Being a 'buddy' to a new student

We run a departmental 'buddying' scheme for incoming DPhil students.  The aim is to assign an existing DPhil student as 'buddy' for each incoming DPhil student, so that the new students can email someone before they arrive if they have any questions, and so that those already in Oxford can help to make new colleagues welcome.  Each new student is usually paired with a 'buddy' in a similar research area.

The time commitment is not large (usually a few emails before the start of term and meeting the new student in the first few days after they arrive), but it can make a big difference for someone coming to Oxford for the first time.