If you are a Kenyan student and you got admitted into a French university, you now have the ability to get yourself a mentor all thanks to the mentoring systems in France. A mentor is another student who will accompnay you from the moment you settle in your university and they will help you easily adapt to the French environment.
Most higher education learning institutions in France have set up international mentoring systems in a bid to help international students intergrate in France during their stay there. This system allows students to voulunteer each year to help international students find their way aroud the campus and the city they are in.
In some cases, mentors are willing to help so much in the welcoming of the new student such that they pick them up from the airport on their arrival. From here, the process of helping out begins. They take them round the campus and show them how different things work.
Different digital platforms allow for the creation of mentor/mentee pairs depending on the higher education institution, languages and other common interests.
The Buddy System
The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is present inmore than 30 French universities. Under this body lies the buddy system which is a multilingual, intuitive, free and secure web platform that enables the connection between international and local students. The registration is at the snap of a finger and allows an international student to find a buddy who is in the city their living in.
Other mentorship systems
There are also other options to finding a mentor set up by higher learning instituions in France. There are joint international mentorship schemes organised by universities and CROUS depending on the university or school that you are enrolled in.
Find all the mentorship schemes listed here in the city factsheets.
