StudyBuddy is the best app for lonely international students

StudyBuddy是专门为孤独的国际学生打造的最佳应用程序。

Studying abroad can be equal parts glamorous and equal parts lonely.

出国留学的生活有迷人的魅力，亦有孤独的滋味。

It’s living your dream life in an Insta-worth destination while pursuing your academic goals, all while experiencing a new country as a bright-eyed student.

你可以在一个值得发圈的目的地过上你梦想的生活，同时追求你的学术目标，而且可以以极大的热情体验一个新的国家。

It’s also festivals and celebrations not spent with the people you grew up spending it with because everyone’s home and you’re not.

另外，那些原本与从小一起长大的伙伴们一起度过的节日和庆祝活动，如今却无法与他们共度了，因为大家都已各自回到自己的家中，而你却不在家。

You might even struggle to make friends — be it through classes, extracurriculars, social media, or even study apps.

你甚至可能很难交到朋友——无论是通过课堂、课外活动、社交媒体，甚至是学习类的应用。

Social and cultural disconnection are some of the common causes of loneliness among students, as well as homesickness, language struggles, and being lumped together as a minority.

社交媒社会与文化方面的隔阂是导致学生感到孤独、思乡、语言障碍以及被归类为少数群体等现象的一些常见原因。

A 2007 study conducted in Australia found that 65% of its participants (international students) have experienced loneliness or isolation in the country, with women (67%) at a higher percentage than men (62%).

2007年在澳大利亚进行的一项研究发现，65%的参与者在澳（即国际学生）曾经历过孤独或孤立，其中女性（67%）的比例高于男性（62%）。

And while getting on Bumble and other apps can help ease loneliness, it’s only a short-term solution.

虽然使用Bumble这类应用能帮助缓解孤独，但这只是一个短期解决方案。

Hailing from Sweden and having undergone her own study abroad journey in the UK, Klara Brodahl knows the feeling well.

Klara Brodahl来自瑞典，自己也有过在英国的留学经历，她很了解这种感受。

Her solution to the problem? Create a study app to counter studying alone and improve the social experience for university students.

她针对这一问题的解决方案是什么？开发一款学习类应用，以缓解学生独自学习的孤独，同时改善大学生的社交体验。

From the companionship of family to a stretch of loneliness

从家人常伴左右，到陷入一段孤独时光。

Studying abroad was always in the cards for Brodahl — she always knew it would be in the UK, but “what” she would study wasn’t easy to decide.

布罗达尔一直都有出国留学的打算——她早就确定会去英国，但具体要攻读什么专业，却很难决定。

Before pursuing an undergraduate degree, she took a two-year gap year to determine her career goals. During those two years, her mother started working in tech and introduced her to it.

在攻读本科学位之前，她用了两年的间隔年规划自己的职业目标。在此期间，她的母亲开始从事科技行业相关工作，并让她接触到了这一领域。

“My mother said, ‘Klara, maybe you’d want to try tech. You have a passion for maths and problem-solving; maybe this is the path for you.’ So, I tried it and ended up loving it,” says Brodahl.

“我母亲说，‘克拉拉，或许你可以试试科技领域。你对数学和解决问题满怀热情，这或许就是适合你的道路。’于是我便尝试了，结果彻底爱上了这个领域。”布罗达尔说道。

In 2020, Brodahl enrolled in a BSc in Computer Science with Management programme at Queen Mary University of London.

2020年，布罗达尔入读伦敦玛丽女王大学，攻读计算机科学与管理专业的理学学士学位

Moving to London was one of the best choices she had made then. It was not too far from Sweden, the best place to learn English, and the city was filled with people worldwide.

搬到伦敦是她当时做出的最明智选择之一：这里离瑞典不算太远，是学习英语的理想之地，整座城市还汇聚着来自世界各地的人们。

“I wanted to meet different kinds of people and get various perspectives. Plus, the parks are beautiful and green during the summer,” says Brodahl.

“我想结识形形色色的人，获取不同的看法。而且一到夏天，这里的公园就绿意盎然、十分漂亮。”布罗达尔说道。

Well, she was only half-right — the part of meeting different kinds of people proved to be a challenge.

不过，她只说对了一半——结识不同的人这件事，后来被证明是个不小的挑战。

“I thought making friends would be like fate, but it was harder than it should have been,” says Brodahl. “There were obstacles I faced, such as friends living far away from each other.”

“我原以为交朋友是顺其自然的事，但实际比预想的要难得多。”布罗达尔说道，“我遇到了一些阻碍，比如朋友们住得都比较分散。”

Growing up in a close-knit family, the drastic change in lifestyles when she was in London took a toll on her.

她成长于一个关系紧密的家庭，在伦敦生活时，生活方式的巨大转变让她难以承受。

In the UK, 72% of international students face loneliness at a moderate level, according to a 2023 study based on the BBC Loneliness Experiment.

基于BBC孤独实验的2023年研究，在英国，72%的国际学生面临中度孤独。

In the same year, the UK government reported that 92% of students in the UK experience loneliness, and nearly half of them worry about being judged if they admit to feeling lonely.

同年，英国政府的报告指出，英国92%的学生曾经历孤独，其中近半数学生担心，如果承认自己孤独会遭人评判。

It was something Brodahl wasn’t aware of, having believed she was the only one facing this problem. That is until she began her final year project and decided to research this issue.

布罗达尔此前一直以为只有自己面临这个问题，所以并没意识到这是个普遍现象。直到她开始做毕业设计、决定研究这个议题时，才改变了这一认知。

“Loneliness and isolation at universities are such a big problem, not only in London but other countries too,” she shares.

“大学中的孤独与孤立是个严重的问题，不只是伦敦，其他国家也是一样。”她说道。

“And I learnt that I wasn’t alone. I heard stories from friends who graduated, and they were disappointed with their social experience. I researched more and realised there’s a solution to this.”

我这才发现自己并不孤单。我从已经毕业的朋友那里听到了他们的经历，他们都对自己的社交体验感到失望。做了更多调研之后，我意识到这个问题是有解决办法的。”

Creating a study app for lonely students

为孤独的学生开发一款学习类应用

“There are so many online tools to make friends, but even with social media, people are still lonely,” says Brodahl. “In-person connection is essential, especially laughing and spending time with them.”

现在有很多线上交友工具，但即便有了社交媒体，人们依然会感到孤独。”布罗达尔表示，“面对面的联结很重要，尤其是能和他人一起欢笑、共度时光的那种联结。”

Besides, things can be easily misinterpreted if you’re only communicating online. 55% of our communication comes from body language, 38% comes from our tone of voice, and 7% comes from words themselves, according to Lime Venue Portfolio.

此外，若只通过线上交流，信息很容易被误解。根据Lime Venue Portfolio的数据，我们55%的交流信息来自肢体语言，38%来自语气，只有7%来自语言本身。

Small interactions or sharing a common goal can increase students’s sense of belonging, which many lack. Honestly, having someone ask you to lend them a pencil or ask you about your day can go a long way.

小的互动或拥有共同目标，都能提升学生的归属感——这正是许多学生缺失。说实话，有人找你借支铅笔，或者问你今天过得怎么样，这类小事会有很大帮助。

Still, it is difficult to do. Even if you’re willing to combat loneliness, finding a friend to study with you isn’t easy. For Brodahl, it was a common issue due to “busy schedules.”

但做到这一点并不容易。即便你愿意对抗孤独，找到能和你一起学习的伙伴也不容易。对布罗达尔来说，导致这一问题的常见原因是“日程繁忙”。

The solution? Creating StudyBuddy, a study app for students.

解决方案是什么？开发StudyBuddy这款面向学生的学习应用。

The co-studying platform that makes studying more collaborative, social, and fun allows students to connect with others in real-time for study sessions or social meetups — all while combating loneliness.

这个协作学习平台让学习更具协作性、社交性与趣味性，能让学生实时连线他人参与学习活动或社交聚会——同时缓解孤独感。

In the app, you can browse the map to discover active study sessions around you. Once you have found someone who’s studying the subject you’re interested in, you can connect to chat with them and join the session in person.

在这款应用中，你可以浏览地图，发现周边正在进行的学习活动。一旦找到学习你感兴趣学科的人，就能与对方聊天并加入该学习活动。

You’ll also be able to start your own session and let others join your study space.

你也可以发起自己的学习活动，让其他人加入你的学习空间。

This final year project-turned-real-world utility now has over 400 users today and is available worldwide.

这个从毕业设计项目发展而来的实用工具，如今已有超400名用户，且在全球范围内均可使用。

Advice from one entrepreneurial international student to another

一位创业留学生给另一位留学生的建议

For Brodahl, sharing your ideas rather than hiding and protecting them is the best thing an inspiring entrepreneur could do.

在布罗达尔看来，对于一位富有感召力的创业者来说，去分享想法，而非隐藏、固守想法，才是最正确的做法。

“I don’t think it’s the right approach to not talk about their ideas. I understand that many fear others might steal it, but really, people lean more to helping than taking it and making it their own,” she shares.

“我认为不把自己的想法说出口这一举动并非明智之举。我理解很多人担心想法会被窃取，但实际上，人们更倾向于提供帮助，而非据为己有。”她说道。

Talking about what you want to build will also help you build your confidence, especially if you’re starting something abroad, she believes.

她认为，谈论自己想要打造的事物，也能帮你建立信心——尤其是当你在海外开启新事业时。

It will also help you align your mission better and learn more about yourself.

这也能帮你更好地明确自身使命，同时更深入地了解自己。