The European Students’ Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 44 National Unions of Students (NUS) from 40 countries. The aim of ESU is to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at the European level towards all relevant bodies and in particular the European Union, Bologna Follow Up Group, Council of Europe and UNESCO. Through its members, ESU represents almost 20 million students in Europe. Established in 1982, ESU has witnessed many internal and external changes through the years while continuously developing itself to what it is right now: a professional advocacy and capacity building organisation that is influential and recognised as an important stakeholder at the European and international level.
Two of ESU’s key goals are to “promote equal opportunities for ALL students” and “facilitate widened participation in higher education, particularly for students from marginalized groups and those lacking representation.” These principles lie at the heart of ESU’s decision to engage in this project. Driven by its mission to advance student rights, ensure quality education, and advocate for a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable higher education system across Europe, ESU recognizes the critical need for students to actively shape their learning experiences. Active engagement ensures that students have a meaningful voice in both their educational environment and the policies that influence them.
Arno Schrooyen, Vice-President
Arno is currently serving as the Vice President of the European Students’ Union (ESU) for the 2024/25 term. Prior to joining the ESU’s Executive Committee in 2023/24, he studied a bachelor’s degree in hotel management in Brussels and is now doing a master degree in administrative science. He started his student journey back in 2019 on the local level. Later joined the national union of French speaking students of Belgium. Last year he joined the European level, entering the executive committee of ESU focusing on work related to Social dimension, public responsibility, internationalisation and mobility.
Jeanne Cuny, Project Officer
Jeanne is coordinating projects related to student engagement, inclusion and diversity in Higher Education, the European Student Card and the Bologna Process. She is a young professional who previously worked in the European Commission (DG EAC). She has experience in European Higher Education Policies and Projects from both institutional and beneficiary sides. She holds a master’s degree in European and International Studies from the Institut d’Etudes Européennes of Paris 8 as well as a master’s degree in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe.
Katariina Järve, Member Executive Committee
Katariina is 23 years old and she is coming from Estonia. Currently she is a master’s student studying International Relations and Region Studies. She has done her bachelor’s in Communications, Journalism and Economics. Before joining the Executive Committee of ESU she was the president of the Federation of Estonian Student Unions (EÜL) for 2 years and working in the student movement since elementary school. She is passionate about academic freedom, quality of education and social dimension of higher education.
Helena Saadeh, Communication Manager
Helena is handling the external communication which consists of the organization’s social media platforms and website. She is responsible for the SEO techniques and publishing/categorizing of the content. Helena creates and edits the graphics and videos for the campaigns and writes the scripts for interviews and podcasts. Concerning the internal communication, Helena is responsible for the flow of information regarding the communication within ESU, and the drafting of the internal and external newsletters. She is also responsible for training future interns and disseminating the projects and campaigns to the public.
Project Reference:
2024-1-DE01-KA220-HED-000251679
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