Emre Ilpars
Erasmus is one of the most impactful projects of the European Union that changes lives. My Czech Republic story started with an Erasmus student at my home university, introducing the University of Chemistry and Technology (UCT) and Prague 10 years ago. With inspiration from her, I studied my master's at UCT between 2016-2018 and am currently in my 4th year of a PhD program.
At the beginning of my stay, I have joined the activities organised by a student club, the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) of UCT Prague, as they were the most English friendly. ESN UCT volunteers were super welcoming and asked me if I would like to help them with organisation of events. That’s how my journey in ESN UCT began and how they became my second family throughout the years. I have started as Events Manager around 2017/2018 and got elected as the President of their board for the academic year 2023/2024.
As a part of a network consisting of 500+ local student clubs, 19 in Czech Republic, we are a team of (mostly) UCT students who are helping and organising impactful activities for international students of UCT. We also assist our International Relations Office (IRO) with returning and outgoing local students, organise and join meetings and workshops for our volunteers to gain various soft skills.
International students register to our Buddy System Artemis before they arrival. Based on their availability, a local buddy takes the student, contacts and assists them in their first days. This can be by picking them up from the airport/train/bus station, by helping with the paperwork at the dormitories, and by giving practical information.
Before the semester begins, we organise an Orientation Week (OW). Together with IRO, we help international students during their enrolment. We continue the OW with several activities to break ice, create bridges between different cultures, to introduce Prague, Czech Republic, and Czech culture, ending with an international “Seznamovák”.
During the semester, our cornerstone event is called Culture Evenings where international students prepare samples from their cuisine for others to taste, introduce their culture with a presentation, and host an activity, such as teaching a traditional dance. This event is open not only for Erasmus students, but for everyone, including locals, who are interested in knowing more about a different culture, so everyone is more than welcome to join.
As being an ESN member is on volunteering basis, we respect everyone’s time and availability. Some of our members help only during OW, some only organise a trip, some are super active. If you would like to know more about us or join our team as a member or as a buddy, please send us an email to hr@esnuct.cz