We have all had issues and problems in our lives which have been successfully resolved by talking to a friend or a colleague. What makes them able to help is empathy: the ability to recognise and, to some extent, share feelings.

This doctrine has been adopted by the academic world with the use of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL). Based on the Supplemental Instruction (S.I) model developed by the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1973 (Arendale 2000), PAL is a scheme that fosters cross-year support between students on the same course. It encourages students to support each other and learn co-operatively under the guidance of students who have 'been there, done that and got the t-shirt'.