Information for mentors and academic staff

On the one hand, subject-specific mentoring is aimed at degree-seeking students (Bachelor, Master, state examination) from foreign countries, who want support and advice for successfully completing their studies and to find their way in the university system. However, the success of subject-specific mentoring also depends on the mentors who provide this support and supervision. For this reason, the subject-specific mentoring is also aimed at students in advanced semesters and teaching staff who have time and energy to support foreign students with questions relating to their studies, and are available as a contact person.

As a subject-specific student mentor, you are given the following tasks:

• being a personal point of contact on equal terms
• providing help with things, e.g. structuring schedules or registration formalities at the beginning of the course of studies
• offering support with the preparation of presentations or homework, in particular: providing help regarding problems with the German language, formal uncertainties or incomprehension of academic contexts
• offering support with integration in student life.

You can find more information in the guidelines (download)pdf, 146 kb · de.

You can sign up online using our registration form de. Registration is possible at any time.

When your registration as a subject-specific mentor has been added to our database, you will soon receive a welcome e-mail with more information.

After the international student who is interested in a subject-specific mentor has participated in the information event (mid-April or end of October), the coordination team looks for a subject-specific academic mentor and a subject-specific student mentor from the respective department. Once these have been found, all three are sent a so-called "assignment e-mail" with the contact data. Then you can contact each other and arrange for an initial meeting to discuss further details. In some cases, however, it is not possible to find a subject-specific academic mentor. In this case, we will inform you and ask if you agree to assuming the supervision on your own.

Of course, your activities as a subject-specific student mentor should not keep you from your studies. For this reason, you should expect a time expenditure of approx. 28 hours per month. The invested time can exceed this, it is up to you. As a general rule, the student subject-specific mentor offers support with everything that he/she can do, also in terms of time. The needs of the students vary greatly from person to person, so that it is hardly possible to predict the amount of time required in advance.

If you can no longer be a subject-specific mentor, please inform us with a short e-mail as this makes our work much easier. Please also communicate with your mentee(s) and tell them that you can no longer supervise them to avoid misunderstandings.

On the one hand, subject-specific mentoring is aimed at degree-seeking students (Bachelor, Master, state examination) from foreign countries who want support and advice for successfully completing their studies, and to find their way in the university system. However, the success of subject-specific mentoring also depends on the mentors who provide this support and supervision. For this reason, the subject-specific mentoring is also aimed at students in advanced semesters and teaching staff who have time and energy to support foreign students with questions relating to their studies and are available as a contact person.

As a subject-specific student mentor, you are given the following tasks:

• being a personal point of contact on equal terms
• providing help with things, e.g. structuring schedules or registration formalities at the beginning of the course of studies
• offering support with the preparation of presentations or homework, in particular: providing help regarding problems with the German language, formal uncertainties or incomprehension of academic contexts
• offering support with integration in student life.

You can find more information in the guidelines (download).pdf, 228 kb · de

There are no participation requirements for subject-specific academic mentors.

You can sign up online using our registration formExternal link. Registration is possible at any time.

When your registration as a subject-specific mentor has been added to our database, you will soon receive a welcome e-mail with more information.

After the international student who is interested in a subject-specific mentor has participated in the information event (mid-April or end of October), the coordination team looks for a subject-specific academic mentor and a subject-specific student mentor from the respective department. Once these have been found, all three are sent a so-called "assignment e-mail" with the contact data. Then you can contact each other and arrange for an initial meeting to discuss further details. In some cases, however, it is not possible to find a subject-specific academic mentor. In this case, we will inform you and ask if you agree to assuming the supervision on your own.

Of course, your activities as a subject-specific academic mentor should not keep you from your own work. Still, a certain amount of time should be planned for the supervision. As a reference, we usually see at least three one-hour meetings per semester. Ideally, these are accompanied by a target agreement meeting and an evaluation meeting. The invested time can also exceed this. The needs of the students vary greatly from person to person, so that it is hardly possible to predict the amount of time required in advance.

If you can no longer be a subject-specific mentor, please inform us with a short e-mail as this makes our work much easier. Please also communicate with your mentee(s) and tell them that you can no longer supervise them to avoid misunderstandings.