Speed Friending for RSU local and international students: A fun way to make new connections and friendships

On the evening of 14 March, local and international students from Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) gathered at the RSU Student House for a speed friending event. It is jointly organised by the International Department, the Student Union (Studējošo pašpārvalde, SP), and the International Student Association (ISA). 

About a third of the participants were first- or second-semester students in the medical and dental programmes, while several local students are studying at the Faculty of Social Sciences in programmes such as Psychology, Multimedia Communication, and International Relations - European Studies. Regardless, all participants were united by their desire to learn about other nationalities and cultures and to make new connections.

Annika-Marie Strauss, a 6th-semester medical student from Germany and Portugal, said that several videos of previous events and stories from friends encouraged her to finally participate. 

‘I really enjoyed getting to know local students better. Some of the questions were really funny and interesting. We got to know each other on like a really deep level. The icebreakers were great for helping us get comfortable with each other.’

Icebreaker activities

At the start of the evening, students participated in a handshake game and a charade game. They were divided into groups and had to act like medical doctors, athletes, characters from the TV series Friends, and RSU alumni.

According to an RSU student from the UK, these activities helped foster a friendlier atmosphere and allowed everyone to connect with each other.

Speed friending - getting to know someone in three minutes! 

The evening continued with the evening’s main event – speed friending! Students sat across from each other at tables arranged in a circle and asked questions before moving on to a new partner every three minutes. The hour passed quickly, and the atmosphere became more and more relaxed.

Positive feedback from students

Dominiks Perševics, a 2nd-semester International Relations-European Studies student, first learned about the Speed Friending event through a message from a fellow student on Instagram. He later discovered the opportunity to apply on the MyRSU student portal. 

‘My impressions? It was great! My goal was to practice English and meet new people. It was really interesting to talk to everyone, learn about new cultures, and observe how body language and facial expressions differ among people from Sweden, Belgium, and other countries.’

As part of his studies, he is taking a course in communication, public speaking, and body language. This event provided a great opportunity to put those skills into practice, so he would definitely like to participate in similar events in the future.
Monika Skup, a new international student born in Poland but raised in Sweden since the age of six, is now in her first semester studying medicine at RSU. She admitted that she did not realise how popular Riga was. At the beginning of her studies, she was surprised to find so many students from Sweden and Germany at RSU. Furthermore, everyone is very kind to each other. She rated the Speed Friending event a real success, noting that the most important thing was that

‘there were no awkward silences. I liked it because you could really get to know someone and make a connection.’

Great tradition for integrating students socially

Lita Lejniece, a 6th-semester dental student, participated in the Speed Friending event for the third or fourth time. She really likes the way these events are organised. Through them, Lita has met several international students, and they have attended various events together.

‘At the last event, we even set up a separate WhatsApp group with several other fellow students to meet up and go to events together, which was just fantastic!’

Since September 2016, social integration events for local and international students at RSU have been held twice a year – at the beginning of each semester. Students who have just started their studies at RSU are especially invited to attend, but all RSU students are welcome.