ESN International

Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a student organisation founded in 1990 for supporting and developing student exchange.

We are present in 263 Higher Education Institutions from 35 countries. The network is constantly developing and expanding.

ESN is working in Higher Education (HE).

ESN offers services to 150.000 students.
ESN works mainly on a volunteer basis.
ESN has an average annual growth rate of 12,3% since 1990.

ESN is operating on three levels, local, national and international

ESN trys to create a more mobile and flexible education environment by supporting and developing the student exchange from different levels, and providing an intercultural experience also to those students who cannot access a period abroad, through internationalisation at home.

Aims

In synthesis, ESN:

works in the interest of exchange students,
works to improve the social and practical integration of exchange students,
represents the needs and expectations of exchange students on the local, national and international level,
provides relevant information about academic exchange programmes and ESN resources,
works with the reintegration of homecoming students,
contributes to the evaluation of different exchange programmes.

Who is ESN for?

Homecoming students

The students who are returning from exchange are being supported in reintegration process in their home countries by keeping contact with an international environment.

Many local sections are set up by former exchange students, often because they have had good experiences from their exchange period or because they felt a lack of help during their exchange. They also understand better the issues and challenges in a foreign environment.

Exchange students

However, the main focus of ESN is placed on current exchange students, who often face problems (and feel abandoned) in their new environments. Therefore ESN offers help in academic, social and practical integration process. This is mainly done through activities in the local sections, which include cultural and social events such as trips to various places within the country, film nights, buddy group and language projects and international food fests and last, but not least, parties. In addition to that, many sections have introduced mentor systems, which help the international students mainly in academic and practical integration.

ESN also provides relevant information and encourages the future exchange students to gain the international experience and gain relevant insight to different cultures.

Finally, ESN International is developing, from the Headquarters in Brussels, ambitious projects such as the Survey on the exchange students' rights, the ESN Card or the ESN Factory.

Mission

The mission of ESN is to foster student mobility in Higher Education under the principle of Students Helping Students.

Vision

Erasmus Student Network cooperates with the European Institutions and other relevant bodies and policy makers in the ambitious project of creating and fostering the development of a society based upon mutual knowledge, respect, trust and therefore peace among individuals, groups, communities, peoples and countries.

In this framework and with this purpose, ESN strives for a world were increasingly more young people will be in the condition to access, either by moving or by staying at home, the opportunities of personal growth offered by an international experience in Higher Education.

However, such experience has to be one of quality: this means, that prospective and current exchange students have to be provided with all the necessary information and means for

choosing the destination that fits at most with their interests and personal development;
applying properly and in the due time for scholarships and for any other possible financial support, and in any case be granted enough resources for maintaining in the host city the same tenor of living they are used to held in their city of origin;
being integrated in the society and the culture of the hosting city, also by terms of linguistic tools and social opportunities;
succeeding in the academic aims of their stay and, once back to the Higher Institution of origin, having their gained knowledge fully and duly recognised, and being reintegrated in the social and academic life;
evaluating their exchange experience and having their evaluation considered and appreciated by the competent institutions, in order to foster and influence the evolution of the exchange programmes and policies;
helping, in turn, other students to succeed in their exchange study and in overcoming the same difficulties and challenges they experienced.

Hence, we foresee a world where all the Higher Education Institutions support the principle of students helping students, who therefore find their way to mobility and to internationalisation, and all existing and possible threats and obstacles to mobility are annihilated.