Building bridges: RSU's Speed Friending event connects international and local students

On 27 September, the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) International Department organised their traditional speed friending event for local and international students together with the International Student Association (ISA) and the Student Union (Studējošo pašpārvalde, SP).

Despite the unusually hot weather, about 40 international and local students gathered at the RSU Student House. At first, the participants got to know each other's names and introduced themselves by sharing what their first thought had been waking up that morning. To break the ice, the students split into groups and played various games, imitating images projected on a screen, acting out characters from movies, paintings and, finally, different RSU graduates. This was followed by a matching game and the room was filled with laughter as the students asked each other questions to identify their match, which could be complementary or opposite to them. The participants voted for Barbie and Oppenheimer as being the most creative pair.

After the warm-up, the students enjoyed snacks and each other's company until the main part of the event started. The speed friending was organised as a series of Q&A sessions. Every three minutes, students swapped partners, and within an hour everyone got to know each other. The atmosphere was relaxed and fun, participants had a great time and at the end of the event they were free to socialise, exchange contact information and make plans to meet.

The aim of the event was to bring international and local students together and encourage friendships. The RSU Speed Friending event is held twice a year at the beginning of each semester. The new international students who started their studies at the end of August found the event particularly valuable as it helped them get to know the local students and their mentality, make new friends and settle into their new home in Riga.