Welcome & buddy program

The Social Affairs and Student Mobility Office (SASME) organises a welcome day for exchange students in the week before the start of the academic year. The day is designed to give an overview of some important services available to exchange students at UNIL, such as the School of French as a Foreign Language (EFLE) and the Sports Centre, provide information on some important topics and introduce the people responsible for student mobility in the faculties.

Once they have enrolled and been admitted to UNIL, SASME sends students an invitation by e-mail, a few weeks before the event.

ESN (Erasmus Student Network) is an international students’ association, whose aim is to provide exchange students with support as well as cultural and sporting activities and excursions to help them explore the region where they are going to be living for a few months.

The UNIL section of ESN offers a buddy program for exchange students to help them settle into Lausanne and integrate into the UNIL community. The programme is run free of charge by UNIL students who are keen to help their peers from other countries.

ESN also organises numerous events during the week before the start of the academic year as part of its “Welcome Week”, to help new arrivals get to know people as quickly as possible.