The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a non-profit international student organisation.

It was founded in 1989 to promote and develop mobility, the exchange program and student rights.

Currently ESN is the biggest voluntary student organization in Europe involving 42 countries, more than 900 higher education institutions with around 540 local ESN organisations. Our network is constantly growing and has approximately 15 000 active members with the support of 19 000 buddies whose main task is helping out the international students. All in all we have 34 000 volunteers working on a daily basis to make the life of the international students easier during their exchange. The organisation is working on three different levels: local, national and international. The aims of the network are to help the integration of exchange students, to promote mobility and to act on the

“Students Helping Students” principle which not only means helping out the incoming students, but also providing opportunities and information to local students regarding mobility, assisting to the reintegration of homecoming students and contributing to the development and accessibility of exchange programs.

AIMS

ESN aims at working in the interest of students who are spending a part of their professional education at a higher education institution in a country other than the one in which their home institution is situated. The organisation works to improve the conditions for present and future exchange students and to promote the exchange experience and concerns itself directly or indirectly with every aspect of this subject as broadly as possible. It does so without being associated with any political or confessional group.

ESN works for the benefits of all students taking part in an exchange programme, regardless of their provenance.

Through its work for the mobile students, ESN also aims at working for the non-mobile students by improving their chances to experience international student exchange at their home institution. Thus ESN offers services for all students and welcomes all students to participate in its work regardless if they are mobile or not. This shall be done by means of:

  • Support of the social and practical integration of visiting students at their host institution;

  • Provision of practical and relevant information about academic exchange programmes and ESN resources;

  • Active use of the experiences of homecoming students by making them active in the network;

  • Contribution to evaluation of different exchange programmes based on the experiences obtained by former exchange students;

Representation of the needs and expectations of exchange students on the local, national and international level.