Olympians prevail at Buddies Run
The MTEC Buddies Programme for MSc students is launched with a foxtrail scavenger hunt for the ages.
Friday, 8 October 2021: Several groups of mid-twenties in funky costumes roam the streets of Zurich. They are ETH students taking part in the MTEC Buddies Programme. In small groups, they persuade commuters to share their best jokes, negotiate free snacks from barkeepers on Langstrasse, and write poetry on Helvetiaplatz – all just to have fun and connect with their peers.
MTEC Buddies Programme
The Buddies Programme pushes back against the looming dangers of loneliness, isolation and mental health issues as students are forced to study at home during the pandemic. Its aim is to connect incoming students with their peers as well as with more senior students to provide student-to-student support in areas related to the study programme and on- and off-campus life. Buddies and incoming MSc MTEC students are matched in groups of about six. They have regular but informal meetings that are designed to facilitate inclusion by maximising diversity.
Barbecue at Schindlergut
Having walked 12 kilometres through the city, all of the groups arrived at Schindlergut Park, where they were joined by many more students. Food and drinks around the fireplace sparked laughter and conversation.
Janina Mollenkopf and Johann Hauser, the masterminds behind this first Buddies Run, addressed the crowd, moderated the voting on the challenges, and announced the winners of the Buddies Run at nightfall. Once again, after millennia spent in obscurity, the Greek Gods displayed their power and emerged victorious.
“It was great to see the excitement of all the groups, and their enthusiasm. And that everyone was in it at the end,” said Janina. “It was not something we could take for granted in the past due to Corona. Now, seeing so many smiling faces was great. And to have organised something really cool for students that was not about learning and taking notes, but about fun and networking – that was also great.”
Stijn de Leuw participated as a second-year student. “When I joined D-MTEC last year,” he said, “I also joined the Buddies Programme. It was great to meet new people in a new city. And it helped me a lot in finding my way around at ETH. It also helped to make friends – I still meet with the people from last year.”
“Everyone was in it at the end.”Janina Mollenkopf, MSc MTEC Student and co-organiser of the MTEC Buddies Programme.
How it all started
Pip Stam and Arber Sejdiji initiated the MTEC Buddies Programme in 2020. “During the lockdown summer of 2020, we realised that we needed to do something to help incoming students get started, find new friends and support each other in their studies,” says Pip. While everyone had to be physically distanced, Pip and Arber, together with their peers and the students’ association OBIS, and with some logistical support and advice from D-MTEC, laid the groundwork for bringing together first- and second-year students.
Janina Mollenkopf and Johann Hauser took over the MTEC MSc Buddies Programme in its second year, bringing in fresh ideas and further developing the programme. D-MTEC educational developer Dr Erik Jentges was involved from the beginning. “As an extracurricular initiative, we see a lot of value in students supporting students and building lasting connections,” he says.
More impressions
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Image: ETH Zürich/Erik Jentges. -
Image: ETH Zürich/Erik Jentges. -
Image: ETH Zürich/Erik Jentges.
