For more than five years already foreign applicants from all over the world who wish to study at Masaryk University can direct any questions they might have to MU’s international student ambassadors. Beginning this year, the university has substantially increased the number of ambassadors at its faculties. In coming years, MU also plans to involve international students more heavily in activities meant to promote the school internationally.
“The number of international students who study at Masaryk University in foreign-language programmes is increasing every year, and I am very glad that applicants’ questions are answered not only by university employees, but also by foreign students themselves, who can let potential applicants know what studying at MU and living in the Czech Republic are really like. In the future, we plan on having ambassadors for individual fields of study and for specific world regions, such as for North America or Asia,” says Vice-rector for Internationalization Břetislav Dančák.
Currently, Masaryk University has 23 ambassadors from all corners of the world, for example, from the USA, Cyprus, Israel, Italy, Great Britain, and the United Arab Emirates. The number of ambassadors at each faculty is in direct relation to the number of international students enrolled at that faculty. For example, the Faculty of Medicine has 13 ambassadors, and the Faculty of Social Studies, seven.
Deelan Vadher is an ambassador from Great Britain in his fifth year of study at the Faculty of Medicine. “The role of an ambassador is a very rewarding experience for me – not only because I enjoy advising applicants and current students and passing on my experience of studying at MU, but also because I get to meet students from all over the world. It’s a very diverse job. I’m constantly learning new skills and I'm thrilled to see the programme being implemented at our university,” he explains.
Student ambassadors also help create content for MU’s English-language social media accounts, contribute to making promotional videos, and host webinars and livestreams for potential international applicants. For their work, Masaryk University provides them with a special stipend and a certificate. The Centre for International Cooperation and some faculties also hold informal events for them and offer training focused on social media, presentation skills, and other self-development topics.