HISTORY

The establishment of the first section of ESN in Poland (ESN Warsaw) in May 1994 at SGH Warsaw School of Economics can be considered the beginning of its existence.

The name ESN SGH was adopted in 1998, with the creation of new sections in Warsaw and throughout Poland. The functioning of our organization at that time was based on helping foreign students in cooperation with the relevant authorities of the university, which we are still doing today.

In 2003, the first nationwide meeting was held on the initiative of the then president of our section, Artur Orłowski and the president of ESN Gdańsk, Michał Zasada. At the meeting, the first nationwide projects were also established, initiated by the ESN SGH – including: Tandem and ESNcard, which was then appointed to an international project and now constitutes one of the foundations of the functioning of our organization throughout Europe.

In 2005, with the official registration of the ESN Poland Association, we became a part of a nationwide organization, which currently has 33 sections under it in many cities in Poland.

Initially, ESN SGH’s activities were mainly based on helping foreign students to adapt to the new environment. However, over the course of time and a growing number of incoming Erasmus students, our organization has developed its activities both to enable foreign students to develop and learn about Polish culture (ESNcard, Buddy, ESN Travel, Summer University Warsaw, International Dinner) as well as substantive and entertainment projects aimed at students of our university (Down to Business, Found your Future), secondary school students (Projekt Nauka, Kierunek Ekonomia) and the local community (Manufaktura Kultury).