Despite the clear benefits of a unified system for students’ identity verification, at the time of the project proposal the European Student Card (ESC) had not yet achieved the expected and desired level of adoption across higher education institutions in Europe. ESC-tension 2 aimed to support and accelerate the uptake and effective use of the ESC by focusing on the demand side of the ecosystem, namely European students. Building on the results of the previous ESC-tension project, concluded in October 2022, the project pursued the objective of increasing students’ awareness and understanding of the ESC through the development of concrete engagement and communication tools. At the same time, the project sought to empower students to play an active role in encouraging universities and higher education institutions to adopt and implement the European Student Card framework more broadly.
ESC-tension 2 originates from the gap that still exists between the ESC existence and its actual adoption and implementation by the HEIs. During this project, partners have collectively tried to address the following needs: 1) Less awareness among European students of the potential of ESC: the Student Toolbox indeed contains the outreach path and content to raise awareness among students about ESC and its potential; 2) Low ability of European students to use ESC: the training and operational tools contained in the Student Toolbox aimed at leading the students to a full understanding of its functionality in terms of access to services throughout the academic journey (Student Journey) and spread awareness among peers. 3) High degree of fragmentation at European level for the adoption of the ESC: the entire ESC-tension 2 operating suite should become the tool to overcome the high level of fragmentation. Thanks to Profiling Tool, Services Toolbox and Card Toolbox that have been integrated with the Student Journey model and the Student Toolbox, universities and students across the European Educational Area can use the platform as an operational reference for the adoption and use of the ESC.