If you would like to apply to become a member organisation of our network, here are the steps you will need to take to join the wonderful world of ESN!  

 

Potential Applicants

Any non-profit, volunteer-led youth organisation run by students or alumni of a Higher Education Institution and works directly with international, exchange and local students with the same or similar mission to ESN can apply to become a member of the Erasmus Student Network.

 

If you are an international student who recently came back from your exchange experience or a local student who deeply identified with the mission, vision and values of ESN and would like to join our network, here are some tips on how you can achieve that:

  • Contact your university and the International Relations Office to connect you with other returning exchange students who might be interested in joining you in this initiative, or with the volunteers from an already existing organisation at the university that has a similar profile to an ESN section;

  • Contact the Students’ Union or a similar student representative body at your university, especially if they have an international department and see how you can cooperate to find enthusiastic volunteers who are willing to join you on this initiative;

  • Contact other local youth organisations that have the same or similar aims and mission and check if they are willing to share their expertise and network;

  • If there is an existing Buddy Programme at your university, reach out to the local volunteers to see if they are willing to commit even further in the integration of international students.

 

Contact your University

Universities, especially the International Relations Office, are the main and natural partners and supporters of the work of the ESN section. Therefore, they will play a vital role in the development of your organisation. Make sure you establish early and regular contact with the International Relations Office.

Here are some of the ways in which they can support you:

  • Provide you with a letter of support, essential to the application process to become an ESN section;

  • Offer you an office so you can receive international students in a cosy environment and for you to even organise meetings with the team;

  • Provide financial support in the legal registration process of your organisation, as well as other obligatory activities of your organisation;

  • Promote your recruitment initiatives;

  • Facilitate the contact between you and the incoming international students;

  • Provide you with contacts for other potential partners;

  • Help you book venues to organise your activities;

 

Of course, cooperation with other partners like your National Agency/National Erasmus+ Office, Ministry of Education, youth centres and similar are also valuable and appreciated for the application process.

 

Align yourselves with ESN

Before you apply to become a member of our network, it is of the utmost importance that you are aware of the Principles of ESN and that you work towards achieving the Mission, Vision and Values of the Erasmus Student Network. You can read more about those here.

 

Application Process

The application process to become a member of our network consists of two parts: candidacy for the candidate membership and candidacy for the full membership.

 

If ESN already exists in your country, you should contact our member organisation at their national email. These emails are in the format [email protected] (e.g. [email protected] if you wish to contact ESN Cuba). You can check our member organisations here. If there is no ESN in your country, please follow the procedure described below.

 

In order to become a candidate member, you need to present your candidacy at our General Assembly where our current member organisations will vote to approve your candidate membership status. The official legalisation of the organisation can be completed after the acceptance to the network, but a plan for this should be presented in the Application Form. For this step, it is enough to form an informal group of like-minded students to carry out this process. Candidate membership lasts approximately 6 to 12 months and in this period you will receive intense online support from our Membership Team, as well as physical support in the form of a study visit.

 

You can apply for full membership after the study visit and the report has been completed. You have to present your progress in front of the General Assembly where our current member organisations will once again vote to approve you as a full member of ESN.

 

We have systems in place to support you throughout the entire process from a dream to an ESN section. ESN volunteers will be available to answer all your questions and provide you with useful tools to make the process more accessible. 

 

To do this, you need to:

  1. Fill in the application form, which you can find attached to this page and send it to [email protected].

  2. Your application will be reviewed and feedback will be provided by the Membership Team.

  3. One volunteer from the Membership Team will lead you through the application process and provide support with every step of the way.

 

For any additional questions and clarifications, please reach out to us at [email protected]. 

 

 

 

Attachment Files: 
application_form_for_membership_in_esn.docx