FAQ

As a guide, you already have experience from an academic stay abroad (study, research stay, internship). You have probably experienced firsthand how complex the preparation can be. With your experience, you can now assist a traveller in their preparation by offering advice through a conversation or chat.

As a traveller, you have an academic stay abroad planned in the near future, have already received an acceptance, and are now starting or continuing your preparations. We can support you by connecting you with a guide from our network whom you can ask for advice during your preparation.

Zuerst musst Du Dich bei uns registrieren, also einen Account anlegen. Dann kannst Du einen Traveller- oder Guide-Eintrag erstellen.

Then you can check the box 'My institution is NOT selectable in the above dropdown menu.' and fill in the corresponding fields manually.

Please indicate your major field of study or the field that made up the largest part of your stay abroad.

Yes! As an initiative, we want to support you as a student. Our work, as well as the work of our guides, is voluntary. We do not charge any fees for sharing experiences, but we would of course be happy if you register as a guide yourself after your stay. If you want to support us further you can support our Team or donate.

Once you have accepted the match, we will provide you with your match's contact details. From then on, it is up to you to get in touch and exchange questions or experiences. Have fun!

No. A specific matching only makes sense once your destination is clear. For initial orientation, we recommend reading experience reports and attending information/orientation events. Once you know your exact destination and have received acceptance (e.g., nomination from your home university), we look forward to finding the right guide for you.

Yes. Our network aims to support you with any kind of academic stay, whether it’s a study abroad semester, a bachelor's/master's thesis, a PhD stay, or an internship.

No. IPSA does not arrange stays abroad. Only once you have received an acceptance from a foreign university or company, we step in and support you with a guide who can offer you valuable advice.

If you are coming from abroad for an academic stay in Germany, we recommend the BeBuddy program from the International Office (RWTH Aachen University). Our network is currently aimed only at students planning a stay outside Germany.

Unfortunately, we cannot say exactly. It depends, among other things, on how many guides we have available for your destination and whether they currently have time. Since IPSA operates completely on a voluntary and free basis, we cannot make any guarantees. However, if a guide is available for your destination, we aim for a maximum waiting time of two weeks. We are also constantly working to expand our guide network to help as many students as possible. So if you know friends who have been abroad, tell them about IPSA—or if you have been abroad yourself, please sign up as a guide!

Yes. If you tick the appropriate box in your traveller entry, your contact details will automatically be shared with other travellers planning similar stays abroad at a similar time. If you would like to network further with other travellers or guides, we recommend attending one of our networking evenings, which are promoted via Instagram and email.

Unfortunately, we cannot reliably estimate this, as it depends on suitable traveller registrations, which we can only influence to a limited extent.

Yes. If you tick the appropriate box in your guide entry, your contact details will automatically be shared with other guides who have completed similar stays abroad. If you would like to network further with other travellers or guides, we recommend attending one of our networking evenings, which are promoted via Instagram and email.

It depends entirely on you and your match and how much or little you want to communicate. You could, for example, have a few calls to address your questions or stay in regular contact afterward. Typically, travellers have many questions at the beginning of their preparation for their stay abroad, and fewer as time goes on.

You can have your engagement as a guide recognized as part of the International Certificate at the International Office. To do so, you must have supported at least one traveller and completed the feedback form afterward. If you meet these requirements, we will automatically issue a certificate that you can download in your profile under "Account." Please note that if you delete your account, all associated data will be deleted as well, and you will also be removed from our list for the International Certificate, so we will no longer be able to issue a certificate. Additionally, you have the opportunity to pass on your experience from your stay abroad — all the knowledge of what you would do the same or differently today. Maybe you will even have the chance to return to the place of your stay abroad or simply maintain your network.

Your engagement as a guide with us counts as a component for the International Certificate from the International Office. To qualify, you must have supported at least one traveller and completed the feedback form afterward. If you fulfill these requirements, we will automatically issue a certificate, which you can download in your profile under "Account." Please note that if you delete your account, all associated data will be deleted as well, meaning you will be removed from our certificate list and we will no longer be able to issue a certificate.

You can decide that yourself and adjust it in your profile. By default, your profile is set to mentor up to three travellers. If you want to mentor more or fewer, you can change this in your profile settings.

You should create a separate guide entry for each stay or location.

You can temporarily deactivate your guide entries in your profile. You can choose the duration of the deactivation yourself. Alternatively, you can completely delete your guide entry if you prefer.

No, after returning from your stay abroad, you do not need to deregister as a traveller. However, we would be happy if you registered with us as a guide.

IPSA is a student-run initiative. Working with IPSA is therefore voluntary. We connect travellers and guides with each other. Various tasks arise, from improving the matching algorithm, building the website, securing funding, to social media and much more. If you are interested in taking a look or getting involved, feel free to contact us! You can simply send us a message via the website's contact function. We look forward to hearing from you! Also, registering as a guide is a very welcome form of support that helps us improve and expand our services!