University of Salford launches new ‘buddy scheme’ to help support self-isolating international students

‘Team Quarantine’ is a new Students’ Union (SU) led initiative run by a small team of ‘buddies’ - international second and third-year students themselves –  along with staff from the SU and relevant University teams, to help around 250 students (and rising!) ensure that they have everything they need whilst self-isolating.

Current Covid-19 regulations state that anyone entering the UK from a country not on the ‘travel corridor’ list must isolate upon arrival for a period of 14 days.

The University funded project sees the buddies making contact with each student to carry out welfare and wellbeing checks; helping to refer any queries that students might have around finance, visas and accommodation to the appropriate service within the University; offering support on how to remotely register for a bank account or with a GP, and much more.

Contact-free delivery of care packages containing non-perishable foods are also being arranged to those students who are in need.

Temi Adebayo, President of the University of Salford’s SU, said: “Starting university can be a challenging time for any student but especially our international students who have just moved to a completely different country during a global pandemic to start their studies.

“Aside from the usual challenges of jet lag, culture change and facing possible language barriers, we knew that having to quarantine when they got here would add new challenges to the mix!

“Our staff and students have rallied round to make ‘Team Quarantine’ a real success and help our new cohort feel as welcome to the University as possible, despite the current circumstances. It has been fantastic to receive positive feedback from the students, who are clearly benefiting from this early intervention and inclusion in our student community.”

If you are an international student studying at the University of Salford who has recently arrived in the UK and are subject to quarantine restrictions, visit this website to find out how ‘Team Quarantine’ could help you.