ESN International news

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. 

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.

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

 

 

 

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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.

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

 

 

 

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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.

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

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

 

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!”.

 

 

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!”.

 

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

Here’s a bit of trivia for you: In which European country are all the flats and rooms literally empty when you rent them? If you’re Finnish or have a good mind for useless information, then you’ve probably guessed it: Finland!

So get this: Erasmus students come to their new beloved apartment only to see it bare as the day it was built. Yikes! If only there was someone who would take them to a furniture shop so they could buy a bed! If there was anyone who could help!

Luckily, there is.

Ladies and Gentlemen, hold your horses. We’re about to visit ESN Joensuu: the June 2016 Section in The Spotlight!

So, have you ever thought about organising an ESN trip to IKEA? Well, these guys did, and for all the right reasons! As stated before, all rooms and flats in Finland are empty when they are rented, so the kind folks at ESN Joensuu offer their help by organising trips to furniture shops to make their Erasmus students’ lives just a little bit easier. Clever, huh?

But let’s backtrack a bit. ESN Joensuu has been around a whopping 14 years, and has managed to do some pretty impressive things along the way. First off, ESN Joensuu can teach us a thing or two about multiculturalism, as its members represent 12 different nationalities. They’re often engaged in showing Erasmus students the Cultural aspect of living in Finland, like through the “Survive Winter in Finland” event, where Erasmus students have the opportunity of taking ice baths. Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds.

ESN Joensuu are also very eager to mingle with the locals too. The “Market of Possibilities” and “Colour Festival” (The latter being a flagship of ESN Joensuu) are prime examples of events organised by members of ESN Joensuu which are often visited by the local population.

Another interesting thing about ESN Joensuu is that they hold elections for not only two, but three boards per academic year. The reasoning for this is surprisingly logical.

“Having 3 boards throughout the year allows International Students to join the Board and be very active in our activity, which makes total sense in terms of knowing what exchange students want and also increases their participation”

Members of ESN Joensuu also hold a special place for ExchangeAbility and SocialErasmus projects in their hearts. They carried out the mapping of their university, and held a couple of different events, such as Social Inclusion and Equality Friday (both scaled-down versions of events organised by ESN Finland).

What is most striking about ESN Joensuu is their attitude towards Exchange students. The vast majority of events organised by ESN Joensuu are, putting it their own words:

“Cultural events that are meaningful and not just focusing on partying.”

It’s this attitude of a truly multicultural, friendly and original way of working together that has put them into the spotlight this month. Keep on rocking!

by Chris Ptasiński