because of exams and lack of time.

Sasha: I was interested in the Tàndem activities, but as they take place in the afternoons I can’t attend.

Martí: We don’t participate in these activities as much as we’d like to, but they are very interesting.

Would you recommend being a Mentor to the rest of the UAB community?

Marina: Definitely, and I also think people are not aware that these activities exist. I try to spread information about them and some of my friends have already joined them.

It is a very rewarding experience and it’s really worth it. Also, your relationship with your mentees doesn’t need to end there; you can keep in touch and visit each other, which is a great opportunity to get know other countries and cultures.