On the 8th of April, 2025, the ESC-tension 2 team met up in the lovely student city of Caen, France, for their third big international project meeting. And guess what? Things are getting exciting, especially with the “Student Toolbox” just around the corner!
What’s ESC-tension 2 all about?
ESC-tension 2 is a Europe-wide project that’s here to make your student life simpler, smarter, and more connected. Its main goal? To boost awareness and use of the European Student Card (ESC), a card that can help you access student services all over Europe, from libraries and cafeterias to transportation, housing, and more, even when you're studying abroad.
But here’s the important part: the ESC isn’t a new plastic card. It’s a digital system that allows your existing university student card to work across Europe, as long as your university is part of the ESC network. No new card, no new application. Just one more reason to ask your university to join!
And that’s where you and ESN come in. Throughout this project, ESN has played a key role in making sure student voices are heard and that the tools being built reflect what students want and need. From mobility issues to digital access, this project is shaped with student experiences in mind.
Meet the “Student Toolbox”
At the heart of this meeting in Caen was the upcoming launch of the ‘Student Toolbox”, a set of tools aimed at raising student awareness about the ESC and the related benefits. Each of these tools goes in-depth on a specific aspect that is relevant for the use of the ESC in the different Student Journey phases (access, participation, and completion).
It’s packed with:
- 15 topics from how to use the ESC when you arrive in a new country, to how it helps you get involved in student life or wrap up your studies
- Fun interactive parts such as quizzes, feedback forms, and more, to keep it engaging and relevant.
Whether you're new to international mobility or interested in doing an Erasmus+ mobility, this toolbox will help you unlock the full potential of your ESC. And it's all coming soon, in English, French, Italian, and Portuguese!
What happened in Caen?
The project team used this meeting to fine-tune the toolbox structure and make sure it’s ready for launch. Then, things got hands-on with a collaborative workshop where partners worked in teams to design new tools and brainstorm ways to make them as useful and fun as possible for students.
What’s next?
The “Student Toolbox” is set to go live in a few months, and you'll be able to explore it at www.esc-tension.eu. After that, the focus will shift to making sure it's fully integrated into the ESC platform so it’s easy for you to access whenever you need it.
And finally, the team will meet one last time in April 2026 in Italy to wrap everything up in style.
Stay tuned, spread the word, and get ready to level up your international student life with the European Student Card.
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