ESN Split
The tale of ESN Split started in 2012, as a group of local students started their journey of supporting international students who chose Split as a place for their international study experience.
Each semester, around 200-250 students select Split as a new chapter of their lives. Our aim is to introduce them to our lovely city and attract more and more students each semester. Furthermore, our volunteers are highly dedicated to promotion of international mobility through Erasmus+ and other programmes. Since 2019, University of Split is a part of the SEA-EU Alliance (European University of the Seas), along with University of Cadiz, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, University of Gdánsk, University of Malta and University of Kiel, with our volunteers actively participating in promoting the initiative and working on the student council.
Our local association consists of approximately 60 student volunteers from different faculties of the University of Split. The recruitment process is held at the beginning of each semester, but students are always free to contact us and join our ESN family. In case you are interested in joining ESN Split, you can contact us via Facebook, Instagram, or email at hr@esnsplit.com and vicepresident@esnsplit.com.
Our section is divided into smaller teams and each team has a specific function. Active members choose among themselves one person to lead the following teams:
Event (current coordinator: Franka Vitezica)
PR (current coordinator: Ana Maroš)
Travel (current coordinator: Bepo Radić)
Social Inclusion (current coordinator: /)
Health and Well-being (current coordinator: Alen Đidelija)
Project (current coordinator: Karmen Svalina)
Intercultural Exchange and Mobility (current coordinator: Jelena Špika)
Human Resources (current coordinator: Denis Marušić)
Partnership (current coordinator: Karmen Kunčić)
Buddy Coordinator (current coordinator: /)
For the academic year 2020/21, the Local Board of ESN Split consists of:
Renato Šikić as President
Danijela Bilonić as Vice-President
Sara Braovac as Treasurer
Both active and passive members can be a part of a project called The Buddy System. This is a special part of every ESN section, as a buddy is a local student that provides help to incoming international students prior and during their international exchange in Split. They help out with paperwork, getting around or anything else international students might need. Every incoming student has the right to apply for a Buddy. Upon students’ arrival to Split, they are introduced to the Campus, their Buddies, and they are provided with all the necessary information regarding their stay in their host city. Any inquiries about this can be asked at buddy@esnplit.com.
During their stay, Erasmus students are engaged in a plethora of activities organised by ESN Split that meets them with a historical background of the city centre, beautiful islands in the region, breath-taking coast, and blue sea that is mentioned all around the world. Besides visiting islands, exploring Mediterranean culture and National Parks, they can be a part of events such as pub quizzes, National Evenings, Language Tandem, and many others.
Social Inclusion Team takes care of organising charity events for both Erasmus people and locals (Date Auction, blood donation, dog-walking) cooperating with local associations like “Zvono”, “MoST”, “Providnost”, “NO-KILL Animal Rescue Shelter”, local “Red Cross”, etc.
Some of the projects the section has participated in are Europska Cooltura, Edukacijom do karijere, and Kultura je važna. Besides that, we have written projects and gotten support from the City of Split, the Student Center, and University of Split.
Our work throughout the years was recognised by the ESN AISBL through these awards:
Section in the Spotlight award - Network Committee (2016)
Movin’ Europe Activity of the Month (2016)
MEekend award - with ESN Zagreb (2017)
1st place for SeCoSTAR: Section Cooperation with ESN Zagreb (2018)
3rd place for careerSTAR: Employ Your Skills (2018)
ESN Split has won 5 STARawards at the National Platform of ESN Croatia held in May 2020:
Best Culture Event for Culture Workshops
Best Social Inclusion Event for the tournament with the homeless people
visibilitySTAR because we had the most posts, reportage and guest appearances in the media.
Best Awareness Campaign for the Forum Theatre
Best Lockdown Practice for our cooking workshops on Instagram
There is also one more award we got very recently, which makes us just as proud as the others: ESN Alumni Award - for the outstanding work supporting international students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
National events organised by ESN Split so far:
6th National Platform of ESN Croatia (2015)
13th National Platform of ESN Croatia (2018)
3rd Local Boards Meeting (2019)
19th National Platform of ESN Croatia (2021)
... and we also organised the first ever Local Platform of ESN Split in December 2018!
ESN Split was the first to start a Local platform in 2018. The whole event is created to highlight the local ESN community, on its strengthening and connecting the Local Board, coordinators, new and old members. The event consists of presentations, workshops, discussions, reports from the state and international level and mini team building. The event has received very positive feedback from members of the local ESN section and the members have expressed a desire for it to be maintained on a regular basis.
Each segment of the Local Platform has space for members' questions, comments, constructive criticisms and suggestions for future work. After the event and socialising for two days we believe that there is increased motivation, desire for progress and intimacy, and knowledge itself among the members of the association at the local level and we will certainly continue to maintain this event 1-2 times a year. For now, we have had four local platforms, one in 2018 and one in 2019 and two in 2021. Besides the Local Platform, ESN Split has organised 3 Local Section Trainings in 2021.
ESN Split is here to guide you through the discovery of Split, an amazing city filled with vibrant people, beautiful scenery, a mixture of traditional and modern, all of which makes it a perfect place for your Erasmus stay!
