Erasmus Student Network (ESN) received its name and spirit from Erasmus who originated from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and who was a celebrity and today symbolises student mobility.

ESN advocates for the quality and quantity of mobility in the European Higher Education Area. We spot obstacles and motivations for students to go abroad, try to detect solutions and advocate in Europe to ensure that detrimental factors are reduced and favourable components are increased. 

Aims of the organisation

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. 

- Taken from ESN.org website