Improving matching and social engagement of international students through a volunteering platform

Over the past years, more students have been choosing to go overseas for higher education. As international students come from diverse cultural backgrounds, they encounter several challenges such as lack of engagement when they study abroad in a country that has different customs and traditions. Volunteering provides an opportunity to get to know their new community, as well as broaden their understanding of diversity and cross-cultural communication. When designing and developing volunteer programs focused on improving matching and social engagement, it is important to rely on best-practices and empirical data that demonstrate the positive role of certain activities. We propose a digital platform that can improve matching and social engagement of international students and overcome some of the challenges they face. Design Science Research methodology is used to develop design principles that can be used when designing and developing a digital platform to enhance matching and social engagement.