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You might have noticed the chat window popping up in the bottom right corner of the English and German language admission websites of the Pécs Medical School and Faculty of Pharmacy. It is not a digital assistant or artificial intelligence: thanks to the Unibuddy program, a real-life student is signing in since last autumn from the UPMS and UPFP general medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and biotechnology courses to answer questions from future students and their parents regarding the courses and life in Pécs.

The Unibuddy Program started in spring 2023; applicants can choose who they want to chat with based on country, faculty and program.

The program at University of Pécs Medical School and Faculty of Pharmacy started in the autumn semester of the 2023/2024 academic year; English and German program students with an active status from the general medicine, dentistry and pharmacy programs and even PhD students were invited to join.

Out of 31 applicants, 24 were chosen by the organisers (23 English and one German program student). All of them are dedicated students of the Pécs Medical School and Faculty of Pharmacy. Prospective students can ask them directly about the university, the city or even ask for advice about the entrance exam.

Chats are fully real-time: you write in the chat, and the message pops up for a Unibuddy student, who replies within 22 hours based on current experience. Thanks to the app, chats are available on mobile as well.

And there are many interested people: based on the information provided by the UP MS Strategic Marketing and Recruitment Office, most messages are from Pakistan and Nigeria, but many have asked about Pécs, medical and pharmacy studies here from South-Africa, Kenya, India, Iran and Ghana. Applicants can also read blogs aside from chatting, where Pécs students explore important topics through their own experiences, including clinical studies, the credit system, oral exams, the necessity of Hungarian language knowledge and scholarship possibilities.

“As a way to thank them for their year-round work, we have organised a dinner for the Unibuddies, who have been a great help in recruitment. Due to the higher demand, the group was expanded by two more German program students this March, and we will restart selection in September, since many current Unibuddies will no longer be able to continue their duties as sixth year students. The scholarship call for application, as before, will be announced on the www.aok.pte.hu/en website, probably in September” – said Anna Görgey, colleague of the Strategic Marketing office and coordinator of the Unibuddy program.

The platform was extended with a new function lately: Unibuddy Community connects freshmen with current students and hundreds of other freshmen, so they can start building communities even before they arrive in Hungary, and they also have the chance to ask questions about various topics and thematic groups.