ERASMUS STUDENT NETWORK AISBL

description of organisation

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the biggest European student organization acting in the field of student mobility and internalization of higher education. ESN’s main mission is the enrichment of society through international students and student mobility.
In order to ensure this happens, Our main objectives are:
- To empower students and young people to be ambassadors of intercultural understanding and active citizenship, sharing the value of unity in diversity.
- To increase the quantity and quality of study abroad programmes around the world to ensure a students’ personal and professional development through increasingly internationalised curricula with a stronger relevance of non-formal and informal learning.
- Offer student-centred activities and support services to ensure internationalisation is available to students from all backgrounds, fostering their local integration and reintegration upon return, increasing the impact of the experience before, during, and after mobility.
- foster a positive image of international exchange and connect with a diverse set of audiences and stakeholders.
- As a student and youth organisation, ESN aims at providing its volunteers with transferable skills and competences, acquired through self-development opportunities, and empower them to actively engage in the organisation and society at large.
- Create an interconnected self-sustainable network with a strong membership and efficient structure that accommodates for flexibility and adaptability to cope with constant change and challenges in society.

ESN is a non-profit organization with more than 530 local organisations in 42 countries, connected to more than 1000 Higher Education Institutions, gathering 15 000 volunteers that are student representatives and youth workers in their own right.

ESN provides support services to its main target audience; 350 000 international students across Europe per year and works for their needs by facilitating their mobility period, ensuring social cohesion and integration of mobile students in local communities by enhancing intercultural awareness and active citizenship through intercultural dialogue and cultural activities and volunteering and outreach initiatives.

ESN ensures student participation in education and youth work policies on the European, national, regional and local level by providing training, seminars and non-formal education opportunities on these topics to student representatives across Europe. ESN contributes to the creation of a more mobile and flexible education environment by supporting student exchanges from different levels and implementing “internalisation at home” experiences, bringing international students closer to their local communities. Through its initiatives, ESN contributes to the further development of European mobility, active citizenship and solidarity among European youth.

ESN further works in the interest of international students by improving the conditions of student learning mobility (integration, advocacy on vertical levels, provision of information, evaluation of mobility programmes, promotion, motivation and preparation) and by enhancing internationalisation, intercultural understanding and active participation in Europe. The main activities of the organisation at the international level are research and policy projects in different mobility and higher education-related issues.

ESN has a professional secretariat of 10 staff, 2 interns, 3 ESC volunteers and 5 full-time Board members operating from the Brussels Head Quarters, supported by 300 active volunteers working part-time in supporting bodies of the organisation such as committees, working groups or project teams. The international Headquarters has a professional team of experienced employees with extensive knowledge of European Projects and organisational governance and management.