Erasmus Student Network Germany (ESN Germany) is a non-profit association based in Bochum. He is a member of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN).
ESN is one of the best known interdisciplinary student organizations in Europe. There are currently 38 local ESN sections in Germany (as of January 2020).
The task of the ESN sections is to look after international students who usually come to the respective universities via the Erasmus program . The work of the ESN members is done on a voluntary basis.
In 1987 the European Union launched the Erasmus program to encourage students to stay in another European country. However, it quickly became clear that a program like this lives from the fact that there are local contacts who facilitate integration in the new home. For this reason, two years after the birth of the Erasmus program, former Erasmus students came together and laid the foundation for the “Erasmus Student Network”. In 1990 the founding meeting of ESN took place in Copenhagen with participants from almost all EU member states at the time.
During this time, the first ESN sections in Germany emerged: first and foremost Bochum , which remained the only section in Germany for a long time. It was not until the end of the 1990s that Hermes Frankfurt am Main (1997) and the Local Erasmus Initiative (LEI) from Weingarten (1999) joined the ESN network. In 2000, the Erasmus initiatives from Jena and Dortmund joined. LEIs from Aachen and Geislingen also joined the network at the AGM 2001 in Leiden . Erasmus initiatives from Kassel , Munich and Hanover as well as the LEIs of the TU Dresden and the HTW Dresden followed by 2005 . The youngest sections come from Siegen and the University of Witten / Herdecke . Both were recorded in January 2017.
ESN Germany has experienced great growth especially in the last few years, so that the current number of ESN sections is 38.
activity
ESN is divided into three different levels: local, national and international.
Local level
The local level consists of the individual ESN sections at the respective universities. The work in the sections is particularly important when it comes to direct contact with the exchange students. Looking after students, organizing events, exchanging information between locals and exchange students - these are the main tasks within a section. How these tasks are carried out is up to the section itself. The sections work independently on their own projects. As a rule, an ESN section consists of a board and other members. But here too, the structure of the distribution of tasks differs depending on the section.
National level
All German sections together form the National Platform . You choose u. a. also the National Board, and vote on constitutional changes. The National Board coordinates the work of the sections at national level and is the mediator between ESN International and the individual German sections. The implementation of international projects at the national level is also passed on to the sections by the National Board. National and local platforms also take place regularly to improve the exchange between the sections, and the ESN Germany board is responsible for organizing them.
International level
All sections are part of the Erasmus Student Network, which operates across Europe. The international umbrella organization based in Brussels is responsible for the coordination between individual countries and sections and for the support and promotion of these. In addition, ESN International represents the organization at national and international events that concern student mobility and is the contact person in negotiations with the European Commission and other institutions concerned. The international level consists of the International Board, the Council of National Representatives (CNR) and the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
mission
The principle of the Erasmus Student Network is "Students help students". Following this principle, ESN offers exchange students as well as local students the opportunity to develop personally and to get to know different cultures.
Sections in Germany
augsburg
Bochum
Bayreuth
Bonn
Braunschweig
Darmstadt
Deggendorf
Frankfurt / M.
Dortmund
TU / HTW Dresden
MESA / TUMi Munich
Dusseldorf
Goettingen
LEI Greifswald
Frankfurt (O.)
Halle (Saale)
Hamburg
Hanover
Heidelberg
Hildesheim
Ingolstadt
Jena
Kaiserslautern
Karlsruhe
Kiel
Koblenz
Cologne
Landau
Mannheim
Potsdam
LEI Rostock
Freiburg
Charité Berlin
Wins
Stuttgart
Witten
ESN sections in Germany (January 2020)
Here is an overview of the ESN sections currently available in Germany:
• ESN Augsburg
• ESN Hanover
• ESN Bayreuth
• ESN Heidelberg
• ESN Charité Berlin
• ESN Hildesheim
• ESN Bochum
• ESN Ingolstadt
• ESN Bonn
• ESN Jena
• ESN Braunschweig
• ESN Kaiserslautern
• ESN Darmstadt
• ESN Karlsruhe
• ESN Deggendorf
• ESN Kiel
• ESN Dortmund
• ESN Koblenz
• ESN HTW Dresden
• ESN Cologne
• ESN TU Dresden
• ESN IPAS Landau
• ESN Düsseldorf
• ESN VISUM Mannheim
• ESN Frankfurt / M.
• ESN MESA Munich
• ESN Frankfurt (Oder)
• ESN TUMi Munich
• ESN Freiburg i. Br.
• ESN Potsdam
• ESN Göttingen
• ESN LEI Rostock
• ESN LEI Greifswald
• ESN victories
• ESN Hamburg
• ESN Stuttgart
• ESN Halle (Saale)
• ESN Witten / Herdecke
Activities of an ESN section
Each section tries to help guest students with questions, to integrate them and to make their stay in Germany as problem-free and pleasant as possible. To achieve this, the sections mainly take care of a buddy program, information events and excursions.
