First Business Needs forum with European Universities alliances

A key element of the European Student Card (ESC) governance model, the ESC Business Needs Forum is designed to consult stakeholders on the ESC deployment and ensure that their needs are considered in future developments.

The first Business Needs Forum gathered 20 participants representing eight different European Universities alliances including: EC2U, EU-CONEXUS, CIVICA, EDUCA, FOR-EU 1 and EPICUR, FORTHEM, and CHARM-EU.

Participants tested the functionalities and features of the revamped European Student Card Router (ESC-R, currently under development) and discussed potential improvements. They also shared feedback on the services offered through their student cards and the ESC, on the obstacles they have encountered, and on potential improvements that could be implemented in the future.

Summary of key inputs

• over half of the participants consider that the new (soon-to-be-deployed) ESC-R is easy to use and navigate and that it meets their needs
• the services that they would like to offer through the ESC include access to physical and digital library repositories, sports facilities, dorms, cafeterias, and health insurance; on-campus payments and printing services; and discounts
• most are still issuing physical cards for their students to access student services
• improvements are needed to facilitate identification of higher education institutions in the ESC-R; integrate the ESC-R with other European digital platforms; facilitate interoperability; and onboard public service providers