The University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM-SJTU JI, JI hereafter) hosted an online meeting on August 20 for the incoming international undergraduate students of the fall semester to meet their buddies, who were assigned by the JI Buddy Program to provide support for the new JIers.
According to Yu Zhang, manager of International Student Recruitment and Service Office, the JI Buddy Program has been established for over a decade, as part of the orientation service for new international students. “Once the list of new students is confirmed, a buddy recruitment notice will be sent to older fellow students on campus. The recruited buddies will then each take care of one to two international students to help them get adapted to the new campus life of the university.”
Group photo of online attendees
JI is expected to receive 20 international students pursuing bachelor degrees in the fall semester starting September. The international students are from 10 countries including Armenia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Uzbekistan.
