NMIT international students' buddy adventure

A happy group of 17 international students, their experienced NMIT learner 'Buddy Leaders', and International Student Support kaimahi from our Learner Success team enjoyed a fun day out at Cable Bay Adventure Park earlier this month. 

Our popular NMIT Buddy Programme(external link) pairs new learners (Buddies) with friendly, experienced current students (Buddy Leaders) who can offer practical advice, answer questions, and help them settle into campus life.

Having a buddy gives new learners, particularly international students often arriving in New Zealand for the first time, a familiar point of contact in their first weeks at NMIT, helping them feel more confident, connected, and at home from the start.

A diverse crew of eight Buddies and six Buddy Leaders came together for the adventure, representing a varied selection of NMIT programmes:

From the Masters of Applied Management, Bachelor of Arts and Media, Aquaculture, Diploma of Nautical Science, and the Masters of Professional Accounting, as well as a wide-ranging list of home countries including Pakistan, Nepal, USA, India, Vietnam, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Hanaa, in her first weeks at NMIT Nelson, is a new international student on the Master of Applied Management. She was really excited to sign-up to the Buddy Programme, and is already enjoying the fun and connection being paired up with her experienced Buddy Leader, and being part of the wider NMIT international student community, brings.