NESSIE - Network of Experts on Student Support in Europe

NESSIE - Network of Experts on Student Support in Europe
Composition
Countries:
Austria, Belgium (Flemish Community), Belgium (French Community), Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Finland - KELA, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Norway - State Education Loan Fund, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Sweden - CSN, UK/EWNI, UK/Scotland.
Organisations:
The European Students' Union,
European Commission (DGEAC)
European University Association
BFUG Secretariat
Purpose
To promote the portability of grants and loans in order to facilitate greater mobility of students across the European Higher Education Area
To support the related objectives of achieving more balanced flows of incoming and outgoing students across the European Higher Education Area and an improved participation rate from diverse student groups
To offer practical solutions for member countries in implementing schemes of portable student support
To share information on developments in relation to the portability of student grants and loans in order to ensure balanced and sustainable mechanisms to support the mobility of students
To raise issues of common concern in relation to the portability of student supports
Specific Tasks
The Co-Chairs – three countries (currently, Germany, Norway, Romania) jointly share the tasks of organising, chairing and structuring the network.
Data exchange – development of a mechanism for facilitating the exchange of data between student support agencies in participating countries in order to ensure balanced and sustainable mechanisms to support the mobility of students. 
Database of information – comparable information on grants and loans systems in various European countries is collected by the network and maintained, together with individual contact addresses in ministries and grants/loans agencies, in a password-protected section on the Bologna website.  The network proposes to extend this activity to providing information tailored for public consumption on the non-password protected section of the Bologna website.
Query response mechanism – this informal electronic forum for sharing policy and practical information has evolved as part of the ongoing e-mail communication within the network.  It has become an important tool for informing policy and effectively functions as a European grants and loans query response mechanism.
Liaison – in response to paragraph 19 of the ministerial communiqué of Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve, the network proposes to liaise with the Bologna Social Dimension Working Group to examine how the portability of student grants and loans might facilitate greater mobility of diverse student groups.
Outcomes: NESSIE's Country Information Templates - available here
Last Update
News and documents.
Contact Person
Torill Maseide - Norway
Bjørn Rossevatn - Norway
Andreas Schepers - Germany
Juliane Reimers - Germany
Marilena Din - Romania.