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Erasmus Student Network

ESN

Vision: Enrichment of society through international students. Mission: ESN is the key volunteer student organisation in international higher education in Europe. We provide opportunities for cultural understanding and self-development under the principle of SHS - Students Helping Students. Goals: 1. ESN aims at working in the interest of students who are spending parts of or their entire formal education at a higher education institution in a country other than the one of their origin, by means of: 1.2 Improvement of the social and practical integration of exchange students at their host institutions. 1.2 Representation of the needs and expectations of exchange students on the local, national and international level. 1.3 Provision of relevant information about academic exchange programmes and ESN resources. 1.4 Reintegration of homecoming students by making them active in the network. 1.5 Contribution to the evaluation of different exchange programmes. 1.6 Motivat (...)

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European Youth Forum and

14 Jan 2026 · Stakeholder dialogue on establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034

Meeting with Annamária Vicsek (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

1 Oct 2025 · Exchange of views

Meeting with Sabrina Repp (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Mar 2025 · EU youth policy

Meeting with Annamária Vicsek (Member of the European Parliament)

2 Oct 2024 · Exchange of views

Meeting with Ana Catarina Mendes (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Oct 2024 · Presentation of Priorities for the new term on Youth

Meeting with Klára Dobrev (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Oct 2024 · Erasmus Plus programme

Response to European Quality Assurance and Recognition System

6 Feb 2024

The Erasmus Student Network is the largest student and alumni organisation supporting the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme and learning mobility experiences in general. Our multilevel structure allows ESN to have a direct engagement with all the key stakeholders involved in the programme. Our more than 500 local associations are connected with more than 1000 Higher Education Institutions active in Erasmus+, and our presence in 45 countries gives a broad perspective of the reality of learning mobility in higher education across Europe. ESN has a unique capacity to gather the voices and experiences of the protagonists of the learning mobility: the students. We combine a strong data collection tradition with direct contact with students on the ground, which allows us to represent their needs, interests and ideas. The contribution in the attachment focuses on the aspects related to quality assurance and recognition of learning outcomes from a period of study abroad, as well as recognition of degrees. It condenses ESNs perspective on the recognition of learning periods abroad, reflecting on data from the SIEM research report (2021), the ESNsurvey - XIV edition (2022), as well as data from the latest ESNsurvey XV (2023), which collected 17,855 answers from exchange students, 1,856 answers from full-degree students and 3,064 from non-mobile students. The contribution contains a number of policy recommendations, which are based on ESNs latest research and publications, listed at the end of the document.
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Meeting with Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President) and

6 Dec 2023 · Introductory meeting w new President

Response to Interim evaluation of the European Education Area

15 Sept 2023

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the largest organisation representing and supporting mobile learners in the European Union and beyond. ESN works on every aspect and stage of the mobility experience, from the promotion of mobility opportunities to the reintegration of mobile learners after their experiences by creating vibrant alumni communities that give back to their societies. Through its research and policy activities, ESN has become a key actor in European discussion about learning mobility and the internationalisation of education, but ESN is way more than an alumni engagement and advocacy organisation. ESN's key activity across its 44 countries and more than 500 local student organisations are dedicated to the support of current, future and prospective mobile learners. Every year ESN local volunteers support more than 350.000 thousand of them, working closely with all the institutions and stakeholders involved in mobility. The Erasmus Student Network is pleased to see many positive developments and steps taken by the European Commission towards achieving the European Education Area by 2025. Even though the EEA spreads over all sectors of education, in this contribution paper ESN focuses mostly on the field of higher education as one of the six dimensions of the EEA, and shares its feedback and recommendations in the attachment.
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Meeting with Michaela Šojdrová (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European Youth Forum and

23 May 2023 · European Solidarity Corps

Response to Boosting European learning mobility for all

3 May 2023

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the largest organisation representing and supporting mobile learners in the European Union and beyond. ESN works on every aspect and stage of the mobility experience, from the promotion of mobility opportunities to the reintegration of mobile learners after their experiences by creating vibrant alumni communities that give back to their societies. Through its research and policy activities, ESN has become a key actor in European discussion about learning mobility and the internationalisation of education, but ESN is way more than an alumni engagement and advocacy organisation. ESN's key activity across its 44 countries and more than 500 local student organisations are dedicated to the support of current, future and prospective mobile learners. Every year ESN local volunteers support more than 350.000 thousand of them, working closely with all the institutions and stakeholders involved in mobility. Three concepts constitute the bedrock of ESN´s policy posture towards learning mobility, as described in the General Policies of the organisation: more mobility, better mobility and more accessible mobility. The Erasmus Student Network believes in international opportunities for all, with a special focus on the removal of barriers for those who face particular challenges to participate. This contribution to the call for evidence builds on ESN´s main research and policy work over the last few years, including an analysis of the progress made since the publication of the Youth on the Move Council Recommendation in 2011, a comprehensive state of play on learning mobility in Europe with a special focus on Higher Education, and a final set of recommendations that also incorporate direct wording proposals that ESN expects to see in the Council Recommendation. The scope of this contribution is not limited to the Higher Education field, as many of the proposals are relevant to all educational sectors. ESN uses its expertise in the Higher Education field and its excellent connections with organisations active in other fields to build proposals that can help to widen participation in mobility among all sectors. The proposals in this contribution target the European institutions, Member States, other subnational levels of government and different kinds of educational institutions. ESN firmly believes that the ideas included in this document can play an important role in building the new learning mobility framework.
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Meeting with Maria Koleva (Cabinet of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel)

7 Feb 2023 · Final report of the ESNsurvey - XIV edition

Response to Interim evaluation of EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027

21 Oct 2022

The Erasmus Student Network is the largest student and alumni organisation supporting international and exchange students all over Europe. Our more than 500 local associations are connected with more than 1000 Higher Education Institutions active in Erasmus+, and our presence in 41 countries gives a broad perspective of the reality of young people in both EU Member States and countries in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership. Our Network has around 15,000 active members and even more “buddies”, who are mainly taking care of international students. Thus, ESN involves around 40,000 young people offering its services to around 350,000 international students every year. ESN has a unique capacity to gather the voices and experiences of young people, mostly students involved in higher education. We combine a strong data collection tradition with direct contact with students on the ground, which allows us to represent their needs, interests and ideas. Moreover, given the organisational structure and volunteer-based work in ESN, we have a solid experience in youth work, volunteering, skills development and recognition. Our contribution to the interim evaluation of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 is therefore based on a combination of our research and policy initiatives, and our experience working with young people on the ground, as well as being involved in various initiatives for the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy, such as the EU Youth Dialogue and the European Youth Work Agenda.
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Response to Erasmus+ 2021-2027 interim evaluation and Erasmus+ 2014-2020 final evaluation

11 Sept 2022

The Erasmus Student Network is the largest student and alumni organisation supporting the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme and learning mobility experiences in general. Our multilevel structure allows ESN to have a direct engagement with all the key stakeholders involved in the programme. Our more than 500 local associations are connected with more than 1000 Higher Education Institutions active in Erasmus+, and our presence in 41 countries gives a broad perspective of the reality of both programme countries and partner countries, mainly from the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership. ESN has a unique capacity to gather the voices and experiences of the protagonists of the programme: the students. We combine a strong data collection tradition with direct contact with students on the ground, which allows us to represent their needs, interest and ideas. Our contribution to the final evaluation of the Erasmus+ is therefore based on a combination of our research and policy initiatives carried out since 2014, and our experience working with students, Higher Education Institutions, National Agencies and the European Commission over these 8 years. ESN´s research and policy outputs can be checked on our website: www.esn.org/policy. You can read our contribution in the attached document.
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Meeting with Maria Walsh (Member of the European Parliament)

7 Dec 2021 · Erasmus+

Meeting with Catherine Sustek (Cabinet of Vice-President Margaritis Schinas)

28 Sept 2021 · Presentation on Communicating Europe

Meeting with Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President) and

14 Jul 2021 · Erasmus Student Network

Meeting with Themis Christophidou (Director-General Education, Youth, Sport and Culture)

14 Jul 2021 · Courtesy call with the Outgoing and Incoming president

Meeting with Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President) and

23 Nov 2020 · Erasmus+, European Education Area

Meeting with Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner)

20 Jul 2020 · ESN's future priorities and the European Education Area

Meeting with Tibor Navracsics (Commissioner) and European Youth Forum and

2 May 2017 · EU youth strategy post 2018