peer support

becoming a member of our peer support unit

Becoming a member of our peer support unit

Have you thought about becoming a member of our peer support unit?

The Student Advice and Counseling Center is looking for student staff (peer supporters).
If you are interested the activities of our unit, please contact the Student Advice and Counseling Center.
Unlike volunteer or club activities, peer supporters are paid administrative assistant at the university. In addition to receiving a wage, it is valuable employment experience that you can write on your resume. Being a peer supporter can be an enjoyable and fulfilling experience.
We look forward to your participation.

Peer Support Unit: Student Consultation Division (Peer Support Room)

Job description

The peer supporters for the Student Counseling Office are responsible for helping students to solve their issues at Hokkaido University from students’ perspectives. In addition to university-wide student support, the supporters plan events, and provide information.
Student support activities for university students include:

  • event planning, public relations
  • talking to students about problems in the peer support room
  • activities by teams (events, information gathering, social media) and team meetings
  • provide support for the Student Advice and Counseling Center’s Student Counseling Office
  • Preparation of the annual activity report
  • Other matters related to support activities of the Peer Support Unit of the Student Counseling Center
Application requirements

Must be an undergraduate or graduate student at Hokkaido University
Ability to work continuously during the year you are hired, participation in peer support meetings and other events

Application period and process

Recruitment periods will be announced on this website and posted in the Peer Support Room. When a recruitment period is announced, please follow the process below.

  1. Please confirm the application period on the bulletin board on campus, on the Peer Supporter Twitter page, and on the SACC website. For more information, please contact the Peer Support Room.

     ▶twitter
      https://twitter.com/peersupport_HU
     ▶about the Peer Support Room
      https://www.sacc.hokudai.ac.jp/peer-support/

  2. We will ask you to work on “preparatory assignments” so you can learn about peer support activities beforehand. The peer support unit student counseling department adviser will contact you through email about the “preparatory assignments,” please confirm that you received the email.
  3. After completing the preparatory assignments, we will conduct a recruitment interview.
  4. After a decision is made, you will be notified.
After you are hired

Your work in the peer support room will start after completing a basic training session.

Wage

Wages are paid according to the university standards.

Peer Support Unit: Accessibility Services Division

Job description

We provide assistance to Hokkaido University students with disability or impairment. Currently, we provide support such as taking notes (by computer or by hand) for students with difficulty in hearing to ensure information accessibility or digitizing reference materials for students with vision impairment. Prior knowledge or experience is not required as training sessions are available to acquire necessary knowledge and skills. Join our support team and help us build a more equitable environment for study and research at the University.
We are currently accepting applications for students who engage in note-taking (by computer or by hand) or digitization of reference materials.

Applicant eligibility

Students enrolled at Hokkaido University
Applicant must be able to engage in support services for students with disability or impairment with a positive attitude.

Application period and process

Application for new peer supporter is accepted and interviews are conducted in July (employed in October) and February (employed in April in the next fiscal year) in every year. Please check the notifications on the Student Advice and Counseling Center website as well as the bulletin boards on campus. For details on the services we provide, please contact the Accessibility Services Office.

What to expect after getting hired and before your first day on the job
  1. You are required to attend a training course provided after your interview (you will learn necessary skills in providing support for students with disability or impairment during the course. However, if you have already completed the General Education Course, “Introduction to Campus Accessibility”, you are exempt from part of the training course).
  2. After completing the training course, you receive on the job training before starting to work as a peer supporter.

< Description of Duties and Responsibilities>
(1) Support students with disability or impairment
(2) Attend our regular meeting 
(3) Attend seminars or workshops to enhance understanding on disability and brush up support skills
(4) Produce annual activity report
(5) Engage in other duties related to the Peer Support Unit in the Student Advice and Counseling Center
Further details are listed in the application guidelines. The application guidelines are available during the application period. To obtain, please refer to our hiring posters and the News and Events section on our website.

Wage

Wages are paid in accordance with the provisions of the University.

Peer Support Unit:  International Student Division (International Student Support Desk)

Job description

International student assistance services
Staff takes shifts on weekdays(Monday through Friday)to help international students by explaining admission procedures, assisting with paperwork, giving directions to places on and off campus, answering questions about dormitories/apartments, and organizing events (e.g. Language Corner, Sawakai).

Application requirements

Must be an undergraduate or graduate student at Hokkaido University.
Students who can speak Japanese and English. We also welcome any other languages!

Application

Applications for new peer supporters will be posted on our website, on campus bulletin boards, and in the ELMS, so please apply when the call is posted.
For more information about how to apply for the International Student Support Desk, please contact us at “inq@sacc.hokudai.ac.jp”.

Recruitment Procedures

After screening the application documents, recruitment interviews will be conducted.
Once you become a peer supporter, you will receive initial training and start working as a supporter.
You will work a shift with a senior staff member, so that you can learn from the senior staff.

Wage

Wages are paid according to the university standards.

Messages from current staff

Lea (PhD. student)

I joined the Support Desk because I liked the idea to help new students find their footing in Sapporo. At the time I had already been here for 2 years, had my own private battles with the Japanese language and bureaucracy, and wanted to share my experiences to make starting a new life easier.

I am from Europe and spent time in several European countries before coming to Japan. This helps to anticipate the difficulties which students face here, like getting a letter written in some secret code outside the realm of school learned-Japanese. Even today I can become perplexed by official documents or having a telephone conversation with an ultra-polite employee over the line.

At the Support Desk I met fellow colleagues from all over the world, and have fun working together, discussing things and organizing events. Our language repertoire includes English, Chinese, Indonesian, German, French, Hungarian and a couple of other languages, so we are quite multicultural. Most of the questions we get relate to difficulties with Japanese language: translating letters, calling up the landlord or utility companies. But we have given advice about university clubs, places to visit around Sapporo (and Japan), finding apartments and so on.

So if you have some questions about university life, getting around, checking out events around the campus, just come and asks us! Alternatively, if you feel that you mastered the art of being a Hokudai student and living in Sapporo, why not join us? New staff members are recruited twice a year around February and September.

Aodun (PhD. student)

I would like to introduce myself to you guys…. My name is Aodun Toya I am a graduate student studying at the faculty of agriculture in our beautiful campus at Hokkaido University. I really enjoy meeting international students at the Language Corner and since I am from Inner Mongolia/ China, I could not speak English very well at start. After a friend of mine introduced Language Corner activities to me, I practiced speaking English every time we had a meeting there. My English improved a lot and I made many international and Japanese friends. During that I noticed that there was a support desk to help international students at our university. I wanted to be involved in helping students and also my new friends at the Language Corner so I decided to apply to work in the support desk. After working there for about 8 months I improved my Japanese language and English communication skills. Also I got to know many things about working environment in Japan. This helped me to develop a better understanding of Japanese working culture. I think many students at our university should experience this so please do not hesitate to go to Support Desk at the Student Communication Station (SCS) and apply to work there!

I would like to give some advice from my past experience working at the Support Desk. First, try to develop your Japanese language before applying. It is very important to do that because many students will ask for your help to communicate with Japanese landlords or insurance

companies etc. second, always be patient and remember that many students are sometimes frustrated from doing long procedures. Last advice is to keep on learning, the Support Desk is a good place to develop your language and communication skills. Please come and join us!

Become a peer supporter

Hokkaido University takes applications for peer supporters at designated times throughout the year. Peer supporters are paid part-time staff (administrative assistant) of the university. Check out the peer support unit web site or come to the Center for more information.

Thinking about visiting us?

If you would like to make a counseling appointment, please call us, email us, or even just drop by in person. Students with appointments are given priority, so we recommend making an appointment.