Erasmus Student Network Lisboa is a team of volunteer students, part of the European NGO Erasmus Student Network. We are a mix of Portuguese and international students who share an interest in intercultural exchanges, travelling, and showing our city.

We organise events of many different types, from Welcome Days to receive new students at their universities, to trips across the country. We study in many universities across the city, so you can easily find us. We are often wearing our green hoodies and go by the nickname 'Sardines'.

ESN Lisboa is the largest ESN section in Portugal, in terms of activities and the number of exchange students we help. We are also the only non-profit organisation in Lisbon fully composed of volunteers, top to bottom.

ESN Lisboa was founded in September 2008 by a small group of Portuguese students who had just returned from their Erasmus. We started as an informal student group and organised activities in the first semester of 2008 for no more than 150 exchange students at Instituto Técnico de Lisboa (IST). Later that year, ESN grew and started helping all exchange students from the faculty.

In 2009, ESN Lisboa took a crucial leap and started offering its support and activities to all exchange students in Lisbon. More than 50 different activities were organised throughout this year, targeting almost 2 000 exchange students. Nowadays, we take pride in providing support to the over 16 000 students who pass through Lisbon yearly.

We really hope that you will have the best experience of your life in Lisboa so be sure that we will do everything that we can to make this possible for all.

By 2025, ESN will be the global network of the Erasmus Generation, committed to improving international education and providing self-development opportunities to two million young people, fostering intercultural understanding and creating positive change in society.