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Acvity Report 2008


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2 Acvity Report 2008

ESU The European Students Union - is the umbrella organisaon of 47 naonal unions of students from 8countries, and through these members represents over 11 million students.

The aim of ESU is to represent and promote the educaonal, social, economic and cultural interests of students at a

European level towards all relevant bodies and in parcular the European Union, Bologna Follow-Up Group, Council of

Europe and UNESCO.

ESU is registered in Belgium as an internaonal NGO, and was formerly known as ESIB The Naonal Unions of

Students in Europe.

Welcome!

ESUs vision is of a European higher educaon system which

embodies the principles ofequity, quality and accessibility, where

everyone, regardless of age, gender, disability, nancial status

or background is enabled to parcipate fully in quality higher

educaon and complete a learning path tailored to their needs.

ESUs mission is

to ensure that the

voices of Europes

students are heard

at the highest

levels ofEuropean

decision-making

and in every arena

related to higher

educaon and

student life.


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Welcome to ESUs

Acvity Report 2008

Ligia Deca,

ESU Chairperson

2008-2009

The ESU 2008 Acvity Report provides a window

into our work over the past year. It focuses on the

main impacts that the eorts and persistence of

ESUs members and elected representaves have

generated, and it brings to the publics aenon

the key headlines; the headlines made by Europeanstudents in 2008.

You might say that the work of elected student

representaves is one of connuously striving

to improve students lives rather than a polical

bale for presge and personal success. And it is

true. But somemes a glimpse of the achievements

that brought European educaon 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.


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Acvity Report 2008 5

2008 has been the year of mobility. Students now have a much beer chance of being mobile in the 46 countries of the

European Higher Educaon Area than before, because this issue has been connuously raised on the agenda by both

naonal and European student representaves. The ESU Lets Go! campaign has prompted naonal governments

to respond to the demands of naonal student-teacher coalions demanding their right to academically meaningfulmobility. 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 Europes.

In its quest to represent students educaonal, cultural and social rights, ESU has also been focusing on empowering

naonal student representaves to ght for more equitable higher educaon systems, through the Lisbon and

students project aimed at making students a solid partner in the implementaon 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

educaonal processes. We are thereby aiming to create a community of student experts, through connuous trainingand facilitaon of interacon among all those involved in higher educaon on both the naonal and instuonal

level.

ESU has also been a driver for the achievement of a stronger student movement. Firstly, we have vercally integrated

our eorts for defending students rights through the joint ESU OBESSU campaign called Lights on the Rights!.

Secondly, we have been preparing for the rst ocial meeng of regional student plaorms, in cooperaon with

UNESCO and Educaon Internaonal. The meeng was aimed at creang a common global student voice towards

the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Educaon, and to restart the global student dialogue, as a voice for social,

educaonal and cultural progress.

Student representaon is a mission. We were allowed to fail, but not to fail in learning from our mistakes. We were

allowed to be red, but not allowed to give up. We were allowed to queson, but not to lack faith in a beer future.

This years successes are owned by the 47 naonal unions of students democracally represenng 11 million European

students. It is their achievements that we are acknowledging with this report.

May you enjoy the reading!

Ligia Deca

ESUChairperson


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Stridingtowards a

EuropeanQualicaonsFramework

For 18 months unl April 2008, ESU was at the helm of a

major European Commission-funded project on the European

Qualicaons Framework (EQF). The EQF is an important

European Union tool designed to transform higher educaonin Europe and to create greater transparency and comparability

between dierent educaon systems, thus facilitang student

and worker mobility across the EU. Implementaon of the

EQF at European level is enrely dependent on its delivery at

the naonal level through Naonal Qualicaons Frameworks

(NQFs). This project was therefore aimed at a qualitave

assessment of current progress, and at exploring the main

debates and obstacles that connue to hinder the successfuladopon and implementaon of this framework in naonal

contexts.

Our EQF project has paved theway for greater stakeholderinvolvement in the design

of national qualifi cationsframeworks.

The methodology consisted of involving partners from all

educaon sectors a naonal union of students, a naonal union

of school students, an employers associaon, a trade union

and a higher educaon network from ve dierent countries

with very contrasng experiences and progress levels in termsof NQF implementaon. These project partners were asked to

lead a debate around the implementaon of the EQF in their

respecve countries in two rounds of consultaons, and then to

report back to the project. The informaon gathered formed

the backbone of the validaon conference held in Slovenia from

21-22 April 2008, which brought together both the partners and

other interested pares to draw out the main conclusions from

the project.


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Lisbon andStudents

2008 also saw the publicaon of ESUs Lisbon

With Student Eyes report, funded by the EuropeanCommission, with the aim of idenfying the ways in

which the EUs flagship Lisbon Strategy is implemented

at naonal level, as well as gathering together the

student perspecve in terms of its impact on higher

educaon. With Lisbon highlighng the importance

of higher educaon 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 Naonal Progress Reports, as well as the results

of a student survey which includes the responses of

9 naonal unions of students from countries. It

also draws on the results of a smaller survey amongESUs 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.

Through this project,uropean students clearlyargued that the Lisbon

Strategy should not bereduced to pure economics,but that social objectivesmust be at the heart ofthe process too.


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Poolingexperts

The concept of an experts pool is one which had been considered

for some me as a way for ESU to share its knowledge and experse

with the sector as a whole. The concept became a concrete reality

in 2008 with the creaon of the rst phase of the pool, comprisingthe equity trainers pool, the Instuonal Evaluaon Programme (an

EUA independent membership service), student evaluators group,

plus student experts that have been selected for instuonal quality

audits or naonal QA agencies reviews.

The pool is designed to help ESU cope with the increasing volume of

requests for internal and external experse, parcularly in the eld

of quality assurance, as well as enabling ESU to meet its own trainingneeds. Furthermore, not only should the pool be self-sustaining,

but it should also contribute to ESUs nancial stability with 25% of

honoraries received being donated to the organisaon. Pu ng the

pool on a solid foong is a key feature of ESUs Plan of Work for

2009.

ESU has also launched a new campaign with OBESSU,

the Organising Bureau of School Student Unions, to

draw aenon to the issue of students rights. Light

on the Rights focuses on trying to secure recognion

at European level of a Declaraon of Students Rights

that ESU has drawn up, which would mark a major step

forward in providing legal protecon for studentsrights across Europe.

For more informaon on the campaign, please visit:

www.lightsontherights.eu

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

esu-online.org

LightonStudent

Rights

n 2008, the poolprovided expertsfor 3 regionalequity training

events, more than20 institutionalquality assuranceevaluations and 5reviews of nationalA agencies.


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Planning a WorldConference on

Higher Educaon

Ten years on from the inaugural event, ESU has been

acvely involved in the preparaon commiee of the

UNESCO World Conference on Higher Educaon +10

(to be held in July 2009), including helping to shape the

agenda of the event. Given that student parcipaon in

the rst WCHE was extremely dicult to secure, the key

role that ESU is now playing in this event is a tribute to the

success and recognion gained by the organisaon and

the student movement as a whole in the last few years.

In addion, we have been working on the coordinaon

of a meeng of the various regional student plaorms inJanuary 2009 (with the support of UNESCO and Educaon

Internaonal). This meeng 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

plaorm for global student cooperaon.

A new Euro-MediterraneanUniversity

ESU was also at the forefront of the founding of Europesnewest, and rst pan-European, university. EMUNI, or

the Euro-Mediterranean University, is a unique project to

create an internaonal university based in Slovenia. The

key missions of the EMUNI University are:

To improve the quality of higher educaon with study

and research program implementaon;

To become an internaonal university, which will

take into consideraon cultural diversity;

EMUNI University will signicantly contribute to theharmonisaon of the higher educaon area and to the

lasng development of the wider socio-economic and

cultural environment in EUROMED countries, as well

as providing greater recognion for Slovenia in the

Mediterranean Union region. ESU is proud to be one

of the ocial co-founders of this latest addion to the

European higher educaon scene.


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ESU took a major step into the eld of

quality assurance by performing the

rst full evaluaon of a naonal quality

assurance agency, ARACIS in Romania, in

accordance with the European Standards

and Guidelines (ESG). Doing so has

put ESU on the map of organisaons

recognised as able to successfullyperform such a comprehensive review.

Ensuring quality inhigher educaon

Another key development in quality

assurance occurred with the creaon

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 informaon and trust-building tool

allowing higher educaon instuons,

students and the labour market to

idenfy credible and legimate quality

assurance agencies. As a full member

of EQARs governing board, ESU willconnue to play a primary role in the

development of this, a major agent for

change in higher educaon.

In a signicant mark

of recognion, ESUs

Chairperson 2007-

2008, Koen Geven, was

nominated to join the

collegium of the Magna

Charta Observatory.

As its highest governing body, the collegium is

responsible for upholding fundamental rights

within higher educaon, safeguarding instuonal

autonomy and protecng against academic

corrupon.


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Involving and empowering members is a key ESU

objecve, and one of the main mechanisms for achieving

this are the bi-annual European Student Convenons.

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 resulng Ljubljana

Declaraon consists of the following elements:

Democrasingthe student

movement

The recognion of students as a

major catalyst of reform;

ESU as a promoter of student

representaon 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

democrasaon process;

A pledge to remove barriers across

borders and show solidarity with

students across the globe.

The objecves above all form part of

an overarching goal for ESU to providean eecve plaorm to represent

uropean students with one voice.

This Declaraon has set the tone for

SUs work in 2008 and into 2009,

creang a solid focus on building a

stronger student movement.


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StructureContent Commiees

To support the work of the Execuve Commiee,the Board also elects representaves to sit on oneof ve content commiees:

Academic Aairs Commiee - The AAChas responsibility for developing experse and

representaon regarding academic aairs, the

AAC deals with issues such as quality assurance,

qualicaons frameworks, ECTS and student-

centred learning, and crucially, coordinates work

relang to the Bologna Process.

Social Aairs Commiee The SAC is taskedwith researching, training and represenng students

in the eld of social aairs of higher educaon. Social

aairs involves quesons of access, parcipaon in,

and compleon of, ones studies. It therefore involves

all the work regarding the social dimension of higher

educaon, including nancial aairs, students health,

accomodaon and work.

Student Union Development Commiee The SUDC is tasked with supporng the developmentof student unions in Europe. In parcular, it focuses on

meeng the training and informaon needs of student

organisaons, building capacity and dealing with

membership issues.

Administraon Commiee This commiee isresponsible for nances, public relaons and internal

working condions. It works in parallel with the

secretariat and the vice chair in carrying out its work.


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Gender Equality Cross Commiee The role of this commiee is to ensure theimplementaon of ESUs 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

commiees.

Structure

Working Groups - In addion to the contentcommiees, the Board can choose to create working

groups to full a specic funcon for a certain period

of me. NUSes can apply to chair a working group for

the duraon of its mandate.

ESU currently has six working groups in operaon:

Internaonal Cooperaon Working Group

Mobility Working GroupUkraine Working Group

Doctoral Studies, the rd Cycle and Research

Working Group

E-learning Working Group

Working Group on Studying with a Disability in

Higher Educaon

Commission of Internal Audit - The Commissionof Internal Audit (or CIA) is a separate structure that is

directly accountable to the Board. It exists to monitor

the administraon and nances of the organisaon

and to report on these at each board meeng.

The Secretariat - The operaonal acvies ofthe Execuve Commiee are supported by a small

secretariat, consisng of a Financial O cer, an

Informaon and Communicaons O cer and a Project

O cer. All are based at ESUs headquarters in the

centre of Brussels..


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Looking aheadto 2009...

Building a stronger student movement -thats the headline of ESUs plan of work in2009, recognion of the fact that the greaterthe capacity of the student movement, thefurther we will get in terms of achieving atruly student-centred learning paradigm forEuropean higher educaon.

In parcular, ESU will be direcng its eortstowards:

1. Defending students rights through thedevelopment of the student movement- for example through the UNESCO WorldConference on Higher Educaon.

2. Democrasaon of higher educaonthrough fostering the social dimension

and equity - centring around ESUs Equityin Higher Educaon from a StudentsPerspecve project.

. Quality higher educaon for all, withstudents in the centre - including addressingthe needs of doctoral students and creanga diversied body of lifelong learners.

4. 20% mobile students by 2020 - movingtowards the European dimension of HEthrough making student mobility a reality.

With key events coming up, such as theMinisterial Conference of the BolognaProcess in April, and the World Conferencein Higher Educaon in July, it promises to bean excing year !


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ESU currently has 47 member NUSes from 8 countries:

Albania - Albanian Student Government (ASG)Belarus - Belarus Student Associaon (BSA) Belgium - Fdraon Des Etudiants Francophones (FEF)

Belgium - Vlaamse Vereniging van Studenten (VVS)

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

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

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

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

Denmark DSF Finland - Suomen ammakorkeakouluopiskelijakunen liio (SAMOK)

Estonia EUL Finland - Suomen Ylioppilaskunen Liio (SYL)

France - Fdraon des Associaons Gnrales DEtudiants (FAGE)

France - Union Naonale des Etudiants de France (UNEF)

Georgia - Students Organizaons League of Georgia (SOLG)

Germany FZS Hungary - HOKIceland - Studentarad Haskola Islands (SHI)

Ireland - Union of Students in Ireland (USI)


Our Members

Austria - sterreichische HochschlerInnenscha (H)


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

Latvia - Latvijas Studentu Apvieniba (LSA)Lithuania - (LSAS)

Luxembourg - Union Naonale des Etudiant(e)s du Luxembourg (UNEL)Lithuania - Lietuvos Studentu Sajunga (LSS)

Macedonia - Naonal Union of Students of Macedonia (NUSM)Malta - Kunsill Studen Universitarji (KSU)

Netherlands - Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg (ISO)Netherlands - Landelijke Studenten Vakbond (LSVb)

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

Poland - PSRPPoland - ZSP Portugal - FAIRe

Romania - Alianta Naonala a Organizailor Studentes 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 - SFSSwitzerland - Verband der Schweizerischen StudentInnenschaen

(VSS-UNES-USU)

Ukraine - Ukrainian Associaon of Student Self-government(UASS)

UK - Naonal Union of Students (NUS-UK)



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Training and capacity building is a central feature

of how we work with our members. Each board

meeng is preceded by a high-level seminar to build

knowledge and skills on a relevant topic. In 2008, the

topics were equity in higher educaon and student-

centred learning.


The bi-annual European Student Convenons

are packed with training sessions, workshops

and seminars to help unions both funcon

beer internally, and perform beer externally.

Together, these events give board members theopportunity to meet face-to-face on a quarterly

basis, creang a strength and unity that is rare

among membership organisaons.

ESU regularly produces publicaons, such as the

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 wrien materials are

provided free of charge, whilst aendance at training

is heavily subsidised.

With a huge diversity in our members,

including some that struggle to meet

basic expenses such as the nominal

membership fee, ESU runs a solidarity

fund to provide addional nancial

support to unions, so that those with

fewer resources do not lose out as a

result.

Another permanent xture is

a BM for Beginners session

to give those new to theBoard the opportunity to nd

out how it works and thereby

maximise their involvement.

Involving

members

SUsmembersare at theeart ofeverythingwe do.


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ESU has a close collaboraon

with organisaons suchas MENON, a European

innovaon and research

network, and Scienter, a

European research and

innovaon centre, on projects

in the eld of higher educaon

and training. Examples include

the Hextlearn and Access-Asia

projects that ESU is currently

involved with, which you

can read more about on our

website.

In addion 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 instuonal

relaons and evaluaon

programmes, and the Access-

Africa project designed to

build relaons between higher

educaon instuons in Europe

and Africa.

Much of ESUs external work is

conducted through an alliance of

higher educaon organisaons.

Known as the E4 group, this

team consisng of ESU, EUA

(European University Associaon),ENQA (European Network for

Quality Assurance) and EURASHE

(European Associaon of

Instuons in Higher Educaon)

regularly works together on issues

of mutual interest and concern, and

is considered a highly influenal

and well-respected player inEuropean higher educaon.

ESU is a member of the

European Youth Forum

(YFJ) and contributes to

their work on educaon

policy at European level.

Who we

work with

artnerships the key toaximising the

tudent inputnto higherducation policy

2008 has also seen increasingly close

collaboraon with UNESCO, rstly in terms

of promong a greater global student

dialogue, and secondly in ghng against

disreputable higher educaon providers

and ensuring full implementaon of the joint OECD-UNESCO guidelines for quality

provision in higher educaon.


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18%

55%

%

1%16%

7%

income sources realised

members

EU Commission

CoE

Education International

Private sector

In-kind

As an NGO, ESU relies heavily on funding from European and internaonal

instuons for its connued operaon. 2008 connued the trend of previous

years with an overall increase in total income. The European Commission

connues to account for the majority of the money received from internaonal

project grants.

ESU also receives nancial support for its projects from the Council of Europe.

Both the Commission and the Council of Europe addionally provide the

administrave grant for ESUs core funcons and overall sustainability.

We want to thank our external partners for providing nancial support to enable

ESU elected representaves to parcipate in a number of higher educaonevents, which it woul not be possible for them to do otherwise.

Finances


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Finances

20%

6%

5%

15%

54%

Expenditure 2008

personnel

administrative expenses

internal missions

other

projects and activities

In terms of expenditure, the paern follows that of 2007 with the majority share

in 2008 allocated to projects and acvies - enabling ESU to deliver on its aims,

objecves 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 implementaon of a Brussels-based

vice chairpersons posion.

Other costs include commiee travel expenses and other unforeseen travel

and accommodaon expenses, membership fees of partner organisaons such

as the European Youth Forum (YFJ), and the running of a solidarity fund for those

NUSes unable to aord membership fees to be part of ESU.


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2008 in ESU was a great experience - one whichgave me the opportunity to work with people fromdierent countries across Europe in a dynamic,

internaonal environment. And it was an experience

which I will never forget.

Mahew Tabone, Execuve Commiee member2007-8

ESU faced a number of posive internal changes last year.

Some of them have been implemented already, requiring

an addional eort 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 menon.

Anita Lice, ESU Vice-Chair 2008-9

That was the year that was...

2008 has been great year to be in ESU and in the rst Student Union Development

Commiee. Overall, it has been a very inspiring, busy and excing mandate. We

have managed to create rst Students Union Development Handbook. I became

a trainer in the ESU trainers pool, and the Mobility Campaign, Lets GO!, has

been carried out which, personally, has been fantasc and one of most interesng

projects to work on. I could connue but importantly, I want to underline the

importance of the team spirit and the collegiality in the commiee, which made

the work an absolute pleasure.

Kate Chachava, Student Union Development Commiee 2008.

h h h


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Joining ESU was one of the best decisions

I have ever made. I met a lot of interesng

people, Ive worked in a smulang

mulcultural environment and I was able

to shape parts of the organisaon and the

European student movement. In parcular,

the work with and for dierent naonal

student organisaons movated me even

in mes when I felt as if the workload wouldcrush me.

Jens Jungblut, Student Union DevelopmentCommiee 2008-9

Being in ESU means being at the heart

of the processses that change andshape European higher educaon.

2008 was a mixed pleasure. It was

good because it showed me that the

student movement is ever-opmisc

and relentless in its pursuit of a beer

higher educaon system for all.

It was bad because I also saw that

the most important decision-makers

are sll scared to commit in pracce

to the goals we all seem to share.

Olav ye, Execuve Commiee2008-9

That was the year that was...Influencing policy at a European level

is a mammoth task and something that

NUS Scotland simply wouldnt be able

to do on our own. ESU is the collecve

voice that delivers for Sco sh students

on a European level, enabling us and

other European NUSes to achieve so

much more than we would be able

to alone. For me as part of the ESU

team, Ill never forget the cooperaon

among student o cers from across

Europe which is truly inspiraonal and

ulmately delivers for students.

Liam Burns, Academic Aairs

Commiee, 2008-9


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The ESU 2008 Acvity Report:Content: Frances Aldson, Ligia Deca, Olav ye, Anita Lice

Eding: Frances Aldson, Bert Vandenkendelaere

Layout and design : Frances Aldson, Linus Rowedda

Images: Bea Uhart, Frances Aldson, Quenn DelvalPrinted in Germany by TU Bergakademie Stura, Freiburg.

Contacts:Execuve Commiee: [email protected]

Academic Aairs Commiee: [email protected]

Social Aairs Commiee: [email protected]

Student Union Development Commiee: [email protected]

Commiee for Internal Development: [email protected]


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