As we approach the first semester of the new academic year, thousands of students are preparing to come to the UK to study for the first time. ESN UK, an organisation present in 15 institutions across the UK supporting incoming and outgoing students as they study abroad, are uniquely placed as 'students helping students' to navigate this new experience.  

This year, we have for the first time published a 'Survival Guide' for incoming students - a 50+ page document with information about navigating the UK as an international student, with everything from information about UK culture and history and a selection of popular student cities, to advice on important topics for incoming students like accommodation, healthcare, bank accounts, phone plans, and much more. This document is freely available for all incoming students so that they can make the most of their study abroad experience and spend less time worrying about these issues. 

You can find the full document here or at the 'Survival Guide' tab on our homepage. 

For queries related to the document, please contact hello@esnuk.org. 

 

ESN City London - ESN UK Section of the Month 2021
For 2021, ESN UK would like to take the opportunity to recognise the hard work our sections have been putting in during this difficult time. To do so, ESN UK have introduced the Section of the Month Award.
 
For January 2021, we would like to celebrate all of ESN City London's achievements over the last few months, their commitment to ESN, their participation and their events have not gone by unnoticed.
 
 

ESN UofG is the 'Section of the Month' for December!

On December 3rd, the Day of Persons with Disabilities, ESN UofG initiated the project MappED! and mapped the first building at the Gilmorehill campus of the University of Glasgow. MappED! is a project that provides students with disabilities all the information they need when applying to go to University. Such information includes access to campus buildings like ramps, wheelchair access, accessible elevators, seats, services and more! So far, ESN UofG has mapped 2 buildings, the Fraser Building and the Library, but they are not stopping there! Their aim is to have the most important buildings of the campus mapped by the end of the academic year and create a profile of the University of Glasgow on the MappED! website with additional information such as contact info and accessibility of University Accommodation!

MappED! is a sub-part of ExchangeAbility, an international ESN project, aiming to make ESN more accessible for students with disabilities and help to remove obstacles when participating in exchange programmes. The goal of MappED! project is to provide students with disabilities with the necessary tools to be better informed about their rights, procedures and support services they are entitled to. You can find more information on their website.

ESN UK’s Section of the Month is ESN Leeds! 

In November, ESN Leeds organized a Sports Day for ESN Social Inclusions Days. 30 members joined them for 2 hours of sports and they managed to collect 30£. They played basketball, badminton and some dodgeball in between. Besides the importance of this event, it was also an opportunity for students to relax before exams and have a really good time! All the profits from the event went to 'Save The Children, Leeds'! Lastly, the event was accessible to everyone as students with disabilities joined and they loved it.

ESN Social Inclusion Days is a two-week initiative that takes place twice a year. It's main aim is to provide opportunities for international students to learn how one can contribute to the improvement of society as European citizens. During the winter edition 2018, the focus was on the importance of the social impact international volunteers have upon the local communities and upon making inclusive events. More information about Social Erasmus project can be found here! 

Save the Children is a global NGO that helps childern in need around the world. You can find more about their work in their website. 

Hello ESN’ers,

What’s more Scottish than a real-life, enthusiasm-fuelled Ceilidh?! We, all the way up from ESN RGU, the UK’s Northernmost section, would say “nothing” – which is why we take our members to one every semester!

A Ceilidh (Kay-lee) is the very pinnacle of Scottish parties, and an amazing way to let Erasmus and Exchange student experience some first-hand Scottish culture. See, the aim of the game at a Ceilidh is for everyone to dance with everyone else, every girl will dance with every guy, every couple with every couple, and every group with every group! All of the traditional dances that we do (the band normally teaches us how!) involve swapping partners, as well as a lot of spinning, skipping, running, and lifting (partners, not kilts!).

The historic (and rather fancy) Aberdeen Music Hall hosts the dances all throughout the year – and they are gracious enough to let ESN RGU buy tickets for their members. The bands are always top calibre – you won’t find better Ceilidh bands than Dance McCabre and Clachan Yell – and we’ve never seen anyone who hasn’t enjoyed themselves.

When it comes to Ceilidh dancing, it doesn’t matter if you get the moves right or not – all that matters is that you have a good time! It’s a fantastically relaxed and friendly atmosphere and really, there’s only one rule – if someone asks you to dance, you MUST dance! No excuses!

So what are you waiting for?! Head up North and join ESN RGU for on of our (soon to be) world famous Scottish Ceilidh nights!

 

Written by Andrew Rattray - ESN RGU

ESN Southampton counts itself among the ESN sections organising social impact activities to mark the SocialErasmus week in November 2014.

…but what exactly IS SocialErasmus?

SocialErasmus is an ESN international initiative aimed at facilitating the international and exchange students’ engagement with their local community by offering them various volunteering opportunities. The project is considered to be highly beneficial for both the student population and the community as it promotes organising social impact activities, which facilitate the well integration of the international students in the new environment of their host countries. Between the 10th and 16th of November 2014, the SocialErasmus Autumn week happened all over Europe thanks to the amazing initiatives of many Erasmus and exchange people.

Now, back to ESN Southampton’s account about how their home and international students brought their contribution to improving the relationship with the local community.

First of all, there was the Erasmus+ Fair: designed as a two-day “ambulant” information centre, this educational event was aimed at home students willing to take part in an exchange programme in the years to come. The ESN Southampton committee members, as well as some Erasmus+ students currently doing their year abroad in the UK shared their insights and knowledge about how life-changing and important such an experience can be. Home students who came to see the stand also got familiarised with the opportunities available for them to become involved with the ESN family! As a bonus, they were given delicious cookies and other international sweets! Saving the best for last, they could also win prizes and place their own pin on the “Erasmus+ Map” standing for their dream destination.

Secondly, there came the Movember Party! As you all must very well know by now, Movember November encourages “moustache-growing behaviours” in the name of charity! Raising awareness on men’s health issues, this funny, yet important occasion allows people of all ages to engage with a social cause, while still keeping a smile on their face…and a moustache as a matter of fact!  The party reunited both Erasmus and home students and all the money raised from selling tickets and fake moustaches were donated to a local charity.

Last, but not least, there was an International dinner…and food bank at the same time! Students were invited to a committee member’s house and kitchen to host together an international feast. They all brought the most delicious traditional dishes from their culture and so people ended up eating quite a lot: they were spoilt with food varying from the traditional British sausage rolls to a German potato salad and…delicious cupcakes. People taking part in the eating of the dinner were also invited to bring with them any food they wanted to donate as a contribution to the food bank the ESN committee organised. This was a very good opportunity for students to enjoy a very good meal, learn new things about other cultures and also help the community. As a result, an entire box of tinned food, pasta, rice and other food were collected. The committee donated everything to the Southampton City Mission charity in Southampton.

Well, well, well… from what we have read, I guess we can all see how high the ESN Southampton happy people reached, how further they went and how much of a social impact they did during the November SocialErasmus week. If you feel like making a difference to your local community you’ll be pleased to know that you’ll get a second chance at it! The SocialErasmus Spring week will soon happen in 2015! Stay posted and follow all the updates here!

And don’t forget: Reach higher! Go further! Go social! #ThisIsESN

 

Written by Madalina Cretu – ESN UK Publications Specialist and Erasmus+ Student in Southampton

 

Hello, everyone! 

 

ESN Bristol have been in full swing this academic year, planning and organising all sorts for our members, and here are just a few of the highlights we’re proud to share with you…

 

Tandem events!

Given the vast range of languages that our Erasmus+ students and our Bristolians can speak, we thought it would be a great idea to get everyone together for a night of language exchange. Kicking off just after Freshers week, we hosted a 400+ capacity night with over 10 different languages being spoken. The languages flowed, and with the help of a few challenges and prizes to be won, the mingling throughout the night resulted in the start of some blossoming friendships. After the success of this evening, our Tandem coordinator has made these events a regular event for ESN Bristol, both with specific language evenings, and evenings for any language to be spoken. We think these Tandem evenings are a double triumph as they not only give students the opportunity to practice their language skills in a relaxed environment, but also are a great meeting opportunity to get to know people. The feedback from students so far has been really positive, and we’re looking forward to continuing these successful events throughout the year.

 

Socials – bowling and karaoke!

Our social secretaries have also been particularly busy this year, and our standout event of the year so far has to be our night to the Lanes. This bowling complex not only played host to some fiercely competitive bowling games, but also provided a great venue with its karaoke machine, its pool tables, and our ESN beer pong games. This huge range of activities was great for entertaining the 80 people at our sell-out event. After the fun of the Lanes, our social secs organised a night out to a local club to top the night off with some cheesy dancing!

 

Pub Quiz

It has been pub quiz galore down here at Bristol. We organised a British-themed pub quiz that went down a treat, and we were very impressed with the knowledge of the teams. There was a good turn out, and a lot of laughs throughout the night at the quirkiness of British pop culture. Congratulations to the winning team, and further congratulations to the winner of our raffle, who won a free trip for her and a friend on the ESN national trip to Edinburgh. The committee team will be competing in a few days in the PWC society quiz, and later in the term the whole committee will also be taking part in the Bristol inter-society pub quiz, so good luck to the team!

 

Citi Success

On a final note, we are pleased to announce that ESN Bristol made it to the finals of the Citi Group Society Challenge. Competing against the two societies in the finals, we secured an amazing level of votes, meaning we won the Citi competition, resulting in receiving £1000 in prize money. We are using this money to heavily subsidise our 3-course Christmas meal, and provide more events at an even cheaper price than before!

 

Written by Sophie Langridge  - Secretary of ESN Bristol 

 

Wow! It looks like ESN Bristol members have been up to an awful lot of fun. Well done to the energetic and generally awesome committee putting all these amazing events together for their students! And keep enjoying yourselves as much as possible! 

[Krystyna King- Events Secretary]

Trident Media* was able to have an exclusive interview with Leonid Kaptina, the President of the ESN Hertfordshire. ESN recently hosted a Buddy Meet Up event, that involved hundreds of UH and International Students. Kaptina tells us more about ESN and what his team is aiming to achieve for the upcoming year.

What does ESN stand for and what does it involve?
ESN stands for Erasmus Student Network. It is the biggest student association in Europe dealing with all international, Exchange and UK students. ESN operates across 37 countries, offering its services to over 180,000 students every year. In Hertfordshire we are a team of 16 students who work on a voluntary basis for all students to ensure we have the best time together.

Tell us about the Buddy Meet Up Event ESN hosted recently.
The Buddy Scheme was launched last year with 100 students taking part. This year we have 400 students registered on our scheme. We match incoming students with Herts students based on preferences and criteria. These local students then help the incoming students prior to arrival in the UK and throughout the year tend to become close friends and help each other with anything they can. For example, some language students choose an incoming buddy from the country whose language they are learning to speak so they can practice together.

The Buddy meet up event was held on September 23rd. Free food and drink were provided and gave buddies a chance to meet each other and as well as other students interested in meeting people from with other cultural backgrounds. It was a very social event and everyone made plenty of new friends. Our focus has been on the buddy scheme as it benefits all the students and the University. We find that many students have social integration worries before or upon arrival and an event like this gives them some comfort. We also find that many UK students who have studied abroad want to give something back to someone, who is now in the same position as they once were. No one gets paid for anything related to ESN, but it’s the satisfaction of knowing you have helped someone that makes this scheme so popular. At the end of the day we all believe at the same moto; ''students helping students''.

What is the ESNcard and how can we get one?
The ESNcard is a the membership card of ESN. It is very important to know that it is a European wide card that gives students over 2000 discounts across Europe, as well as at the majority of our trips and events. We are constantly working to get new partnerships for students, to make the card even more beneficial. We highly recommend the ESNcard to everyone at the University. Discounts can be found at www.esncard.org and to get one you need to contact the local ESN team, through our Facebook group or email at info@esnuk-herts.org.

What have you got planned for the year ahead?
A little preview for this year includes our Welcome Event, Paint-balling, The London Eye and a River Cruise. Also, nights out in Oxford, Brighton, more Buddy trips and a Warner Bros studio tour. Our bigger trips include Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Ibiza in the summer where students from all over the UK will join to have amazing weekenders!

What are you mostly looking forward to?
Everything! It has been a long and hard summer’s work but to see the success and how far ESN has come this year is just amazing! If I had to choose one trip, I definitely can’t wait for Edinburgh next month- where we will be with a thousand students from across the UK, in a wonderful cultural city.

How can people find out about future events?
To find out about our events the best way is to join our Facebook group: Erasmus Society Hertfordshire 2014-2015
You can find all the information on our website: www.esnuk-herts.org
Follow us on Twitter: @ESNHerts

The ESN Hertfordshire team is very motivated and committed to their work. Here you have some shared thoughts from other members of this amazing committee:

 - ‘Our reward is seeing everyone have the best experiences whilst at UH, by making friends for life through our buddy scheme, events and trips around the UK and Europe.’ - Leonid Kaptina, President

- ‘My buddy calls me his family here, so I'm really happy that I'm contributing to someone's happy memories.’- Chimtua Nnanna, Buddy Coordinator 

- ‘I feel the events we are putting on will really help our students to meet people of all different cultures, meet friends for life and share new experiences together.’ - Jessica Blankson, Secretary 

-‘Earn your place in the memories of beautiful people, explore every corners of Europe, make friends that last a lifetime and most of all, Have FUN!. Get yourself into the Erasmus spirit with every single event that we do because Once Erasmus Always Erasmus.’ - Michael Onuorah, Buddy Coordinator

 

Thank you everyone for your incredibly inspiring enthusiasm and motivation! Keep up the good work! 

 

Written by Krystyna King - ESN Hertfordshire Events Secretary 

*The interview was originally published in UniVerse, the University of Hertfordshire's newspaper and can also be found online at http://tridentmedia.org/esn-hertfordshire-exclusive/. 

Friendship is one of the most valuable gifts, one would say. However, finding those people that would potentially be 'right up your street' and ready to help you out when in need proves to be a more difficult task than expected. 'No pain, no gain', another one would add. But how does this have anything to do with our network? Well, it's simple! All the Erasmus+ students coming to the UK are looking forward to meeting British people. Sometimes, their expectations may hit rock bottom because making British friends seems more difficult than initially thought. Do not get me wrong: this is not because the British students do not want to befriend Erasmus+ students! Far from it! The truth is that when you are an incoming Erasmus+ student, having to speak in a completely different language than your own and cope with so many cultural differences, you may find it difficult to express yourself and communicate. Or you may just feel shy or homesick and do not feel like throwing youself out there in the crowd and start making friends. 

 

ESN Southampton has found the perfect solution to this. The cheerful committee from this ESN UK local section has set up their own Buddy Scheme. The principle of a Buddy Scheme is that people sign up on their site, http://esnuk-soton.org/buddy-scheme, and ask for a British buddy or volunteer to befriend an international student and so help them around. Those signing up are also asked for their main interestes and languages they can speak and want to practice, thus making sure that the Buddy Pairs that will be matched by the system are going to make a lot of people happy. 

 

Victoire