End of Mandate: Robert Napier,  ESU President (1/7/2019- 15/10/2020)

In life all good things come to an end- and today marks the end of the student activism chapter in my life- a seven year chapter which offered me countless opportunities and experiences, and which helped shape me into the person I am today. Although I truly wanted to remain within the organisation till the last day of the mandate, a new chapter of my professional life begins tomorrow, within the European institutions.

I joined ESU as a delegate in 2017, and soon after, assumed the office of Vice-President in 2018. The learning curve was extremely steep- but I feel proud when I look back and see what the organisation has achieved over the past two mandates, both internally and externally, and most particularly when it comes to policy. I am a bit biased in saying that we have managed to secure that the Social Dimension remains high on the European agenda; and yet we still have a very long way to go to ensure accessibility, inclusion and diversity of higher education across Europe and beyond. 

I would sincerely like to take this opportunity to thank all partners, stakeholders and individuals with whom I have had the pleasure to work over the past years. It has truly been a pleasure to work with you all, and I hope that our paths cross again in the near future. Although I am leaving the organisation, I promise you my complete commitment, now and in the future, to continue in this fight to ensure that the students’ voices are heard at all levels, and that every student, regardless who they are or where they come from, can have the opportunity to access and successfully complete their studies. 

To the Executive Committee, the Board and the Secretariat- thank you for your commitment towards the organisation and for working unbelievably hard to uphold the values of this organisation and maintain the standing that ESU has managed to achieve over the years. 

I remain, Yours sincerely,

Robert Napier

ESU President

1/7/2019- 15/10/2020