Activity Report 2008

Welcome!
ESU – The European Students’ Union - is the umbrella organisation of 47 national unions of students from 8
countries, and through these members represents over 11 million students.

The aim of ESU is to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at a
European level towards all relevant bodies and in particular the European Union, Bologna Follow-Up Group, Council of
Europe and UNESCO.

ESU is registered in Belgium as an international NGO, and was formerly known as ESIB – The National Unions of
Students in Europe.

ESU’s mission is
to ensure that the
voices of Europe’s
students are heard
at the highest
levels of European
decision-making
and in every arena
related to higher
education and
student life.

ESU’s vision is of a European higher education system which

embodies the principles of equity, quality and accessibility, where
everyone, regardless of age, gender, disability, financial status
or background is enabled to participate fully in quality higher
education and complete a learning path tailored to their needs.

2 Activity Report 2008

Inside...
Welcome from the Chair.......................4

Making a mark ...............6

Let’s Go! Campaign......................................6
European Qualifications Framework............7
Lisbon and Students.....................................8
Pooling experts.............................................9
Making learning for life...............................10
Building a stronger student movement......11
Preparing for a world conference...............12
Ensuring quality in higher education..........13
Democratising the student movement.......14

All about ESU.................15

Our aims and structure..............................15
Looking ahead to 2009...............................19
Our members.............................................20
Who we work with.....................................24
Finances.....................................................26
‘That was the year that was.......................28
The ESU team 2008-9.................................30

Activity Report 2008 

Welcome to ESU’s
Activity Report 2008
The ESU 2008 Activity Report provides a window
into our work over the past year. It focuses on the
main impacts that the efforts and persistence of
ESU’s members and elected representatives have
generated, and it brings to the public’s attention
the key headlines; the headlines made by European
students in 2008.

You might say that the work of elected student

representatives is one of continuously striving
to improve students’ lives rather than a political
battle for prestige and personal success. And it is
true. But sometimes a glimpse of the achievements
that brought European education policies closer to
the biggest part of the academic community – the
students themselves – is the perfect way to enhance
the value of the long hours spent working behind
the scenes.

Ligia Deca,
ESU Chairperson
2008-2009

 Activity Report 2008

2008 has been the year of mobility. Students now have a much better chance of being mobile in the 46 countries of the
European Higher Education Area than before, because this issue has been continuously raised on the agenda by both
national and European student representatives. The ESU “Let’s Go!” campaign has prompted national governments
to respond to the demands of national student-teacher coalitions demanding their right to academically meaningful
mobility. The result was seen in the Leuven Ministerial Conference of the Bologna Process – Europe has to ensure that
20% of its graduates are mobile by 2020. This was our goal. And it is now Europe’s.

In its quest to represent students’ educational, cultural and social rights, ESU has also been focusing on empowering
national student representatives to fight for more equitable higher education systems, through the “Lisbon and
students” project aimed at making students a solid partner in the implementation of the Lisbon agenda. We have
launched our Student Experts’ Pool as it is more and more self-evident that students should be regarded as partners in
educational processes. We are thereby aiming to create a community of student experts, through continuous training
and facilitation of interaction among all those involved in higher education on both the national and institutional
level.

ESU has also been a driver for the achievement of a stronger student movement. Firstly, we have vertically integrated
our efforts for defending students’ rights through the joint ESU – OBESSU campaign called “Lights on the Rights!”.
Secondly, we have been preparing for the first official meeting of regional student platforms, in cooperation with
UNESCO and Education International. The meeting was aimed at creating a common global student voice towards
the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, and to restart the global student dialogue, as a voice for social,
educational and cultural progress.

Student representation is a mission. We were allowed to fail, but not to fail in learning from our mistakes. We were
allowed to be tired, but not allowed to give up. We were allowed to question, but not to lack faith in a better future.
This year’s successes are owned by the 47 national unions of students democratically representing 11 million European
students. It is their achievements that we are acknowledging with this report.

May you enjoy the reading!

Ligia Deca

ESUChairperson

Activity Report 2008 

Making a MARK: Going places on
The Year in Headlines student mobility
Our ‘Let’s Go’
November 2008 saw the conclusion of Campaign led
the highly successful joint ESU and EI
to the French
(Education International) project on mobility.
Culminating in a validation conference, ‘Let’s
Presidency
Go! – Where to now?’, the project was a of the EU
year-long campaign for greater student and adopting our
staff mobility within higher education. With 20% by 2020
mobility a cornerstone of the European
mobility
Higher Education Area, the project was a
timely exploration of the current obstacles to
target in
mobility that exist across the continent, and October 2008.
an effective forum for exploring and defining Other key successes of the
solutions to ensure that they are tackled in campaign were getting the
the years ahead. Hosted under the banner of French Government to adopt
the French Presidency of the European Union, the campaign’s call for 20%
the validation conference was designated an mobile students by 2020, a
official conference of the Bologna Process target which was subsequently
and included the participation of the endorsed by both the
European Commission, Council of Europe and European Commission and
UNESCO, recognition of the campaign’s role the 46 members of the
in putting mobility issues firmly at the top of European Higher Education
the European education agenda. Area. The final report from
the Conference called for a
A key output of the campaign was the broader coalition on mobility
production of the Mobility Barometer, a that led to the creation of
unique piece of comprehensive research the mobilty working group
which includes all the 46 Bologna countries between ESU, EUA (European
and directly points to the relative lack of University Association) and EI
progress on fostering mobility in the EHEA. (Education International).

6 Activity Report 2008

For 18 months until April 2008, ESU was at the helm of a Striding
major European Commission-funded project on the European
Qualifications Framework (EQF). The EQF is an important towards a
European Union tool designed to transform higher education
in Europe and to create greater transparency and comparability European
between different education systems, thus facilitating student
and worker mobility across the EU. Implementation of the Qualifications
EQF at European level is entirely dependent on its delivery at
the national level through National Qualifications Frameworks
(NQFs). This project was therefore aimed at a qualitative
Framework
assessment of current progress, and at exploring the main
debates and obstacles that continue to hinder the successful
adoption and implementation of this framework in national
contexts.

Our EQF project has paved the

way for greater stakeholder
involvement in the design
of national qualifications
frameworks.
The methodology consisted of involving partners from all
education sectors – a national union of students, a national union
of school students, an employers’ association, a trade union
and a higher education network – from five different countries
with very contrasting experiences and progress levels in terms
of NQF implementation. These project partners were asked to
lead a debate around the implementation of the EQF in their
respective countries in two rounds of consultations, and then to
report back to the project. The information gathered formed
the backbone of the validation conference held in Slovenia from
21-22 April 2008, which brought together both the partners and
other interested parties to draw out the main conclusions from
the project.

Activity Report 2008 7

Through this project, Lisbon and
European students clearly
argued that the Lisbon Students
Strategy should not be
reduced to pure economics,
but that social objectives
must be at the heart of
the process too.
2008 also saw the publication of ESU’s Lisbon
With Student Eyes report, funded by the European
Commission, with the aim of identifying the ways in
which the EU’s flagship Lisbon Strategy is implemented
at national level, as well as gathering together the
student perspective in terms of its impact on higher
education. With Lisbon highlighting the importance
of higher education and research to its strategy for
growth and jobs, the need to ensure student input
into this overarching part of EU policy has never been
greater.

The report combines an analysis of Member States’

2005 National Progress Reports, as well as the results
of a student survey which includes the responses of
9 national unions of students from  countries. It
also draws on the results of a smaller survey among
ESU’s member unions and the work of student unions
on this topic since 2005. The report therefore serves
as a guiding light for both student unions in developing
their work on this issue, and for policy makers in
preparing for stronger and more meaningful student
involvement in the Lisbon agenda.

8 Activity Report 2008

The concept of an experts’ pool is one which had been considered Pooling
for some time as a way for ESU to share its knowledge and expertise
with the sector as a whole. The concept became a concrete reality
in 2008 with the creation of the first phase of the pool, comprising
experts
the equity trainers pool, the Institutional Evaluation Programme (an
EUA independent membership service), student evaluators group,
plus student experts that have been selected for institutional quality In 2008, the pool
audits or national QA agencies reviews. provided experts
for 3 regional
The pool is designed to help ESU cope with the increasing volume of
requests for internal and external expertise, particularly in the field
equity training
of quality assurance, as well as enabling ESU to meet its own training events, more than
needs. Furthermore, not only should the pool be self-sustaining, 20 institutional
but it should also contribute to ESU’s financial stability with 25% of quality assurance
honoraries received being donated to the organisation. Putting the
evaluations and 5
pool on a solid footing is a key feature of ESU’s Plan of Work for
2009.
reviews of national
QA agencies.

Light ESU has also launched a new campaign with OBESSU,

on the Organising Bureau of School Student Unions, to

draw attention to the issue of students’ rights. ‘Light

Student on the Rights’ focuses on trying to secure recognition

at European level of a Declaration of Students’ Rights

Rights that ESU has drawn up, which would mark a major step
forward in providing legal protection for students’
rights across Europe.

For more information on the campaign, please visit:

www.lightsontherights.eu

The full publication can be found on our website: www.

esu-online.org

Activity Report 2008 9

 Making learning
for life
Over the past year, ESU has been actively involved in the Our main achievements in 2008
definition of the lifelong learning concept at the European included adopting a clear position
level, both in the context of the Bologna Process and the statement on lifelong learning
European Commission’s Stakeholder Forum. with our 47 member unions at the
54th Board Meeting in Brusno,
These efforts have helped lifelong learning to be Slovakia, and organising a major
understood not only as professional upskilling and adult European seminar on student-
learning, but also as recognition of prior learning, valuing centred learning, a key part of
informal and non-formal learning and allowing a second the lifelong learning paradigm,
chance for those who did not have the opportunity to which took place in November in
enter higher education before. the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

Learning does
not stop once
you put a
diploma on
your wall.

10 Activity Report 2008

 Building a stronger
student movement
The past year has seen continued importance
given to our capacity building work in countries
across continents
where ESU does not currently have members. To
this effect, a study visit was organised to Armenia
in June 2008 that was followed up in September
with a training session. All of these activities
were carried out in close cooperation with the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) mission in the capital, Yerevan.
The aim of the study visit was to improve
the understanding of the Armenian student
movement and to issue recommendations for its
further development. A report has been drafted
and is publicly available on ESU’s website.
ESU acts as both a
The 16th European Student Convention (Lille, capacity-builder for
October 2008) also provided ESU with the
student organisations
opportunity to reach out to students from
Mitrovica and Pristina universities in Kosovo,
and as a promoter of
followed by some collaborative work with Dutch the ‘4 pillars’ of the
NGO Spark to increase the dialogue between student movement -
Kosovan students and other students across democracy, independence,
Europe. A further visit to Kosovo is planned
openness and
for 2009, with a potential view to starting a 1-2
year project on the development of the student
representativity.
movement in the country.
The publicising of a message by Iranian students highlighting
ESU also carries out advocacy work for students breaches of human rights and the principles of academic
all around the world in support of the global freedom in Iran, which was sent in lieu of their attendance
student movement. at the 16th ESC, is just one of a series of examples of our
solidarity work with students everywhere.

Activity Report 2008 11

Ten years on from the inaugural event, ESU has been Planning a World
actively involved in the preparation committee of the
UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education +10 Conference on
(to be held in July 2009), including helping to shape the
agenda of the event. Given that student participation in
the first WCHE was extremely difficult to secure, the key
Higher Education
role that ESU is now playing in this event is a tribute to the
success and recognition gained by the organisation and
the student movement as a whole in the last few years.

In addition, we have been working on the coordination

of a meeting of the various regional student platforms in
January 2009 (with the support of UNESCO and Education
International). This meeting will result in a common global
student statement on the topics of the conference and
will hopefully mark the start of progress towards a new
platform for global student cooperation.

A new Euro-
Mediterranean
University • To become an international university, which will
take into consideration cultural diversity;

ESU was also at the forefront of the founding of Europe’s
newest, and first pan-European, university. EMUNI, or
the Euro-Mediterranean University, is a unique project to
create an international university based in Slovenia. The
key missions of the EMUNI University are:
• To improve the quality of higher education with study
and research program implementation;
EMUNI University will significantly contribute to the
harmonisation of the higher education area and to the
lasting development of the wider socio-economic and
cultural environment in EUROMED countries, as well
as providing greater recognition for Slovenia in the
Mediterranean Union region. ESU is proud to be one
of the official co-founders of this latest addition to the
European higher education scene.

12 Activity Report 2008

 Ensuring quality in
higher education
ESU took a major step into the field of In a significant mark
quality assurance by performing the of recognition, ESU’s
first full evaluation of a national quality Chairperson 2007-
assurance agency, ARACIS in Romania, in 2008, Koen Geven, was
accordance with the European Standards nominated to join the
and Guidelines (ESG). Doing so has collegium of the Magna
put ESU on the map of organisations Charta Observatory.
recognised as able to successfully
perform such a comprehensive review.

Another key development in quality

assurance occurred with the creation
of a new European Quality Assurance
Register (EQAR). Founded by ESU
and our E4 partners - EUA, ENQA and
Eurashe - and mandated as part of the
Bologna Process, EQAR represents a
vital information and trust-building tool
allowing higher education institutions,
students and the labour market to
identify credible and legitimate quality
assurance agencies. As a full member
of EQAR’s governing board, ESU will
continue to play a primary role in the
development of this, a major agent for
change in higher education. As its highest governing body, the collegium is
responsible for upholding fundamental rights
within higher education, safeguarding institutional
autonomy and protecting against academic
corruption.

Activity Report 2008 13


Involving and empowering members is a key ESU
objective, and one of the main mechanisms for achieving
this are the bi-annual European Student Conventions.
ESC15, held in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, focused
on student democracy and the role of both ESU and its
member unions in delivering this. The resulting Ljubljana
Declaration consists of the following elements:
14
Democratising
the student
movement
• The recognition of students as a
major catalyst of reform;
• ESU as a promoter of student
representation structures;
• A commitment from ESU to provide
member unions with the structures,
support and resources they need to
implement their goals;
• A commitment to diversifying the
student body, as a key part of the
democratisation process;
• A pledge to remove barriers across
borders and show solidarity with
students across the globe.
The objectives above all form part of
an overarching goal for ESU to provide
an effective platform to represent
European students with one voice.
This Declaration has set the tone for
ESU’s work in 2008 and into 2009,
creating a solid focus on building a
stronger student movement.
Activity Report 2008
All Aims
about ESU ESU works to fulfil a number of aims through its
work in the field of European higher education:

• To represent the views, needs and perspectives of European students, as advocated through member
National Unions of Students (NUSes), to all key European decision-making bodies;
• To ensure student participation and increase the student input into higher education policy- and decision-
making at local, national and European level;
• To promote a higher education system based on the values of quality, equity and accessibility for all;
• To be recognised as a key education stakeholder by all relevant actors, including the European Union,
Bologna Follow-Up Group, Council of Europe and UNESCO;
• To be renowned and respected as a source of expertise on higher education policy at national, european
and international levels;
• To build links and foster an exchange of information, ideas and experience among students and student
platorms at a regional and a global level;
• To uphold the values of diversity, equity, participatory democracy and solidarity in all of our work.

Activity Report 2008 15

 Structure
ESU has a democratic structure based on the primacy of its members – national unions of students from 38 different
countries across Europe. Representatives of each NUS make up the Board of the European Students’ Union, which
is the highest decision-making body in the organisation. The Board meets twice yearly, and elects ESU’s officials on
an annual basis, with each member country having two votes. The elections appoint ESU’s representative structure,
which consists of the following:

The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of a chairperson, vice chairperson and three additional members. The Executive
Committee is responsible for steering and coordinating the organisation, both politically and operationally, on a day-
to-day basis.

16 Activity Report 2008

Content Committees
Structure
To support the work of the Executive Committee, Social Affairs Committee – The SAC is tasked
the Board also elects representatives to sit on one with researching, training and representing students
of five content committees: in the field of social affairs of higher education. Social
affairs involves questions of access, participation in,
Administration Committee – This committee is and completion of, one’s studies. It therefore involves
responsible for finances, public relations and internal all the work regarding the social dimension of higher
working conditions. It works in parallel with the education, including financial affairs, students’ health,
secretariat and the vice chair in carrying out its work. accomodation and work.

Student Union Development Committee

– The SUDC is tasked with supporting the development
of student unions in Europe. In particular, it focuses on
meeting the training and information needs of student
organisations, building capacity and dealing with
membership issues.

Academic Affairs Committee - The AAC

has responsibility for developing expertise and
representation regarding academic affairs, the
AAC deals with issues such as quality assurance,
qualifications frameworks, ECTS and student-
centred learning, and crucially, coordinates work
relating to the Bologna Process.

Activity Report 2008 17


The Secretariat - The operational activities of
the Executive Committee are supported by a small
secretariat, consisting of a Financial Officer, an
Information and Communications Officer and a Project
Officer. All are based at ESU’s headquarters in the
centre of Brussels..
Commission of Internal Audit - The Commission
of Internal Audit (or CIA) is a separate structure that is
directly accountable to the Board. It exists to monitor
the administration and finances of the organisation
and to report on these at each board meeting.
18
Structure
Gender Equality Cross Committee
– The role of this committee is to ensure the
implementation of ESU’s Gender Mainstreaming
Strategy and to increase awareness and
understanding of gender equality issues among
ESU and its members. It is made up of one
member from each of the other four content
committees.
Working Groups - In addition to the content
committees, the Board can choose to create working
groups to fulfil a specific function for a certain period
of time. NUSes can apply to chair a working group for
the duration of its mandate.
ESU currently has six working groups in operation:
• International Cooperation Working Group
• Mobility Working Group
• Ukraine Working Group
• Doctoral Studies, the rd Cycle and Research
Working Group
• E-learning Working Group
• Working Group on Studying with a Disability in
Higher Education
Activity Report 2008
 Looking ahead
to 2009...
Building a stronger student movement -
that’s the headline of ESU’s plan of work in
2009, recognition of the fact that the greater
the capacity of the student movement, the
further we will get in terms of achieving a
truly student-centred learning paradigm for
European higher education.

In particular, ESU will be directing its efforts

towards:
1. Defending students’ rights through the
development of the student movement
- for example through the UNESCO World
Conference on Higher Education.

2. Democratisation of higher education

through fostering the social dimension
and equity - centring around ESU’s ‘Equity
in Higher Education from a Students’
Perspective’ project.

. Quality higher education for all, with

students in the centre - including addressing
the needs of doctoral students and creating
a diversified body of lifelong learners.

4. 20% mobile students by 2020 - moving

towards the European dimension of HE
through making student mobility a reality.
With key events coming up, such as the
Ministerial Conference of the Bologna
Process in April, and the World Conference
in Higher Education in July, it promises to be
an exciting year !

Activity Report 2008 19

Our Members
ESU currently has 47 member NUSes from 38 countries:
Albania - Albanian Student Government (ASG) Austria - Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft (ÖH)
Belarus - Belarus Student Association (BSA) Belgium - Fédération Des Etudiants Francophones (FEF)

Belgium - Vlaamse Vereniging van Studenten (VVS)

Bulgaria - UBS Bosnia & Herzegovina - Studentska Unija Republika Srpska (SURS)

Bulgaria - Nacionalno Predstavitelstvo na Studentskite Saveti v Republika Balgaria (NASC)

Croatia - Hrvatski Studentski Zbor (CSC) Croatia - Savez Studenata Hrvatske (CSU)

Cyprus - Pagkypria Omospondia Foititikon Enoseon (POFEN) Czech Republic - SKRVS

Denmark – DSF Finland - Suomen ammattikorkeakouluopiskelijakuntien liitto (SAMOK)

Estonia – EUL Finland - Suomen Ylioppilaskuntien Liitto (SYL)

France - Fédération des Associations Générales D’Etudiants (FAGE)

France - Union Nationale des Etudiants de France (UNEF)

Georgia - Students Organizations League of Georgia (SOLG)

Germany – FZS Hungary - HÖOK

Iceland - Studentarad Haskola Islands (SHI)

Ireland - Union of Students in Ireland (USI)

20 Activity Report 2008

 Israel - National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS)
Italy - Unione degli Universitari (UdU)

Latvia - Latvijas Studentu Apvieniba (LSA)

Lithuania - (LSAS)

Luxembourg - Union Nationale des Etudiant(e)s du Luxembourg (UNEL)

Lithuania - Lietuvos Studentu Sajunga (LSS)
Macedonia - National Union of Students of Macedonia (NUSM)
Malta - Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU)

Netherlands - Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg (ISO)

Netherlands - Landelijke Studenten Vakbond (LSVb)

Norway - Norsk Studentunion (NSU) Norway - Studentenes Landsforbund (StL)

Poland - PSRP
Poland - ZSP Portugal - FAIRe

Romania - Alianta Nationala a Organizatiilor Studentesti din Roma (ANOSR)

Serbia - Studentska Unija Srbije (SUS) Slovakia - SRVS

Slovenia - Studenska Organizacija Slovenije (SSU)

Spain - Coordinadora de Representantes de Estudiantes de Universidades Pcas (CREUP)

Sweden - SFS
Switzerland - Verband der Schweizerischen StudentInnenschaften
(VSS-UNES-USU)

Ukraine - Ukrainian Association of Student Self-government

(UASS)
UK - National Union of Students (NUS-UK)

Activity Report 2008 21

Involving ESU wouldn’t exist without our members - they are both key
conduits taking our work out into the external arena, and

members the legitimation for all that we do. Involving, empowering

and engaging all those that who collectively comprise ESU is
therefore one of our key ongoing objectives.

ESU’s democratic structure ensures that the Board is at the heart of all that we do. Its full decision-making powers
are exercised on a bi-annual basis at meetings in member countries. Membership of the Board is by union, which
itself decides on the individuals to represent it.

The official representatives of ESU are elected on an annual basis and held to account at each board meeting
through a process of reporting and evaluation.

22 Activity Report 2008

With a huge diversity in our members,
including some that struggle to meet
Involving
basic expenses such as the nominal
membership fee, ESU runs a solidarity
fund to provide additional financial
members
support to unions, so that those with
fewer resources do not lose out as a
result. The bi-annual European Student Conventions
are packed with training sessions, workshops
and seminars to help unions both function
better internally, and perform better externally.
Together, these events give board members the
opportunity to meet face-to-face on a quarterly
basis, creating a strength and unity that is rare
among membership organisations.

ESU’s Another permanent fixture is

members a ‘BM for Beginners’ session

are at the to give those new to the

Board the opportunity to find
heart of out how it works and thereby
everything maximise their involvement.
we do.

ESU regularly produces publications, such as the

Training and capacity building is a central feature
of how we work with our members. Each board
meeting is preceded by a high-level seminar to build
knowledge and skills on a relevant topic. In 2008, the
topics were equity in higher education and student-
centred learning.
Student Union Development Handbook, and provides
training, for example on equity issues, to increase the
knowlege base of unions and to provide them with
valuable tools for their work. All written materials are
provided free of charge, whilst attendance at training
is heavily subsidised.

Activity Report 2008 2

ESU is a collaborative organisation working
with a wide variety of governmental and non-
Who we
work with
governmental organisations in Europe and
beyond. Some of our key partners and examples
of our collaborative work are below:

The Council of Europe (CoE),

based in Strasbourg, is both ESU is an active member
one of ESU’s funders and
of the Bologna Follow-
a regular project partner.
Our work with them in 2008 Up Group which is
centred around the ‘Desks’ charged with monitoring
project, the key outcome of and guiding the
which was the Student Union
Development Handbook, implementation of the
which represents a key tool for Bologna Process across
building the capacity of both 46 European countries.
our existing members, and
candidates for membership.

Our other key partner is

ESU has a strong relationship with the European Education International,
Commission and receives long-term project funding, and the ‘Let’s Go!’
as well as an administrative grant to fund the core mobility campaign is
functions of the organisation. In 2008, we worked just one example of our
with the Commission on our Equity in Higher Education partnership work with
project, as well as on the ‘Let’s Go!’ mobility campaign
them during 2008.
and the Lisbon and Students project.

24 Activity Report 2008


Much of ESU’s external work is
conducted through an alliance of
higher education organisations.
Known as the ‘E4 group’, this
team consisting of ESU, EUA
(European University Association),
ENQA (European Network for
Quality Assurance) and EURASHE
(European Association of
Institutions in Higher Education)
regularly works together on issues
of mutual interest and concern, and
is considered a highly influential
and well-respected player in
European higher education.
In addition to our work with
them as part of the E4 group,
ESU and EUA have a strong
bilateral partnership and
cooperate on a number of
projects including institutional
relations and evaluation
programmes, and the Access-
Africa project designed to
build relations between higher
education institutions in Europe
and Africa.
Activity Report 2008
Who we
work with
2008 has also seen increasingly close
collaboration with UNESCO, firstly in terms
of promoting a greater global student
dialogue, and secondly in fighting against
disreputable higher education providers
and ensuring full implementation of the
joint OECD-UNESCO guidelines for quality
provision in higher education.
Partnership
is the key to
maximising the
ESU has a close collaboration
student input with organisations such
into higher as MENON, a European
education policy innovation and research
network, and Scienter, a
European research and
innovation centre, on projects
in the field of higher education
and training. Examples include
the Hextlearn and Access-Asia
projects that ESU is currently
ESU is a member of the involved with, which you
European Youth Forum can read more about on our
(YFJ) and contributes to website.
their work on education
policy at European level.
25
Finances As an NGO, ESU relies heavily on funding from European and international
institutions for its continued operation. 2008 continued the trend of previous
years with an overall increase in total income. The European Commission
continues to account for the majority of the money received from international
project grants.

ESU also receives financial support for its projects from the Council of Europe.
Both the Commission and the Council of Europe additionally provide the
administrative grant for ESU’s core functions and overall sustainability.

We want to thank our external partners for providing financial support to enable
ESU elected representatives to participate in a number of higher education
events, which it woul not be possible for them to do otherwise.

income sources realised

7% 18% members
16%
1%
EU Commission
%
CoE
Education International
55%
Private sector
In-kind

26 Activity Report 2008

Finances In terms of expenditure, the pattern follows that of 2007 with the majority share
in 2008 allocated to projects and activities - enabling ESU to deliver on its aims,
objectives and plan of work for the year.

Spending on personnel rose by one-third in 2008, due mainly to an increased

number of secretariat members and the implementation of a Brussels-based
vice chairperson’s position.

“Other” costs include committee travel expenses and other unforeseen travel
and accommodation expenses, membership fees of partner organisations such
as the European Youth Forum (YFJ), and the running of a solidarity fund for those
NUSes unable to afford membership fees to be part of ESU.

Expenditure 2008

20%
personnel
6%
administrative expenses
internal missions
54% 5%
other

15% projects and activities

Activity Report 2008 27

That was the year that was...
“ESU faced a number of positive internal changes last year.
Some of them have been implemented already, requiring
an additional effort to adapt to them, many more are
being prepared for further remarkable change in the
near future. Evolving internal structures, an expanding
secretariat, and the launch of the student experts’ pool
are among the top ones to mention.”

Anita Lice, ESU Vice-Chair 2008-9

“2008 in ESU was a great experience - one which
gave me the opportunity to work with people from
different countries across Europe in a dynamic,
international environment. And it was an experience
which I will never forget.”

Matthew Tabone, Executive Committee member

2007-8

2008 has been great year to be in ESU and in the first Student Union Development
Committee. Overall, it has been a very inspiring, busy and exciting mandate. We
have managed to create first Students’ Union Development Handbook. I became
a trainer in the ESU trainers pool, and the Mobility Campaign, “Let’s GO!”, has
been carried out which, personally, has been fantastic and one of most interesting
projects to work on. I could continue but importantly, I want to underline the
importance of the team spirit and the collegiality in the committee, which made
the work an absolute pleasure.

Kate Chachava, Student Union Development Committee 2008.

28 Activity Report 2008

That was the year that was...
“Joining ESU was one of the best decisions “Influencing policy at a European level
I have ever made. I met a lot of interesting is a mammoth task and something that
people, I’ve worked in a stimulating NUS Scotland simply wouldn’t be able
multicultural environment and I was able to do on our own. ESU is the collective
to shape parts of the organisation and the voice that delivers for Scottish students
European student movement. In particular, on a European level, enabling us and
the work with and for different national other European NUSes to achieve so
student organisations motivated me even much more than we would be able
in times when I felt as if the workload would to alone. For me as part of the ESU
crush me.” team, I’ll never forget the cooperation
among student officers from across
Jens Jungblut, Student Union Development Europe which is truly inspirational and
Committee 2008-9 ultimately delivers for students.”

Liam Burns, Academic Affairs

“Being in ESU means being at the heart Committee, 2008-9
of the processses that change and
shape European higher education.
2008 was a mixed pleasure. It was
good because it showed me that the
student movement is ever-optimistic
and relentless in its pursuit of a better
higher education system for all.

It was bad because I also saw that

the most important decision-makers
are still scared to commit in practice
to the goals we all seem to share.”

Olav Øye, Executive Committee

2008-9

Activity Report 2008 29

 The ESU
team 2008-9

Student Union Development

Executive Committee: Academic Affairs Social Affairs Committee: Committee:
Ligia Deca Committee: Inge Gielis Jens Jungblut
Anita Lice Liam Burns Jenny Bjork Kate Chachava
Bruno Carapinha Alessia Cacciagrano Damien Ramage
Olav Øye Mark Sciriha Marin Bakša Administration Committee:
Alma Joensen Bergpora Snaebjornsdottir Claire Guichet Antigoni Ioannidou
David Troxler
Joram op den Kelder

0 Activity Report 2008

Contacts:
Executive Committee: ec2009@esu-online.org
Academic Affairs Committee: aac@esu-online.org
Social Affairs Committee: sac@esu-online.org
Student Union Development Committee: sudc@esu-online.org
Committee for Internal Development: cid@esu-online.org

The ESU 2008 Activity Report:

Content: Frances Aldson, Ligia Deca, Olav Øye, Anita Lice
Editing: Frances Aldson, Bert Vandenkendelaere
Layout and design : Frances Aldson, Linus Rowedda
Images: Bea Uhart, Frances Aldson, Quentin Delval
Printed in Germany by TU Bergakademie Stura, Freiburg.
Rue de la Sablonnière 20
1000 Bruxelles
Belgium
t: +2 2 502 762
f: +2 2 706 4826
w: www.esu-online.org