BUS | University of Tübingen

BUS I Bridge between University and School Students

Mentoring for Educational Equality

BUS (Bridge Between University and Students) aims to support young people who face—or have faced—structural disadvantages due to their socioeconomic background in their personal and professional development. Since socioeconomic background continues to shape educational pathways in Germany, the project seeks to highlight potential educational and career paths through its activities.

Specifically, we support existing mentoring programs between university students and school students in and around Tübingen through accessible networking opportunities and tailored career development offerings. The experiences and perspectives of mentors and mentees play a key role in identifying structural barriers and driving systemic change.

Would you like to accompany young people on their educational journey? Assist them to decide on their path and their future careers? In particular, those who face structural disadvantage due to their social background? If so, you’ve come to the right place as a prospective mentor in the BUS project.

The BUS project brings together a range of mentoring programmes which pair university students with school pupils. Pick the one that suits you best and contact them. Many of them are ran by students themselves and will be delighted to welcome you in their team.

Whichever programme you choose, you will be supported and trained beforehand, so you feel well prepared for your role as a mentor.

Mentoring Programmes

Rock your Life!

With Rock Your Life! (RYL!), you can volunteer as a mentor for six to twelve months. You will mainly support pupils from Gemeinschaftsschulen, and if you wish, you can meet up once a month with other RYL! mentors to share experiences and swap ideas.

Contact Rock Your Life: vorsitzspam prevention@tuebingen.rockyourlife.de

Hochschulgruppe LeHrnen

With the Hochschulgruppe LeHrnen, you can offer mentees not only social and emotional support but also subject-specific tutoring. Pupils of all ages take part: mentees from Year 2 to Year 12 need academic support and guidance.

Contact LeHrnen: lehrnen.nachhilfe-tuebingenspam prevention@web.de

Sprungbrett Bildung

With Sprungbrett Bildung, you can volunteer as a mentor on an open-ended basis. The aim is to support mentees all the way to the highest level of education they hope to reach, so you can help them reach their full potential in their personal development. Mentoring begins with pupils in Years 6 and 7.

Contact Sprungbrett Bildung: infospam prevention@sprungbrett-bildung.de

Verein Lernen im Tandem (LeiTa)

With Lernen im Tandem (LeiTa), you can volunteer as a mentor for one to two years. You will meet your mentee once a week and spend time together, whether that means doing homework side by side, going for a long walk or simply grabbing an ice cream. It’s entirely up to you. The aim is to accompany mentees for part of their journey through education and, where relevant, into working life.

Mentors also meet twice a year at Patentreffen (mentor get-togethers) to swap experiences with one another.

Contact LeiTa: infospam prevention@leita-online.de

Not quite sure how to put it, and would you rather ask a fellow student? Then please feel free to contact our student assistant, Jolanda: jolanda.beilharzspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de.
We are currently planning to offer on-site advice and support in a central location. As soon as we can confirm the venue and dates, you will find more information here.

More about

You are part of a mentoring programme?

Are you part of a mentoring programme in the Tübingen area and keen to network with other programmes? If so, please get in touch for further support:

Nina Rösler: nina.roeslerspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de
Marisa Neher: marisa.neherspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de
Telephone: +49 7071 29-77086

Do you work on educational fairness and inclusion in other ways?

Are you part of an institution that works on educational fairness and inclusion, particularly with young people who face structural disadvantage because of their social background? We need you to expand our impact and network on this topic.

Nina Rösler, nina.roeslerspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de
Marisa Neher, marisa.neherspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de
Telephone: +49 7071 29-77086

Workshops and Events

Workshops take place regularly as part of the project. In October 2026, there will be a workshop for mentoring programmes, led by Ege Can Yalim, a long-standing board member of Rock Your Life! in Tübingen.

In November 2026, there will be a workshop for multipliers in the network whose work, directly or indirectly, involves young people who face structural disadvantage because of their social background. This workshop will be led by Reina-María Nerlich from duvia, an association for democracy education.

Our mentoring network between university students and school pupils is growing all the time. You can find further mentoring programmes for other target groups on the mentoring overview page.