ESN and the Erasmus Student Network: How International Students Make Friends in Europe

What ESN does

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a volunteer student organization that supports international students during their time abroad. Local sections, run by student volunteers at each university, organize buddy programs, welcome events, trips, and socials for exchange and full-degree international students.

ESN reaches more than 480 higher education institutions across 37 countries and offers services to around 180,000 students a year, according to ESNcard , its official membership platform. The network grew out of the Erasmus program, the European Commission's student mobility scheme now known as Erasmus+ , and keeps close ties with it, though ESN itself is a separate, independent volunteer organization.

Buddy programs

Most sections pair you with a local student buddy before you arrive. Your buddy answers practical questions on registration, SIM cards, and opening a bank account, and often meets you at the airport or station and shows you around during your first week.

Events and trips

Sections run a packed calendar: welcome week activities, city tours, language exchange cafes, cultural nights, and weekend trips to nearby cities or countries. Trips and events usually cost less than booking independently, since sections negotiate group rates with hostels and transport providers.

Who can join

ESN events are open to exchange students, full-degree international students, and often local students who want to meet people from other countries. Local sections typically charge a small one-off fee for a membership or discount card that funds events, separate from your university tuition or your Erasmus+ mobility grant. You do not need to be on an official Erasmus+ exchange to take part, degree-seeking international students and local students who want an international social circle are welcome at most section events too.

How to find your local section

Search for ESN plus your host city, or check your university's international office page, most link directly to the local ESN section. Sections communicate mainly through Instagram, Facebook groups, and WhatsApp channels set up each semester, so follow your section before you arrive to catch welcome week signups before they fill.

ESN and your Erasmus+ mobility

ESN membership is separate from your official Erasmus+ mobility grant or exchange agreement, which your home and host universities arrange directly. ESN adds the social and orientation layer around your stay, not the funding or academic recognition side, which stays with your international office.

A network built by students, for students

ESN grew out of small volunteer groups supporting the earliest cohorts of Erasmus exchange students in the late 1980s, back when the program was new and students abroad had little formal support. Local sections still run entirely on student volunteers today, with national and international boards elected each year at general meetings, rather than paid staff.

How the ESN card works

Many local sections sell an ESNcard, a low-cost membership and discount card. Discounts typically cover travel, local transport, museums, and partner businesses near your university, though the exact partner list differs by city, so check your section's page for what applies where you study.

Volunteering instead of just attending

You do not need to be an exchange student to get involved with ESN. Local students can join a section as a volunteer or committee member, helping organize events, translating for newcomers, or running the buddy program. Volunteering gives you organizing and leadership experience, and looks good on a CV alongside your degree.

Section governance

Local ESN sections operate as independent student associations registered under national law in most countries, not as a branch office of a central company. Each section sets its own event calendar and membership fee within loose guidelines from the national and international ESN boards, so the exact experience varies from city to city even within the same country.

Common events explained

Welcome week activities cluster in your first days: campus tours, a welcome desk at the international office, and an opening social where you meet other new arrivals. Later in the term, look for weekend trips to nearby cities or countries, cultural nights where students cook and present food from their home country, and volunteering projects run with local charities or schools, sometimes branded as social or community initiatives by your section.

Skills you build beyond socializing

Joining ESN, whether as an attendee or a volunteer, builds skills that go beyond meeting people. Organizing events, working across languages, and coordinating with a student-run association all translate into experience you can point to after graduation, on top of the friendships and memories from your time abroad.