A mentor from the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis invites several international students to have dinner with her. A couple from Bonn open their door on Christmas Eve to young people spending the festive season far from their families. A volunteer opera guide regularly takes small groups along to various performances. What starts with a simple get-to-know-you session often grows into friendships that extend well beyond the daily routine of being a student.
It is precisely these kinds of encounter that the “Family and Friends” scheme is designed to facilitate as part of the iStudy study support program. It is geared toward helping international students who have just arrived in Germany and putting them in touch with local people. Matching them with a host thus forms relationships that strengthen social integration, intercultural understanding and participation in society.
Personal encounters that forge a connection
How valuable these relationships can be for both sides is reflected in the participants’ experiences. Silke Steinert, Management Assistant at IMPULSE – House for Intellectual Innovation and Creativity at the University of Bonn, has volunteered as a mentor since fall 2025: “I love Bonn and the region around it as well as the international feeling that the University gives off. The contact I have with the young students is a deeply enriching experience, and the mentoring scheme lets me combine all that together.”
The students are also appreciative of the close relationships that they have formed. Geodetic engineering student Awyetu Elizabeth Rabo has been part of the program since November 2025. She says: “I met an unbelievably kind host at my first workshop in November. She’s like a mother and a sister to me and has become a real friend. From sharing Christmas dinner to going to the opera, she’s given me a deep sense of safety, security and belonging.”
How students and mentors are paired up
Prospective mentors can sign up individually, as a couple or as a family and decide themselves whether they want to support one or more students. A matching process takes the interests of both sides into account and helps to put together suitable tandems. The participants then agree among themselves how often and in what form they are going to meet. The iStudy team also organizes several communal events for all participants every semester, including games nights, guided tours of the Botanic Garden and visits to the Christmas market, thus giving them an opportunity to make new contacts and connections beyond their own pairings.
Integration as a joint effort
“The iStudy program closes a significant gap in our counseling and support services for international students,” explains Christine Müller, a head of section in the University of Bonn’s International Office. “It accompanies them throughout their educational journey, from finding their way around and getting integrated through to completing their studies and entering the job market. By offering things like ‘Family and Friends,’ we’re also strengthening the bond between the University and city society.”
Long-term integration planned
The program has been made possible thanks to “FIT – Promotion of International Talents for Integration into Studies and the Labour Market.” This grant program is offered by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of its Campus Initiative for International Talents and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space to the tune of €120 million nationwide. A total of 89 German higher-education institutions will have benefited from this funding between 2024 and the end of 2028, with the University of Bonn receiving some €913,000. The money has been used to build up the iStudy program from 2024 onward, and funding has been secured until the end of 2028 as things stand. The long-term plan is to make “Family and Friends” an integral part of life at the University of Bonn beyond the end of the current project term.
A worthwhile commitment for everyone
Feedback has shown how much both sides benefit: International students are supported when they arrive in Bonn, become more familiar with the region and make new personal contacts, while their hosts get insights into other cultures, broaden their horizons and become part of a diverse community. The iStudy team thus hopes that many more people will get involved so that an even bigger army of dedicated hosts will be helping students from other countries to find a second home here.
Further Information: www.uni-bonn.de/istudy