The origin of the ESN-section in Hamburg lies in a group called Mentor AG (AG = Arbeitsgemeinschaft, could be translated to work group or project group). It was founded as a part of the AStA (General Students' Committee) of the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) in May 2002. The goal of the AG was to take care of foreign exchange students at the TUHH. Therefore a buddyprogram was established where local mentors were assigned to international mentorees they could help with their problems and to just be friends with them. The 54 original members of the Mentor AG also organized several activities such as dragon boating, trips to the christmas market in Lüneburg, picnics at the beach of the Elbe-river and of course partys.
In 2006 the Mentor AG joined the Erasmus Student Network (ESN), because the goals of the AG and ESN fit perfectly together. The accession to the Network also gave the Mentor AG the opportunity to cooperate with other ESN-sections when the AG was planning trips and tours. A highlight of these cooperations was the organization of ESNters 2010 in Hamburg. Hundreds of forgeign exchange students of our partner-sections and their members came to our city to explore it together and to celebrate the whole weekend. At the following ESNters events our international students could do the same in Munich, Dresden, Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt (on the Main).
In September 2011 it was decided that the Mentor AG was renamed to ESN Hamurg-Harburg AG or short ESN AG. The reason for this was on the one hand to end the unpractical double naming and on the other hand to emphasize and deepen the connection with ESN. In 2013 the AG was again renamed to ESN Hamburg AG.
2014, it was again our pleasure to host ESNters in Hamburg.
From 2018 until now, in 2022, we have developed from a student organization that operated exclusively at the TUHH to a Hamburg-wide student organization. We have welcomed members from different universities to our team, like the UHH, HAW and HCU. Also, exchange student from all of these universities have joined our activities and events and are always welcome to do so. Although we have our proud roots at the TUHH and have lots of members studying at this university, we do encourage any Hamburger student who is interested to join our team.
Our goals haven't changed during the years, nevertheless the portfolio of our events grew and can still be extended by new creative members. A nice bonus at the end of the ESN-career is the certificate one can get from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) which is always a nice addition to the CV.
In conclusion, it is very fun to help international students to get along in Germany and Hamburg and to get to know the world right on our own doorstep at the same time!