Open Call: Administrator ESN AISBL

ESN International news - Thu, 29/09/2016 - 17:04

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is Europe’s biggest student organisation, present in more than 500 Higher Education Institutions in 39 European countries. Our aim is to support and develop student mobility and the internationalisation of higher education, through providing services and opportunities to students.
 
The Headquarters are responsible for managing the Network, developing and implementing new projects and advocating for student mobility and internationalisation of higher education. The Network is led by the International Board of ESN, which is supported by the Secretariat.

The Board of ESN International, based in Brussels, is looking for an Administrator starting as soon as possible. The position is crucial for the work of ESN Headquarter and it requires flexibility and adaptability skills.

Job description

Office Management – 30 % (Report to the Director)

  • Support to general administration (answering phone, door, e-mail ets.);
  • Assist the Director with external services, for example the Moniteur Belge updates;
  • Contact with the post service and other providers;
  • Translation (EN-FR-EN);
  • Assistance to Board Members with administration, travel arrangements, documentation, and data gathering;
  • Supervision of the office maintenance and supplies. 

Orders management – 30 % (Report to the Treasurer) 

  • Assist the treasurer in the distribution of ESNcard and other promotional material to ESN members;
  • Manage the webshop and provide ESN gadgets to ESN members;
  • Regular planning of gadgets ordering sessions with ESN staff and management of International shipments.

Network Administrative Management – 25 % (Report to the Vice-President)

  • Extensive use of internal database to keep track of ESN members; 
  • Keep update information on ESN members and participate in the improvement of IT tools for members;
  • Reply to membership enquiries and implement smooth internal communication with ESN members;
  • Follow payments of membership fees and payments deadlines closely according to ESN Statutes.

Other tasks – 15 % (Report to the Director and the Project coordinators)

  • Assistance with the other organisational needs, for example statutory events, project conferences and internal receptions.
Profile

Qualifications:

  • Minimum of a Bachelor degree
  • You have working experience of at least three years
  • You are fluent in French (mother tongue level or equivalent) and have a very good command of English
  • Experience in logistics, planning and follow-up

Professional and technical competencies:

  • You have a very good knowledge of all Office Tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.) and Google Apps
  • You feel comfortable working with different IT and web management tools

Personal attributes and values:

  • You work in a very precise and organized way
  • You are capable of taking initiative and finding solutions to challenges
  • You can work in a team as well as on your own and learn quickly
  • You feel comfortable in an international and multicultural environment
    • strong interpersonal skills
    • very good organisational and time management skills
    • flexibility 
Highly valued
  • Experience in a European Network
  • Knowledge of ESN projects 
  • Experience of volunteering or work in NGO
Term and conditions
  • Full time position (38 hours/week)
  • One year contract with the opportunity of extension
  • €1.900 brutto monthly salary
  • Transportation partly covered as by Belgian law
  • Health insurance reimbursed

Please send your motivation letter and CV to applications@esn.org. Please use the subject line “Administrator”

Deadline for the application is Sunday, 9th of October, 23:59 CET, but we encourage you to send it in as soon as possible. 

Interviews will be scheduled and carried out on a rolling basis.

Please don't hesitate to contact us in case you have any additional questions regarding the position. 

Categories: ESN International

Open Call: EVS Projects and Events Supporter

ESN International news - Fri, 23/09/2016 - 17:35

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the largest network of student associations in Europe, with its international headquarters in Brussels. ESN is present in over 500 Higher Education Institutions in 39 countries. ESN has been supporting student mobility since 1989.

The international headquarters in Brussels is looking for an EVS* Projects and Events Supporter, starting in January 2017 and staying for 6 months. That person will work on supporting ESN’s various projects, both internal (e.g. Mov’in Europe, SocialErasmus and ExchangeAbility) and external, as well as supporting the work of the international event coordinators. For more information about ESN’s projects, see esn.org/projects.

An overview of the tasks can be found below but are also flexible to fit the skills, expertise and needs of the chosen applicant in order for them to learn and make the most out of the experience. In ESN, we aim to foster an innovative environment and welcome creativity and new initiatives coming from the volunteer.

Terms and conditions
  • EVS volunteer contract for a duration of 6 months;
  • The successful applicant should start in early January 2017;
  • 17 - 30 years old;
  • Accommodation provided;
  • Transport costs in Brussels are covered;
  • Insurance is covered;
  • Transport to and from Brussels in the beginning/end of the stay is covered;
  • A monthly allowance is provided, according to the respective EVS allocation;
  • Language classes and training opportunities during working hours.
Desired skills and experience
  • Proficiency in both written and spoken English;
  • Familiarity and experience with the internal projects of ESN;
  • Experience in a volunteer-led organisation;
  • Structured and reliable way of working;
  • Able to take own initiative;
  • Familiarity and past attendance/organisation of international ESN events is a plus.
Main tasks and responsibilities
  • Support ESN's international projects, including planning, logistics, communication and documentation, especially regarding their events;
  • Support ESN's international events, especially with regards to helping update the supporting documents and approaches towards event organisers and chairing teams;
  • Support the ESN Board and Secretariat with other tasks that might arise.

*European Voluntary Service
The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is an EU-funded programme in which volunteers from one country can go and volunteer in another. Please note that the selected EVS volunteer will have to have support of an accredited “sending organisation” and that ESN strongly recommends applicants to start searching for this already at the stage of application. Also note that this position is conditional on the EVS funding being awarded to ESN; ESN will do its best to ensure this, but unfortunately ESN cannot guarantee the position at this point.

In order to apply, please send a CV and motivation letter to applications@esn.org no later than 28th September, 23:59 CET. The subject of the email should be “EVS” followed by your first and last names. Interviews will be held on a rolling basis and will be held at the latest on the 29th of September. We apologise for the very short notice.
 
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact director@esn.org and vicepresident@esn.org.

Categories: ESN International

ESN at EAIE Liverpool 2016!

ESN International news - Wed, 07/09/2016 - 17:36

As is tradition, the Erasmus Student Network will be present at this year's Annual EAIE Conference and Exhibition, taking place in Liverpool from 13th to 16th September.

With 7 representatives present in Liverpool, ESN will be sharing its expertise and providing the student perspective on Erasmus+, student mobility and the internationalisation of higher education.

In addition, ESN, together with our friends from the European University Foundation, will be present at Booth 801 of the EAIE Exhibition, where we will be giving first-hand demonstrations of the Online Learning Agreement.

Here are our representatives and the sessions they are speaking in:

Safi Sabuni
President

Sessions
What is English-medium instruction like for students?
Erasmus+: Looking Back, Moving Forward
Erasmus+ Barometer 2014-2015 Results

 

 

 

Matthew Clemo
Vice-President

Sessions
#Languages4life: Boosting the Erasmus+ Experience with the Online Linguistic Support

 

 

 

 

Gaffar Rampage
Communication Manager

Sessions
Erasmus Goes Digital: The Online Learning Agreement & Erasmus Without Paper
SocialErasmus: Providing a Holistic Mobile Student Experience Through Volunteering

 

 

 

Thomas Pappas
Web Project Administrator

Sessions
Ignite! Mobility-Disability: A Bilateral Relationship
Tackling Obstacles to International Mobility for Students with Disabilities
Accessibility, MappED!: Increasing Mobility Among Disabled Students

 

 

Jérémy Apert
Project Coordinator

Sessions
HousErasmus+: Driving Affordable Housing for International Students

 

 

 

 

Mikuláš Josek
Project Coordinator

Sessions
How International-Friendly is your University? The Exchange Student Perspective

 

 

 

 

Adriana Pérez
Researcher

Sessions
How International-Friendly is your University? The Exchange Student Perspective

 

 

 

---

Founded in 1989, the European Association for International Education (EAIE) is the acknowledged European centre for expertise, networking and resources in the internationalisation of higher education. The Annual EAIE Conference and Exhibition is Europe's premier meeting point for international higher education professionals, attracting upwards of 5,000 participants each year. This year's edition takes place in Liverpool, UK.

Find out more at EAIE.org.

Categories: ESN International

ESN at EAIE Liverpool 2016!

ESN International news - Wed, 07/09/2016 - 17:36

As is tradition, the Erasmus Student Network will be present at this year's Annual EAIE Conference and Exhibition, taking place in Liverpool from 13th to 16th September.

With 7 representatives present in Liverpool, ESN will be sharing its expertise and providing the student perspective on Erasmus+, student mobility and the internationalisation of higher education.

In addition, ESN, together with our friends from the European University Foundation, will be present at Booth 801 of the EAIE Exhibition, where we will be giving first-hand demonstrations of the Online Learning Agreement.

Here are our representatives and the sessions they are speaking in:

Safi Sabuni
President

Sessions
What is English-medium instruction like for students?
Erasmus+: Looking Back, Moving Forward
Erasmus+ Barometer 2014-2015 Results

 

 

 

Matthew Clemo
Vice-President

Sessions
#Languages4life: Boosting the Erasmus+ Experience with the Online Linguistic Support

 

 

 

 

Gaffar Rampage
Communication Manager

Sessions
Erasmus Goes Digital: The Online Learning Agreement & Erasmus Without Paper
SocialErasmus: Providing a Holistic Mobile Student Experience Through Volunteering

 

 

 

Thomas Pappas
Web Project Administrator

Sessions
Ignite! Mobility-Disability: A Bilateral Relationship
Tackling Obstacles to International Mobility for Students with Disabilities
Accessibility, MappED!: Increasing Mobility Among Disabled Students

 

 

Jérémy Apert
Project Coordinator

Sessions
HousErasmus+: Driving Affordable Housing for International Students

 

 

 

 

Mikuláš Josek
Project Coordinator

Sessions
How International-Friendly is your University? The Exchange Student Perspective

 

 

 

 

Adriana Pérez
Researcher

Sessions
How International-Friendly is your University? The Exchange Student Perspective

 

 

 

---

Founded in 1989, the European Association for International Education (EAIE) is the acknowledged European centre for expertise, networking and resources in the internationalisation of higher education. The Annual EAIE Conference and Exhibition is Europe's premier meeting point for international higher education professionals, attracting upwards of 5,000 participants each year. This year's edition takes place in Liverpool, UK.

Find out more at EAIE.org.

Categories: ESN International

Open Call: Digital Marketing Intern

ESN International news - Tue, 30/08/2016 - 11:54

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the largest network of student associations in Europe, with its international headquarters in Brussels. ESN is present in over 500 Higher Education Institutions in 39 countries. ESN has been supporting student mobility since 1989. As part of its fundraising strategy, ESN partners up with a range of international companies to offer advantages to our members.

The international headquarters in Brussels is looking for a Digital Marketing Intern starting ideally on the 1st of October. That person will support the Partnership Manager with the purpose of facilitating his tasks in the area of marketing and, at the same time, learn about the latest digital marketing trends in the market and the business perspective of NGOs.

Terms and conditions
  • Internship for a duration of 6 months;
  • The successful applicant should start ideally on the 1st of October (to be discussed at the interview);
  • Must have an Erasmus Placement or any Internship Agreement;
  • Accommodation at the ESN house in Brussels is provided;
  • Transport costs in Brussels are covered.
Profile
  • Balanced creative and analytical mindset;
  • Data-driven marketer;
  • Likes to work in teams and feels comfortable in a multicultural environment;
  • Both B2C and B2B oriented;
  • Passionate about marketing, social media and advertising;
  • Willingness to learn.
Requirements
  • Bachelor degree in Business Management, Marketing, Communication, PR or related;
  • Comfortable in both written and spoken English;
  • Proficient user of the Office package, especially Excel or any other spreadsheet.
Main tasks
  • Research, planning and execution of marketing campaigns and communication plans for commercial partners;
  • Content creation and edition on social media and newsletter campaigns with commercial content;
  • Assistance in the optimization of the traffic on ESNcard.org via SEO (Search Engine Optimization), link building, SEM (Search Engine Marketing), SMM (Social Media Marketing) and remarketing processes, as our main commercial tool;
  • Assistance in the tracking, evaluation, analysis and reporting of marketing actions and the general performance of ESN’s communication channels;
  • Pro-active role on the engagement strategy of our social media channels;
  • Provide support to the Partnership Manager, Project Teams and the rest of the ESN Office when needed.
Why internship at the ESN Headquarters
  • Casual, friendly, multicultural environment;
  • Professional business approach of NGOs;
  • Work using latest tools and following the latest trends on digital marketing;
  • Additional training opportunities in marketing and other fields of interest.

To apply, you are encouraged to use the erasmusintern.org website. Alternatively, please send a short motivation letter and CV to applications@esn.org by the 8th of September 2016 at 23:59 CET. Interviews, either in Brussels or via Skype will be conducted with the shortlisted applicants.


For questions regarding the position, please do not hesitate to contact ESN’s Partnership Manager Hugo at partnership@esn.org (for content-related questions) or Director Rasmus at director@esn.org (for technical/administrative questions).

Attachment Files:  20160830 Open Call - Digital Marketing Intern.pdf
Categories: ESN International

Open Call: Graphic Designer

ESN International news - Tue, 30/08/2016 - 11:54

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the largest network of student associations in Europe, with its international headquarters in Brussels. ESN is present in over 500 Higher Education Institutions in 39 countries. ESN has been supporting student mobility since 1989.

The international headquarters in Brussels is looking for a Graphic Designer, starting ideally in September 2016. The employee will work in cooperation with the Communication Manager of ESN to support the organisation’s visual communication needs, primarily in web design and publications design. He/she will also be involved in a number of ESN’s projects, many of which are done in close collaboration with project partners from other countries.

Terms and conditions
  • Full-time position;
  • One-year contract from September 2016 to August 2017;
  • Salary €2100 per month gross;
  • Transport costs in Brussels are partly covered according to Belgian legislation;
  • Casual, friendly and international work environment.
Main tasks and responsibilities
  • Coordination and design of ESN’s range of publications;
  • Conceptualising, proposing and designing of ESN web pages;
  • General communication and project support for ESN International.
Required skills and expertise
  • Background in communication, graphic design or similar fields;
  • Demonstrable design skills with a strong portfolio;
  • Advanced proficiency in Adobe Suite tools (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign);
  • Experience with UI, UX and web design;
  • Knowledge of project management and coordination;
  • Very good knowledge of written English;
  • Flexibility with working hours;
  • Quick learner with a structured way of working;
  • Able to work in a team but also to take own initiatives and work independently;
  • Able to prioritise and handle several concurrent projects.
Highly valued
  • Experience in a European network;
  • Experience in front-end web development (HTML/CSS/JS);
  • Previous experience and knowledge of the European dimension of higher education;
  • Knowledge of ESN and its projects.

To apply, please send a motivation letter, CV and a portfolio of relevant work to applications@esn.org by 18th September 2016, 23:59 CET. Interviews, either at our office in Brussels or via Skype, will be conducted as soon as we find potential applicants.  Please use the subject line “Graphic Designer”.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions regarding the position. For more information on ESN’s projects, see http://esn.org/projects.

Attachment Files:  20160830 Open Call - Graphic Designer.pdf
Categories: ESN International

Karma pays back: 16 kind students rewarded

ESN International news - Mon, 29/08/2016 - 12:50

 

Uniplaces, the fastest growing online booking platform for student accommodation, has announced the 16 students who will be awarded the Uniplaces Scholarship.

 

Winners came from all over the world, including Macedonia, Romania, Russia and Croatia. The country with the greatest number of winners was also one of the countries with the most applicants: Spain. Brazil, with 3 winners, and Mexico, with 2, were the runner-up countries.

 

The winners were chosen by a judge panel that included members of the Erasmus Student Network, European Youth Card Association, The Class of 2020, UNICA and a student from the University of Porto who is part of the Uniplaces Ambassador Programme. The panel was looking for the fifteen most original and authentic applications: As one application was split by two students, they ended up finding 16 winners!

 

The Uniplaces Scholarship: One of a kind

The Uniplaces Scholarship is one that rewards kindness instead of physical skills, good grades or a specific heritage. For a chance to win the Scholarship, Uniplaces asked students to tell them how they helped other students with a one-off action or continuously.  

 

Students from anywhere in the world could apply for the Scholarship to live rent-free for a whole semester, which will undoubtedly help with the mounting costs of university. To win this scholarship, students had to submit their applications on scholarship.uniplaces.com.

 

The winners, most of them international students, are going to be studying all over Europe, in countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain - but also Portugal, Slovenia and Hungary. The furthest destination among the winners will be the USA.


 

And the World’s Kindest University is:

Uniplaces will be rewarding the University of Porto as the World’s Kindest University. As one of the largest, oldest and most well-regarded universities of Portugal, it had the highest number of applications. 22 kind students had valid applications for the Uniplaces Scholarship in the third edition alone. To reward the University of Porto, one member from the student body was flown to Brussels and invited to take part in the jury panel.

 

The universities of Bocconi (14 applicants), Vigo (9) and Bologna (8) were the closest runner-ups to the World’s Kindest University.

 

From left to right: Saniya Giniatullina (Uniplaces), Jovana Stankovich (Erasmus Student Network), Dominique Montagnese (UNICA) and Bruno Cunha (Uniplaces Ambassador and Student Representative from the University of Porto).

 

Past Uniplaces Scholarships

 

This is the third edition of the Uniplaces Scholarship. Past winners have had their accommodation paid in places such as Singapore, Sydney, New York and Paris.

 

2015 Scholarship winner Radoslaw Czekan commented: “This was the opportunity to live my dreams. The Scholarship enormously increased my studies in Lisbon and helped me to focus more on my passion and travelling. Awesome!”

 

Similarly, Mia Santic said: "This Scholarship made my life 10 times better.”

 

Uniplaces co-founder Miguel Amaro said:

 

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer more scholarships every year. As Uniplaces grows, we’ll surely be investing more and more into breaking down barriers for students all over the world, in the Scholarship and other initiatives. The Uniplaces Scholarship really seems to strike a chord with students. We’ve always seen such great levels of participation from students all around the world every single time, and it keeps growing. We might be looking at ways in which we can make this even more interesting for the next edition!”.

 
Categories: ESN International

Karma pays back: 16 kind students rewarded

ESN International news - Mon, 29/08/2016 - 12:50

 

Uniplaces, the fastest growing online booking platform for student accommodation, has announced the 16 students who will be awarded the Uniplaces Scholarship.

 

Winners came from all over the world, including Macedonia, Romania, Russia and Croatia. The country with the greatest number of winners was also one of the countries with the most applicants: Spain. Brazil, with 3 winners, and Mexico, with 2, were the runner-up countries.

 

The winners were chosen by a judge panel that included members of the Erasmus Student Network, European Youth Card Association, The Class of 2020, UNICA and a student from the University of Porto who is part of the Uniplaces Ambassador Programme. The panel was looking for the fifteen most original and authentic applications: As one application was split by two students, they ended up finding 16 winners!

 

The Uniplaces Scholarship: One of a kind

The Uniplaces Scholarship is one that rewards kindness instead of physical skills, good grades or a specific heritage. For a chance to win the Scholarship, Uniplaces asked students to tell them how they helped other students with a one-off action or continuously.  

 

Students from anywhere in the world could apply for the Scholarship to live rent-free for a whole semester, which will undoubtedly help with the mounting costs of university. To win this scholarship, students had to submit their applications on scholarship.uniplaces.com.

 

The winners, most of them international students, are going to be studying all over Europe, in countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain - but also Portugal, Slovenia and Hungary. The furthest destination among the winners will be the USA.


 

And the World’s Kindest University is:

Uniplaces will be rewarding the University of Porto as the World’s Kindest University. As one of the largest, oldest and most well-regarded universities of Portugal, it had the highest number of applications. 22 kind students had valid applications for the Uniplaces Scholarship in the third edition alone. To reward the University of Porto, one member from the student body was flown to Brussels and invited to take part in the jury panel.

 

The universities of Bocconi (14 applicants), Vigo (9) and Bologna (8) were the closest runner-ups to the World’s Kindest University.

 

From left to right: Saniya Giniatullina (Uniplaces), Jovana Stankovich (Erasmus Student Network), Dominique Montagnese (UNICA) and Bruno Cunha (Uniplaces Ambassador and Student Representative from the University of Porto).

 

Past Uniplaces Scholarships

 

This is the third edition of the Uniplaces Scholarship. Past winners have had their accommodation paid in places such as Singapore, Sydney, New York and Paris.

 

2015 Scholarship winner Radoslaw Czekan commented: “This was the opportunity to live my dreams. The Scholarship enormously increased my studies in Lisbon and helped me to focus more on my passion and travelling. Awesome!”

 

Similarly, Mia Santic said: "This Scholarship made my life 10 times better.”

 

Uniplaces co-founder Miguel Amaro said:

 

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer more scholarships every year. As Uniplaces grows, we’ll surely be investing more and more into breaking down barriers for students all over the world, in the Scholarship and other initiatives. The Uniplaces Scholarship really seems to strike a chord with students. We’ve always seen such great levels of participation from students all around the world every single time, and it keeps growing. We might be looking at ways in which we can make this even more interesting for the next edition!”.

 
Categories: ESN International

Students Surveying Students!

ESN International news - Wed, 03/08/2016 - 15:36

The average number of respondents in a cross-cultural study doesn’t usually exceed 500. So how could a research project done by volunteers of the Erasmus Student Network get 25.000 responses?

The simple answer would be that it’s conducted by a large student network, the biggest in Europe with more than 500 local associations in 39 European countries. Indeed, spreading a questionnaire through such a network creates the expectation of a great amount of answers, but it’s not just any questionnaire that can be sent through the Network and expected to have the same outreach.

ESN’s network has a memory; certain projects work longer and although research isn’t the top activity in terms of popularity, the fact that the ESNsurvey project has existed for 11 years, gained recognition amongst stakeholders and supported ESN in its claims, encourages many of the volunteers commit to it. And in a volunteer organisation, commitment is what it’s all about.

This year’s topic is “international-friendliness”, and the aim is to explore the role of host-university services, academic support, intercultural contact and friendship networks in the resulting satisfaction with the study abroad experience. The collection phase has been completed, with the results soon to come in the ESNsurvey 2016 Report.

Dissemination through a snowball research strategy gets a totally new twist today with social networks in play. Click join, share or like, add a hashtag, support it by a video, create a profile picture template and you’re on to reaching out to thousands of people. Although disseminating a questionnaire online makes it impossible to calculate a rate of return, it makes it possible to get a return that counts.

It’s understandable that volunteers of ESN help in promoting the questionnaire because they know the project and the people behind it. For them, participating in such a project even helps the cooperation with their university, as it shows that they care about the problems international students might face.

But how about the Erasmus students that the survey targets? What convinces them to take 20 minutes of their free time and voluntarily bite through a questionnaire of 65 questions? The answer: the Erasmus experience. It's such a powerful life experience that most students upon return have a certain need to talk about it and to express what they experienced. The emotions connected with spending a study period abroad are simply a driving force that raises attention to anything connected to Erasmus, even a questionnaire.

Going abroad, leaving your relatives and friends behind, jumping into something totally unknown, and doing this all on your own isn’t easy. But if you’re welcomed by a local buddy, who helps you to cope with the first days, introduces you to other friends and takes you to some of the first events at your new campus, it makes the whole experience less stressful. Many of the buddies are members of ESN and many of the activities are organised by local ESN associations. Homecoming students might recall the help they received and might see that by spending 20 minutes of their time to fill in a questionnaire, they could actually help future students to have an even better experience. Also, the fact that it’s students who are asking the questions somehow raises the motivation to participate. It’s not a company, not your school, not the national agency, nor the European Union, it’s people of the same generation, the Erasmus generation, asking about your Erasmus. It’s easier to imagine who’s behind the project as the questions come from people who lived a similar experience.

The questions are sometimes tricky to design. Although homecoming students are expected to understand the survey in English, keeping the formulations short and understandable is a must. Some standardised scales with academically formulated questions that were initially planned to be used, simply didn’t make it through the pilot study. Other questions didn’t make the cut because they weren’t relevant for all countries involved or would mean something else in a different context. For the first time, the ESNsurvey project succeeded in reaching the target group of local non-mobile students, who have never been abroad. In order to collect answers from this group, which might lack foreign language skills, the questionnaire had only 29 questions and was translated in 9 other languages.

The weird and shivering beauty of the Erasmus experience is that although Europe is so diverse in all its countries, ethnic groups and languages, which generally makes the creation of a cross-cultural survey difficult, the core of the experience is similar. It seems like it doesn’t depend on where someone spends their Erasmus, because they can always end up with people from all around the world, who are all on the same journey. This "unity in diversity” bonds people together regardless of their differences.

Written by Mikuláš Josek
ESNsurvey 2016 Coordinator

Categories: ESN International

Students Surveying Students!

ESN International news - Wed, 03/08/2016 - 15:36

The average number of respondents in a cross-cultural study doesn’t usually exceed 500. So how could a research project done by volunteers of the Erasmus Student Network get 25.000 responses?

The simple answer would be that it’s conducted by a large student network, the biggest in Europe with more than 500 local associations in 39 European countries. Indeed, spreading a questionnaire through such a network creates the expectation of a great amount of answers, but it’s not just any questionnaire that can be sent through the Network and expected to have the same outreach.

ESN’s network has a memory; certain projects work longer and although research isn’t the top activity in terms of popularity, the fact that the ESNsurvey project has existed for 11 years, gained recognition amongst stakeholders and supported ESN in its claims, encourages many of the volunteers commit to it. And in a volunteer organisation, commitment is what it’s all about.

This year’s topic is “international-friendliness”, and the aim is to explore the role of host-university services, academic support, intercultural contact and friendship networks in the resulting satisfaction with the study abroad experience. The collection phase has been completed, with the results soon to come in the ESNsurvey 2016 Report.

Dissemination through a snowball research strategy gets a totally new twist today with social networks in play. Click join, share or like, add a hashtag, support it by a video, create a profile picture template and you’re on to reaching out to thousands of people. Although disseminating a questionnaire online makes it impossible to calculate a rate of return, it makes it possible to get a return that counts.

It’s understandable that volunteers of ESN help in promoting the questionnaire because they know the project and the people behind it. For them, participating in such a project even helps the cooperation with their university, as it shows that they care about the problems international students might face.

But how about the Erasmus students that the survey targets? What convinces them to take 20 minutes of their free time and voluntarily bite through a questionnaire of 65 questions? The answer: the Erasmus experience. It's such a powerful life experience that most students upon return have a certain need to talk about it and to express what they experienced. The emotions connected with spending a study period abroad are simply a driving force that raises attention to anything connected to Erasmus, even a questionnaire.

Going abroad, leaving your relatives and friends behind, jumping into something totally unknown, and doing this all on your own isn’t easy. But if you’re welcomed by a local buddy, who helps you to cope with the first days, introduces you to other friends and takes you to some of the first events at your new campus, it makes the whole experience less stressful. Many of the buddies are members of ESN and many of the activities are organised by local ESN associations. Homecoming students might recall the help they received and might see that by spending 20 minutes of their time to fill in a questionnaire, they could actually help future students to have an even better experience. Also, the fact that it’s students who are asking the questions somehow raises the motivation to participate. It’s not a company, not your school, not the national agency, nor the European Union, it’s people of the same generation, the Erasmus generation, asking about your Erasmus. It’s easier to imagine who’s behind the project as the questions come from people who lived a similar experience.

The questions are sometimes tricky to design. Although homecoming students are expected to understand the survey in English, keeping the formulations short and understandable is a must. Some standardised scales with academically formulated questions that were initially planned to be used, simply didn’t make it through the pilot study. Other questions didn’t make the cut because they weren’t relevant for all countries involved or would mean something else in a different context. For the first time, the ESNsurvey project succeeded in reaching the target group of local non-mobile students, who have never been abroad. In order to collect answers from this group, which might lack foreign language skills, the questionnaire had only 29 questions and was translated in 9 other languages.

The weird and shivering beauty of the Erasmus experience is that although Europe is so diverse in all its countries, ethnic groups and languages, which generally makes the creation of a cross-cultural survey difficult, the core of the experience is similar. It seems like it doesn’t depend on where someone spends their Erasmus, because they can always end up with people from all around the world, who are all on the same journey. This "unity in diversity” bonds people together regardless of their differences.

Written by Mikuláš Josek
ESNsurvey 2016 Coordinator

Categories: ESN International

UN Summer Academy 2016: ‘Shaping a Sustainable Future’

ESN International news - Tue, 26/07/2016 - 11:07

 

The UN Summer Academy has been organized by the UN System Staff College (UNSSC) every year since 2012. It prides itself on offering executive education, learning and knowledge exchange to those actively engaged with the UN System in their daily lives.

The UN Summer Academy 2016 is titled ‘Shaping a Sustainable Future’ and will focus on the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, along with the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Summer Academy combines academic rigour with cutting edge thinking, builds on renowned faculty and is open to UN staff, civil society and private sector representatives alike, as well as a select number of post-graduate students and young professionals, interested in further pursuing opportunities in the field of sustainable development.

Why to register: The Academy will:

  • Introduce key features of Agenda 2030, including the Sustainable Development Goals, along with the Paris Agreement and the Financing for Development process.
  • Engage participants in a dialogue and exchange of practices requiring profound changes beyond ‘business as usual’ both in terms of substantive integration of the three pillars of sustainable development, as well as through new ways of working with partners from all segments of society.
  • Leverage the presence of numerous UN entities in Bonn, as well as leading institutions in international development, providing an exclusive opportunity for dialogue with professionals working towards the implementation of a universal sustainable development agenda, applicable in all countries.
  • Present ongoing efforts to develop sustainability strategies in Germany and showcase practical examples on sharing and leveraging knowledge to advance global development.

Who can register: The UN Summer Academy is open to participants from the United Nations System, civil society and private sector, as well as a select number of postgraduate students and young professionals, interested in further pursuing opportunities in the field of sustainable development.

When: The UN Summer Academy will take place from 22 - 26 August 2016.

Where: UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development,

Haus Carstanjen, Martin-Luther-King-Str.8, Bonn, 53175, Germany.

How:    Register now at http://www.unsummeracademy.org/enrolment.asp.

Deadline for enrolment is 15 August 2016.

 

OPEN CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

The UN Summer Academy is looking for student volunteers who would like to help to the organization team during the event. You will be able to attend to most of the sessions and, at the same time, you will assist to the team with the logistics. All the requirements are set in the application form you can find at the end of this article.

 

More information: For further information, please visit the UN Summer Academy website: http://www.unsummeracademy.org/. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at unsummeracademy@unssc.org or call us at 0228 815 2657.

Relevant links: 

  • About the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development (link)
  • UN Summer Academy Flyer (link)
  • Brochure (link)
  • Overview of courses (link)
Attachment Files:  UN Summer Academy_Call for Student Volunteers.pdf
Categories: ESN International

UN Summer Academy 2016: ‘Shaping a Sustainable Future’

ESN International news - Tue, 26/07/2016 - 11:07

 

The UN Summer Academy has been organized by the UN System Staff College (UNSSC) every year since 2012. It prides itself on offering executive education, learning and knowledge exchange to those actively engaged with the UN System in their daily lives.

The UN Summer Academy 2016 is titled ‘Shaping a Sustainable Future’ and will focus on the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, along with the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Summer Academy combines academic rigour with cutting edge thinking, builds on renowned faculty and is open to UN staff, civil society and private sector representatives alike, as well as a select number of post-graduate students and young professionals, interested in further pursuing opportunities in the field of sustainable development.

Why to register: The Academy will:

  • Introduce key features of Agenda 2030, including the Sustainable Development Goals, along with the Paris Agreement and the Financing for Development process.
  • Engage participants in a dialogue and exchange of practices requiring profound changes beyond ‘business as usual’ both in terms of substantive integration of the three pillars of sustainable development, as well as through new ways of working with partners from all segments of society.
  • Leverage the presence of numerous UN entities in Bonn, as well as leading institutions in international development, providing an exclusive opportunity for dialogue with professionals working towards the implementation of a universal sustainable development agenda, applicable in all countries.
  • Present ongoing efforts to develop sustainability strategies in Germany and showcase practical examples on sharing and leveraging knowledge to advance global development.

 

Who can register: The UN Summer Academy is open to participants from the United Nations System, civil society and private sector, as well as a select number of postgraduate students and young professionals, interested in further pursuing opportunities in the field of sustainable development.

When: The UN Summer Academy will take place from 22 - 26 August 2016.
 

Where: UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development,

Haus Carstanjen, Martin-Luther-King-Str.8, Bonn, 53175, Germany.

 

How:    Register now at http://www.unsummeracademy.org/enrolment.asp.

Deadline for enrolment is 15 August 2016.

 

More information: For further information, please visit the UN Summer Academy website: http://www.unsummeracademy.org/. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at unsummeracademy@unssc.org or call us at 0228 815 2657.

Relevant links: 

  • About the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development (link)
  • UN Summer Academy Flyer (link)
  • Brochure (link)
  • Overview of courses (link)
Categories: ESN International

ESN renews partnership with StudentUniverse

ESN International news - Thu, 07/07/2016 - 14:42

StudentUniverse to provide flight discounts to international students studying in Europe

The Erasmus Student Network and StudentUniverse, a leading resource for student travel discounts, have renewed their successful partnership to provide international students studying abroad in Europe with greater access to discounted travel opportunities. StudentUniverse’s travel services team will also help ESN’s member organisations with group bookings to travel to ESN events worldwide.

“Each year, we see the appetite for students going abroad and joining our organisation increasing by double digits. This year we experienced 10% growth in the number of students going abroad and joining the Erasmus Student Network; we also saw a 55% increase in ESN membership card registrations by students wanting to access the benefits our partners bring to our community,” said Hugo A. Urción Serantes, Partnership Manager, Erasmus Student Network. 

Travelling is one of the main resources that the Erasmus students have to increase their intercultural understanding and we are pleased to continue our successful partnership with StudentUniverse to improve their experiences.

Through the partnership, StudentUniverse will provide ESN’s members an additional £15/20€ discount on top of its already-discounted student and youth fares on the first flight they book with StudentUniverse. These students also receive travel tips and information about flight sales and promotions that would be of interest to international students looking to travel during their exchange, or to and from their university at the beginning and end of the semester.

“Knowing the fundamental role travel plays in a student’s Erasmus experience, we are proud to join other notable ESN partners to serve as a resource for international students and ESN’s local member organisations worldwide,” said Dan Baker, Head of Marketing and Business Development, StudentUniverse.

“Over the course of the last year, we saw thousands of students redeem our offer and we are hoping to reach even more ESN sections and members this year.”

StudentUniverse is the world’s leading travel booking site for students and youth. Through negotiations with global airline partners, they offer discounted rates for student and youth travellers to help students achieve their Erasmus study dreams. They are committed to making travel more affordable and a realistic opportunity for as many students as possible to explore their world. You can find out more information on StudentUniverse and search for discounted travel at: https://www.studentuniverse.co.uk

Erasmus Student Network is the largest student organisation in Europe with over 272,000 local and international student members. It is a youth-led, volunteer-based, non-profit organisation with a presence in 39 European countries. It provides international students with opportunities for cultural understanding and self-development. ESN works for the creation of a more mobile and flexible education environment by supporting and developing student exchanges on different levels and provides an intercultural experience also to those students who cannot access a period abroad ('internationalisation at home').

Categories: ESN International

ESN renews partnership with StudentUniverse

ESN International news - Thu, 07/07/2016 - 14:42

StudentUniverse to provide flight discounts to international students studying in Europe

The Erasmus Student Network and StudentUniverse, a leading resource for student travel discounts, have renewed their successful partnership to provide international students studying abroad in Europe with greater access to discounted travel opportunities. StudentUniverse’s travel services team will also help ESN’s member organisations with group bookings to travel to ESN events worldwide.

“Each year, we see the appetite for students going abroad and joining our organisation increasing by double digits. This year we experienced 10% growth in the number of students going abroad and joining the Erasmus Student Network; we also saw a 55% increase in ESN membership card registrations by students wanting to access the benefits our partners bring to our community,” said Hugo A. Urción Serantes, Partnership Manager, Erasmus Student Network. 

Travelling is one of the main resources that the Erasmus students have to increase their intercultural understanding and we are pleased to continue our successful partnership with StudentUniverse to improve their experiences.

Through the partnership, StudentUniverse will provide ESN’s members an additional £15/20€ discount on top of its already-discounted student and youth fares on the first flight they book with StudentUniverse. These students also receive travel tips and information about flight sales and promotions that would be of interest to international students looking to travel during their exchange, or to and from their university at the beginning and end of the semester.

“Knowing the fundamental role travel plays in a student’s Erasmus experience, we are proud to join other notable ESN partners to serve as a resource for international students and ESN’s local member organisations worldwide,” said Dan Baker, Head of Marketing and Business Development, StudentUniverse.

“Over the course of the last year, we saw thousands of students redeem our offer and we are hoping to reach even more ESN sections and members this year.”

StudentUniverse is the world’s leading travel booking site for students and youth. Through negotiations with global airline partners, they offer discounted rates for student and youth travellers to help students achieve their Erasmus study dreams. They are committed to making travel more affordable and a realistic opportunity for as many students as possible to explore their world. You can find out more information on StudentUniverse and search for discounted travel at: https://www.studentuniverse.co.uk

Erasmus Student Network is the largest student organisation in Europe with over 272,000 local and international student members. It is a youth-led, volunteer-based, non-profit organisation with a presence in 39 European countries. It provides international students with opportunities for cultural understanding and self-development. ESN works for the creation of a more mobile and flexible education environment by supporting and developing student exchanges on different levels and provides an intercultural experience also to those students who cannot access a period abroad ('internationalisation at home').

Categories: ESN International

Open Call: EVS Projects and Events Supporter

ESN International news - Wed, 06/07/2016 - 17:35

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the largest network of student associations in Europe, with its international headquarters in Brussels. ESN is present in over 500 Higher Education Institutions in 39 countries. ESN has been supporting student mobility since 1989.

The international headquarters in Brussels is looking for an EVS* Projects and Events Supporter, starting in January 2017 and staying for 6 months. That person will work on supporting ESN’s various projects, both internal (e.g. Mov’in Europe, SocialErasmus and ExchangeAbility) and external, as well as supporting the work of the international event coordinators. For more information about ESN’s projects, see esn.org/projects.

An overview of the tasks can be found below but are also flexible to fit the skills, expertise and needs of the chosen applicant in order for them to learn and make the most out of the experience. In ESN, we aim to foster an innovative environment and welcome creativity and new initiatives coming from the volunteer.

Terms and conditions
  • EVS volunteer contract for a duration of 6 months;
  • The successful applicant should start in early January 2017;
  • 17 - 30 years old;
  • No previous long-term EVS experience;
  • Accommodation provided;
  • Transport costs in Brussels are covered;
  • Insurance is covered;
  • Transport to and from Brussels in the beginning/end of the stay is covered;
  • A monthly allowance is provided, according to the respective EVS allocation;
  • Language classes and training opportunities during working hours.
Desired skills and experience
  • Proficiency in both written and spoken English;
  • Familiarity and experience with the internal projects of ESN;
  • Experience in a volunteer-led organisation;
  • Structured and reliable way of working;
  • Able to take own initiative;
  • Familiarity and past attendance/organisation of international ESN events is a plus.
Main tasks and responsibilities
  • Support ESN's international projects, including planning, logistics, communication and documentation, especially regarding their events;
  • Support ESN's international events, especially with regards to helping update the supporting documents and approaches towards event organisers and chairing teams;
  • Support the ESN Board and Secretariat with other tasks that might arise.

*European Voluntary Service
The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is an EU-funded programme in which volunteers from one country can go and volunteer in another. Please note that the selected EVS volunteer will have to have support of an accredited “sending organisation” and that ESN strongly recommends applicants to start searching for this already at the stage of application. Also note that this position is conditional on the EVS funding being awarded to ESN; ESN will do its best to ensure this, but unfortunately ESN cannot guarantee the position at this point. Find out more at the European Commission's webpage for EVS.

In order to apply, please send a CV and motivation letter to applications@esn.org no later than 28th September, 23:59 CET. The subject of the email should be “EVS” followed by your first and last names. Interviews will be held on a rolling basis and will be held at the latest on the 29th of September. We apologise for the very short notice.
 
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact director@esn.org and vicepresident@esn.org.

Categories: ESN International

Uniplaces Scholarship 2016 awards 15 students

ESN International news - Sun, 03/07/2016 - 15:48

The Uniplaces Scholarship launched in 15 April is looking to repay kind students with whole semester abroad

High-profile international organisations in Youth and Education sectors are backing Uniplaces in the 3rd edition of the world’s most positive Scholarship. ESN, UNICA, EYCA, and the Class of 2020 are all powering the push for more kindness around the world - and for that kindness to be rewarded.

The Uniplaces Scholarship is the only global programme to support international youth and student mobility by sponsoring accommodation. In 2015, the Scholarship funded 15 students to go study in places like Singapore, New York and Sydney. The previous edition of the Scholarship had over 9000 participants, from over 900 cities.

A Unique Scholarship

The Scholarship is the only one of its kind. It isn’t awarded on the basis of ethnic origin, academic results or sports skills. From its first edition, the Uniplaces Scholarship has been rewarding students who are kind. Furthermore, instead of being a monetary prize, or paying tuition fees, the winners of the Uniplaces Scholarship will have one semester of accommodation paid.

Students from anywhere in the world can apply for the scholarship to help with the mounting costs of university. To win this scholarship, applicants have to describe in any medium what good deed they do or have done for others.

A judging panel that includes members of Erasmus Student Network, European Youth Card Association, The Class of 2020 and UNICA will choose the fifteen most original and authentic applications.

2015 Scholarship winner Radoslaw Czekan commented:

“This was the opportunity to live my dreams. The Scholarship enormously increased my studies in Lisbon and helped me to focus more on my passion and travelling. Awesome!”;

Uniplaces founder Ben Grech explained:

“Every element of this campaign is designed to help not just those who win the scholarships, but thousands of people across the globe. It’s a simple mechanic that will foster random acts of kindness and serve to highlight young people who have been doing great deeds without wanting or expecting any reward for it.”

Endorsement

The 3rd edition of the Scholarship marks the introduction of the Recommend a Friend feature. Recognising that some of the kindest people are also the quietest, the Scholarship allows these anonymous, everyday heroes to be recommended by their friends, family, colleagues or teachers.


Applications can be submitted until 15th July. Anyone can head to the website to sign up to take part, vote for their favourite experiences. The 15 winners of the Scholarship will be announced soon after submissions have closed.

Categories: ESN International

Section in the Spotlight: ESN Lisboa

ESN International news - Fri, 01/07/2016 - 12:10

The summer has officially left a mark on our calendars, so it only makes sense to introduce you to one of the warmest and friendliest European destinations. Please give a big, sweaty applause to our Section in the Spotlight of July: ESN Lisboa!

ESN Lisboa was founded in 2008 by nine former Erasmus students, and the section grew fast thanks to the big amount of Portuguese students coming back home from their stay abroad with a wish to join their local section. There are around 5,000 exchange students coming to Lisboa every year, which demands for good organisation and job division inside of the section in order for members to handle the workload. There are three members of ESN Lisboa in the National Board, five members on the Portuguese Communication and Network Committee, six members in the ESN Communication Committee, and four members involved in the Eduk8 project. Woah, ESN Lisboa keeps producing some high quality, ambitious members!

In total there are 195 people who help sustain ESN Lisboa - from active members to interns and alumni. The section is divided into eight departments, and each of them has an individual coordinator. The Network and Strategy department is their flagship project, created to improve the exchange experience and relationships between the sections. They believe that this department has the potential to become an international project.

There are also three committees - Education, Treasury, and Secretariat - that work separately from the departments. The Local Board, which consists of six members, keeps everything under control to ensure smooth and effecient work, yet they do not have the full decision making power. The Coordinators' Council, composed of all department coordinators and board members is an intermediate body of decision which is active in making non-urgent and strategic decisions of the section.

ESN Lisboa invests time and financial resources into their internal events, as they consider them essential in order to bring new and old members together in order to do quality work.

“ESN Lisboa members become motivated to acquire new skills and competences through non-formal education in these internal events. We strongly believe our internal trainings are valuable to the network, since we have received some guests from other Portuguese sections interested in learning from us.”

The Human Resources department organises Teambuilding Weekends at the beginning of each semester, a Training Day for knowledge transfer from old to new members, an Upgrade Weekend intended for relfection, and an Insight Weekend for knowledge transfer between the successors of old coordinators and board members. They also organise Reflection Groups, sessions for when members feel the necessity to reflect on specific topics. Lastly, they organise their own ESN Awards in various categories for further motivation.

In order to welcome new students the best way possible, they organise Welcome Weeks that consist of four weeks full of activities aiming to introduce students to the city and to integrate them into the local culture. They do at least one trip per month in order to show international students all cultural landmarks of the country, while the close proximity to the sea allows them to organise nautical events like Surf Days.

ESN Lisboa is also very active in the SocialErasmus field - this year, they have won an ESAA fund for their SocialErasmus activity “New Friends, Old Memories” which aims to fight loneliness in the elderly community and exchange knowledge between different cultures and ages. Twice a month they help prepare and distribute warm meals to the homeless, and pay a visit to the local kennel to help the volunteers take care of the abandoned dogs. They are also big advocates of the Erasmus in Schools activity!

Apart from SocialErasmus, ESN Lisboa is very successful in implementing other international projects of ESN as well. They try to organise one Responsible Party per year, and they’re taking their first steps when it comes to Mov’in Europe. They use the ErasmusIntern platform to search for interns for their intership programmes, and they are big fans of Eduk8.

This year they have won four different STARawards at Annual General Meeting in Warsaw: STARlight, ESNcardSTAR, CampaignSTAR and WebSTAR.

ESN Lisboa is one busy, busy section. They had so much success in a very short period of time, but they have also worked very hard for it. Being responsible for so many international students each year cannot be an easy task, but they have developed an amazing internal structure to divide the workload. It seems that ESN Lisboa is on a path of success, and they are not stopping!


written by Tajana Mohnacki

Categories: ESN International

Section in the Spotlight: ESN Lisboa

ESN International news - Fri, 01/07/2016 - 12:10

The summer has officially left a mark on our calendars, so it only makes sense to introduce you to one of the warmest and friendliest European destinations. Please give a big, sweaty applause to our Section in the Spotlight of July: ESN Lisboa!

ESN Lisboa was founded in 2008 by nine former Erasmus students, and the section grew fast thanks to the big amount of Portuguese students coming back home from their stay abroad with a wish to join their local section. There are around 5,000 exchange students coming to Lisboa every year, which demands for good organisation and job division inside of the section in order for members to handle the workload. There are three members of ESN Lisboa in the National Board, five members on the Portuguese Communication and Network Committee, six members in the ESN Communication Committee, and four members involved in the Eduk8 project. Woah, ESN Lisboa keeps producing some high quality, ambitious members!

Their ESN team counts 15 new members, 55 active members, six interns from all over Europe, 75 alumni members who are trustworthy and valuable counselors to their daily work, and 44 collaborators who are not a part of the active team, but help with the events when they can. If you did the math correctly, then you know that there are 195 people who help sustain ESN Lisboa. The section is divided in eight departments - Sports and Trips, Human Rescources, SocialErasmus, Communication and Marketing, Partnerships and Fundraising, and Network and Strategy - and each of them has an individual coordinator. Network and Strategy department is their flagship project created to improve the exchange and relationships between the sections in order to fight the competition other organisations that provide services to exchange present. They believe that this department has a potential to become an international project. There are also three committees - Education, Treasury, and Secretariat - that work separately from the departments. Local board, which consists of six members, keeps everything under control to ensure smooth and effecient work of the section, yet they do not have the full decision making power. Coordinators council, composed of all department coordinators and board members is an intermediate body of decision which is active in making non-urgent and strategic decisions of the section.

ESN Lisboa invests time and financial resources into their internal events, as they consider them essential in order to bring new and old members together in order to do quality work.

“ESN Lisboa members become motivated to acquire new skills and competences through non-formal education in these internal events. We strongly believe our internal trainings are valuable to the network, since we have received some guests from other portuguese sections interested in learning from us.”

Human Resources department organizes Teambuilding Weekends at the beginning of each semester, a Training Day for knowledge transfer from old to new members, Upgrade Weekend intended for relfection, and Insight Weekend for knowledge transfer between old coordinators and board members and new ones. They also organise Reflection Groups, sessions for when members feel the necessity to reflect on specific topics. They also have ESN Awards in various categories for further motivation.

As it was mentioned above, Lisboa is a home to 5,000 exchange students each year and therefor members of ESN Lisboa have to put a lot of effort in organizing their weekly activities. In order to welcome new students the best way possible, they organise Welcome Weeks that consist of four weeks full of activities aiming to introduce the city to the students and integrate them in the culture. They do at least one trip per month in order to show international students all cultural landmarks of the country, while the close proximity to the sea allows them to organise nautical events like Surf Days. When it comes to nightlife, they have parties with four main nightclubs and offer free entrance to students with an ESNcard on four out of seven week days. On Mondays they throw special themed parties, and have Mega Parties twice each semester. They are also very active in the SocialErasmus field - this year, they have won ESAA fund for their SocialErasmus activity “New Friends, Old memories” which aims to fight loneliness in the elderly community and exchange knowledge between different cultures and ages. Twice a month they help prepare and distribute warm meals to the homeless, and pay a visit to the local kennel to help the volunteers take care of the abandoned dogs. They believe that violence is one of the most important issues of modern society, and this year they have addressed it by making an awareness video which they have launched on Valentine’s Day. They are also big advocates of Erasmus in Schools activity!

Apart from SocialErasmus, they are very successful in implementing other international projects of ESN as well. They try to organize one Responsible Party per year, and they’re taking their first steps when it comes to Mov’in Europe. They have already mapped several Higher Education Institutions in Lisbon this year! They use ErasmusIntern platform to search for interns for their intership programmes, and they are big fans of Eduk8.

This year they have won five STARawards at Annual General Meeting in Warsaw: STARlight, ESNcardSTAR, CampaignSTAR and WebSTAR.

ESN Lisboa is one busy, busy section. They had so much success in a very short period of time, but they have also worked very hard for it. Being responsible for so many international students each year cannot be an easy task, but they have developed an amazing internal structure to divide the workload. It seems that ESN Lisboa is on a path of success, and they are not stopping!


written by Tajana Mohnacki

Categories: ESN International

Open Call: Communication Internship

ESN International news - Mon, 27/06/2016 - 15:39

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the largest student organisation in Europe. It was founded in 1989, with the aim to support and develop student mobility. As a European organisation, ESN uses multiple channels to maintain effective internal and external communication with the Network, our partners and stakeholders.

ESN offers a Communication Internship at our international headquarters in Brussels. The intern will work on designing, developing and documenting a high-traffic Drupal platform while at the same time supporting various smaller Drupal projects.

Main tasks and responsibilities
  • Assisting in all communication-related tasks such as producing the newsletter, updateing the website, implementation of social media, graphic designs and ESN’s online tools
  • Contribute to our internal ESN publications
Terms and conditions
  • Internship for a duration of 6 months
  • The successful applicant should start ideally on the 19th of August
  • Must have an Erasmus Placement or any Internship Agreement 
  • Accommodation at the ESN house in Brussels is provided
  • Transport costs in Brussels are covered 
Required skills and expertise
  • Good knowledge of written and spoken English 
  • Background in communication, media, graphic design or similar
  • Familiar with the concepts of Social Media and online marketing
  • Good knowledge of Adobe software: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
  • Precise and organised way of working
  • Proficient user of Microsoft Office package
  • Capability of working in a team as well as independently
  • Comfortable working in a multicultural environment
  • Knowledge of the Erasmus Student Network is a plus
Highly valued
  • Knowledge of photography, video editing and/or animation tools
  • Knowledge of HTML and/or CSS, experience in web design
  • Fluency in other European languages

To apply, please send a short motivation letter and CV to applications@esn.org by Sunday the 10th of July 2016 at 23:59 CET. Interviews (via Skype) will be conducted the following week with the shortlisted applicants.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions regarding the position.

Attachment Files:  201606 Open Call - Communication Internship.pdf
Categories: ESN International

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