Students helping students

This is the main motto of volunteers in the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). The ESN International, founded twenty years ago in Copenhagen, also operates in Hungary with a number of sections, at universities in the capital city as well as the countryside. Various cultures meet in the framework of the ESN, new friendships are made, and participants have joint experiences, taking part in parties and travelling.

Aims and principles

ESN works in the interest of international students and improves their social and practical integration. It represents the needs and rights of foreign students at local and national as well as international level. Furthermore, it provides relevant information about mobility programmes and motivates students to study abroad. ESN takes care of homecoming as well as international students, and works for their reintegration. It contributes to the improvement and accessibility of student mobility, and values volunteering and active citizenship.

ESN Hungary

ESN has a number of local sections in the country, both in the capital city and in the countryside. Cooperation between them is sometimes impeded by geographic distance, and differences in the structure of individual sections. Despite all this, cooperation among sections is increasing - as Zsanett Kelemen, ESN National Representative of Hungary has informed us. The Wonder Camp event involving all the Hungarian sections was organised at the beginning of the semester for the first time. It took place on the northern shore of the lake Balaton in Zánka, involving nearly two hundred foreign students studying in the country - Máté Eizenberger, ESN Vice-President of Hungary has told us. Due to its great success, the Wonder Camp event is expected to be organised again in the following years.

Another national programme of the semester was a joint party held on the 20th anniversary of ESN. Its income was devoted to charitable purposes within the framework of an international ESN project - the GIVE20. Joint skiing and a Farewell Gala are also planned for the end of the semester. As a result of the cooperation, the ESN Hungary website was created recently, with the aim of bringing together the pages of the sections and enabling visitors to track joint programmes.

Erasmus Group of Győr (EGG), an ESN section in the countryside

EGG organises numerous programmes each semester, including an orientation day, a Welcome Party, outings, city tours, sports contests, competitions, parties - we learned from Máté Eizenberger, who is the head of the Győr section in addition to his national level position. The active members of the group are mentors, who also participate in organising programmes. Prospective mentors are selected in a personal interview based on their language skills and motivation. One of their most important tasks is to organise the travel of foreign students to Győr, and to help them in arranging their academic matters - enrolment and subject registration. Mentors and students stay in touch with each other later on, too.

ESN at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, a section in the capital city

The ESN group of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics also offers a number of programmes and secures volunteer mentors for foreign students. In preparation for the next semester, the Fresmen's Camp will be organised in the beginning of February for those who arrive at this time. Travel and cultural programmes are organised jointly with the mentors, and they visit opera and theatre performances. Participants spend their spare time skating, caving, go on outings, or get together for a joint grill party. Entertainment is also provided for guest students, thus thematic parties like the Welcome Party, the Costume Party, the Easter Party and the Farewell Gala are also indispensable - as we were informed by Zsanett Kelemen, who is the head of the University of Technology section in addition to his national level position.

Kata Szokolai has been a mentor for two years now, and she is familiar with the situation of foreign students, having spent two semesters in another European country within the framework of the ERASMUS Programme. She has told us that mentors help guest students in adapting, finding accommodation, and solving problems and issues arising in the beginning or later on. "I do the mentoring because events usually have a very good atmosphere, it is a fine opportunity for language practice, and it is very interesting to get to know so many new people." - Kata told us about her motivations.

ESN mentors at the Eötvös Loránd University

Szabolcs Szebényi is a mentor helping foreign Psychology students at ELTE. They deal with guest students as well as all students in the English language university programmes. Szabolcs has told us that in addition to everyday support ranging from academic to official matters, a foreign student might need the help of a Hungarian peer in some more extreme cases as well. An example was the case of a guest student who was burgled. The girl's mentors came to help immediately, and they went to the authorities together.