Welcome to ESN Austria

Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a student organisation founded in 1990 for supporting and developing student exchange. The network is constantly developing and expanding.

ESN is working in Higher Education (HE)

• Offering services to 150.000 students
• mainly on a volunteer basis
• with an average annual growth rate of 12,3% since 1990

ESN is operating on three levels:

• Local

• National

• International

Aims 

ESN 

• works in the interest of exchange students.
• works to improve the social and practical integration of exchange students.
• represents the needs and expectations of exchange students on the local, national and international level.
• provides relevant information about academic exchange programmes and ESN resources.
• works with the reintegration of homecoming students.
• contributes to the evaluation of different exchange programmes.

Who are we for?

Homecoming students
The students who return from exchange are supported during the reintegration process in their home countries by keeping in contact with an international environment. Many local sections are set up by former exchange students, often because they had good experiences abroad or because they felt a lack of help during their exchange semester. They also understand a lot about the issues and challenges in a foreign environment.

Exchange students
However, the main focus of ESN is placed on current exchange students, who often face problems (and feel abandoned) in their new environments. Therefore ESN offers help in academic, social and practical integration processes. This is mainly done through activities in the local sections, which include cultural and social events such as trips to various places within the country, film nights, buddy group and language projects and international food fests and last, but not least, parties. In addition to that, many sections have introduced mentor systems, which help the international students mainly in academic and practical integration.

ESN also provides relevant information and encourages the future exchange students to gain the international experience and gain relevant insight to different cultures.

Finally, ESN International is developing, from the Headquarters in Brussels, ambitious projects such as the Survey on the exchange students' rights, the ESNCard or the ESNFactory.