Support in all situations and true friendship across all borders – this is what makes the Buddy Program, in which experienced students (“Buddies”) take intensive care of their fellow students from the first semester (“Freshers”), something very special. Daniel Gottschald, Managing Director of the “Die TUM Campus Heilbronn gGmbH”, highlighted other special features: “Diversity and harmony” characterize the campus”, he said, referring to the creative musical introduction by Amir Bouslama and Mohamed Amine Jradi: the two Information Engineering students at TUM Campus Heilbronn combined oriental sounds with jazz improvisations on the traditional string instrument oud and the piano.

Standing up for each other as a society

The Buddy Program is based on voluntary work and is nevertheless worthwhile, said Gottschald: “We support the program because we want to make a contribution to society as a civic university. The Buddy Program teaches us how we can stand up for each other as a society." In view of the numerous social conflicts, this is an invaluable asset. And because the success story of the program includes a person who brings together the commitment of all those involved and their diverse ideas, Adelheid Schäfer-Terino, “the face, heart and soul of the program”, was presented with a bouquet of flowers.

The honoree then looked back on the eventful history of the program. The circumstances that accompanied the start were challenging: For the first 27 students of the TUM School of Management (MGT) at the TUM Campus Heilbronn, there were neither permanently employed professors on site nor a student service, let alone a semester ticket. When the first nine buddies started, there was no budget available for joint activities with the freshers. But the program developed rapidly: when the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology (CIT) came to campus in 2021, it quickly became clear: “Someone had to take care of these students. By then, we already had our Buddy Program, so we took them in."

Commitment without limits

Today, the program is unique in several respects: it brings together students from different departments. Buddies and Freshers are assigned to each other using a self-developed digital matching tool. Anyone can become a Buddy without any preconditions. They have long since become ambassadors – for their campus and Heilbronn, for the whole of Germany and, of course, for the international student community on campus. The commitment is a life choice: “You never stop being a Buddy. Being a Buddy is a lifestyle."

During the subsequent panel discussion, TUM Campus Heilbronn Alumni Abdelrahman Gad confirmed that these are not just empty words: “The program has definitely played an important role in my life: I started a company with a person I met through the Buddy Program,” reported the former Management & Technology student, now a software entrepreneur in the Netherlands. “Above all, I wanted to get to know other students and always be willing to help them,” said Andrea Antinori Acosta, Management & Technology and student assistant at the Heilbronn campus after Moderator Dr. Rangel Trifonov had asked her about her motivation to get involved in the program. Costanza Terino, Head of the CIT Student Service Center on campus, emphasized the holistic approach: “We want to support students as a whole person. A Buddy’s attitude of wanting to help others is important in life."

Seeing the world through different eyes

Adelheid Schäfer-Terino emphasized how much the program has fulfilled her over the years: “The support from my colleagues makes me feel like a fresher who has her caring buddies. The students teach me to see the world through their eyes, which is a great asset." Looking ahead, Sabrina Huber, Director School Office at TUM Campus Heilbronn, said: “The core components of the Buddy Program will remain the same in the future: It brings students together and they help each other. At the same time, however, we will also experience many new things in the next five to ten years. The students will decide exactly what that will be – we can look forward to it."

At the end of the official part, Adelheid Schäfer-Terino presented certificates to deserving supporters: to Amir Bouslama, who developed the matching tool for buddies and freshers together with Nikita Grigorev, and to Zuzana Zechovská, Program Coordinator at MGT’s International Office. She accepted the award on behalf of MGT. Katja Leßke, Program Coordinator for the Master’s programs at TUM in Munich, was honored on behalf of the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Education department. Incidentally, one student project passed its baptism of fire with flying colors on this evening: “The Buddy Band”, consisting of five students from the TUM Heilbronn Campus, shone at its very first performance with rousing interpretations of international pop classics.