ESNA European Higher Education News

ESNA or ESNA European Higher Education News is an independent online news agency and journalism network that dedicates itself to providing a news and information service in the area of European higher education and research. ESNA aims to act as a mediator within the European higher education community and as its communication channel with the wider media. Since its launch in 2008, ESNA has combined journalistic coverage of European policy developments with analysis of cross-border educational systems, focusing on global mobility, networks, funding and legislation. ESNA monitors the EU’s science policy and the internationalisation of European universities. The agency’s services include multilingual press reviews and news coverage, dossiers, book reviews, policy research monitoring, conference alerts, reports, video journalism and translation. ESNA aims to be an independent journalistic observer working in a humanistic tradition.

History

ESNA originates from LETSWORK Journal for Student Work, a quarterly journal that was first published in 1999 by the student labour agency TUSMA in Berlin. TUSMA provided 20,000 international students with jobs and started LETSWORK as a cross-cultural channel to advise students on immigration and labour laws.

In 2002, LETSWORK evolved into WORK|OUT European Students’ Review, published by the cultural association Letswork e.V. in Berlin. This new review published free and multilingual news in German, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish university cities and organised conferences and cultural events in Italy and Germany.

Thanks to its “innovative content and novel approach to print media”, WORK|OUT won the national award, Premio Palinsesto Italia, in 2004 and 2005 in the print and multimedia sector. In 2006, WORK|OUT was recognised as one of the ten best student papers in Germany. 2006 also saw the emergence of Europe for Students (EforS). EforS was an offspring of WORK|OUT and was designed to link European students with one another. EforS was named Best Web Performance by the MLP Campus Press Award after only seven months of activity. Today, EforS has developed into CityiLike and provides social city guides.

As WORK|OUT moved away from its earlier student-centred interests into the broader area of higher education policy and management, the students’ review was beginning to develop into a separate organisation. Finally, in 2008 the core group of WORK|OUT saw the need for a new professional channel and ESNA European Higher Education News was founded.

Target Audience

ESNA aims to reach an extensive and varied target audience within European higher education. Its journalists focus on news relevant to university management, research organisations and student based professional associations, as well as trade unions, publishers, policy institutes and think-tanks. ESNA intends for its higher education-centred work to inform public bodies such as the European Commission and domestic education ministries. In addition to these organisations, it shares its material with other media outlets that focus on education policy. These include editorial offices, press agencies, education and science journalists and bloggers.

Content

ESNA’s news network consists of young journalists focusing on European higher education news and analysis, developments, conferences and events. Issues covered include: international university rankings, international student recruitment, globalisation and higher education research. Also, tertiary education systems, policies and reforms, higher education funding and liberalisation. Their remit also covers EU policy and the Bologna Process. ESNA has an interest in highlighting social and financial barriers to participation, academic mobility and intercultural dialogue in higher education.

Network and Activities

ESNA manages a network of correspondents across Europe. It is currently operating on four levels:

1. Editorial office in Berlin
2. Correspondents/freelance journalists
3. A network of expert analysts
4. Partner organisations and partner media

Network building and reader engagement are integral to ESNA’s modus operandi. Another way ESNA integrates with the scientific community is through the organisation and moderation of conferences. The news agency also offers internships on a bi-annual basis for international students and graduates.

Political Stance

ESNA is an independent journalistic observer and publisher of objective information. They translate news stories from their original languages into English and German to promote easier access to articles pertaining to European higher education and science policy. In April 2005, ESNA’s forerunner WORK|OUT organised a conference on Censorship and Free Media at the University of Venice IUAV. At this event, Peter Preston, then editor of the Guardian newspaper, helped to inspire ESNA’s mission, which was to be founded three years later. Mr Preston stated that “It’s the bit that Europe’s founding fathers left out. We are building a great new edifice of freedom without a free press which mirrors and shadows that growth. This has to be ground up, built on individual contacts and individual enthusiasms. We have to start building our own public opinion, and the moment is now.”