ESN Sea Battle Fall 2012 - Cover Letter + Student Evaluation

ESN Sea Battle

www.esnseabattle.org

The ESN Sea Battle – Fall 2012: Unforgettable experience!

The ESN Sea Battle – Fall 2012 took place from the 18th to 21st of November, 2012. The event had in total 2200 participants from the six officially participating ESN countries: ESN Denmark, ESN Estonia, ESN Latvia, ESN Lithuania, ESN Norway and ESN Sweden. In total 38 ESN sections participated in the event; this edition of the event saw the participation of two new Norwegian ESN sections (ESN Ås and ESN Bergen) and two new Swedish ESN sections (ESN Borås and ESN BTH). The ESN Sea Battle Coordinator of the Swedish National ESN Board is the main coordinator of the ESN Sea Battle. The Fall 2012 edition of the ESN Sea Battle was based on the long-going traditions of the event, but also saw some new additions. For the first time, all participants were given a free ESN Sea Battle t-shirt, and new activities such as ERASMUS Bingo, ESN Quiz and Latin Party were organized. In order to honor the 25th anniversary of the ERASMUS Program, the ESN Sea Battle organized several ERASMUS related events such as ERASMUS Bingo, ERASMUS Quiz, ESN Quiz, etc. Thanks to the cooperation with Timetravels travel agency, one student also won a free student trip to Russia, organized by Timetravels. Each night of the event saw the students participating in a different theme party, with the ESN Write-On-Me Party being the most popular one. Over 500 students were also able to join the organized ESN sightseeing tours in Tallinn and Stockholm. For the first time ever, prior to the event, a high number of participants also participated in a virtual flash mob on the social media website Facebook. The Fall 2012 edition of the ESN Sea Battle saw also a record number of international guests, ESN volunteers from other countries, attending the event; we look forward to a similar interest towards the event also in the future. After the ESN Sea Battle an evaluation form of the event was sent out to all participants. 401 participants, representing a bit less than 20% of all participants, decided to evaluate the event. The results were great.: Over 88% of the participants were Satisfied or More than satisfied with the event. Over 75% thought that the ESN Group Leaders had done a Good or Excellent job during the event. 50% of the participants also expressed that they would definitely attend the event again the following spring. The complete results of the ESN Sea Battle – Fall 2012 Evaluation can now be found on the website of the ESN Sea Battle (http://esnseabattle.org/evaluation-fall-2012) as well as an annex to this cover letter. ESN Sweden is more than satisfied with the outcome of the event and the results of the evaluation. There are areas that can still be improved, but in general the event seems to have been a great success full with unforgettable experiences! The communication, both internally and with the participants of the event has been improved which leads to better informed participants. Other improvements are already being planned and the preparations for the next edition of the ESN Sea Battle are already in full progress! ESN Sweden and the ESN Sea Battle Coordinator are very much looking forward to the next edition of the ESN Sea Battle: Spring 2013, which will take place from the 21st to 24th of April, 2013.

ESN Sea Battle


The ESN Sea Battle Coordinator and ESN Sweden wishes to thank all participants that attended the ESN Sea Battle – Fall 2012, and all persons that filled in the evaluation form after the event. In addition special thanks goes to all Local and National ESN Sea Battle Coordinators as well as all partners that contributed to the event: Tallink Silja, Timetravels, all participating ESN sections and countries, DJ’s, Projekt Sex (P6) and Student Dance. We look very much forward to see you all at the ESN Sea Battle – Spring 2013!

For more information please contact: Oscar Boije, ESN Sea Battle Coordinator, ESN Sweden, [email protected] www.esnseabattle.org

The ESN Sea Battle is an international student cruise between Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia). The event takes place twice every year; usually in April and November. With its over 4300 participants annually, the ESN Sea Battle is one of the biggest student event in Europe. The ESN Sea Battle is proudly brought to you by ESN Sweden.

-- The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is one of the biggest non-profit interdisciplinary student associations in Europe, founded in 1989 to support and develop student exchange. ESN is present in more than 420 Higher

Education Institutions in 35 countries involving around 29,000 young people, offering its services annually to over 160,000 international students.

Evaluation of the ESN Sea Battle – Fall 2012Oscar Boije

ESN Sea Battle Coordinator

ESN Sweden

1. Introduction

The ESN Sea Battle – Fall 2012 took place from the 18th to 21st of November, 2012. The event had in total

just under 2200 participants from the six officially participating countries: ESN Denmark, ESN Estonia,

ESN Latvia, ESN Lithuania, ESN Norway and ESN Sweden. In total 38 ESN sections participated in the

event, with the addition of two new Norwegian and two new Swedish sections. The ESN Sea Battle

Coordinator of the Swedish National ESN Board is the head organizer of the ESN Sea Battle.

The participant evaluation form was launched the 25th of November and closed the 6th of December. In

total 401 participants from all the different participating countries filled in the evaluation form. The

results represent hence about 18% of the total amount of participants. The figure is high enough to give

a good overview of the general opinion of all participants of the event. The evaluation form was

anonymous, with the option to leave an email address in order to participate in the lottery of a free

ticket for the next ESN Sea Battle event.

The results of the evaluation form will be presented and studied below. Graphs and the most common

submitted comments as well as suggested areas of improvements will be studied and discussed.

2. Results

2.1 Result graphs

2.1.1 General satisfaction

In total just under 90% of all participants said to have been Satisfied or More than satisfied with the ESN

Sea Battle. Even if improvements can still be done in order to achieve an even higher percentage of

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satisfaction, the figure reached already this fall is remarkable and shows that the event and its

implementation seems to have been successful. The areas of improvement that could lead to an even

higher satisfaction percentage will be discussed below.

2.1.2 Organization

2.1.2.1 Buffet dinner

Just over 80% of all participants rated the buffet dinner that is included in the price of the ESN Sea Battle

to have been Good or Excellent. Another 15% was of the opinion that the buffet was of average

standard. This figure is also satisfactory. From the submitted comments it can be noted that the actual

organization of the dinner seems to be the main reason for possible lower rating, more than the actual

culinary content of the dinner.

2.1.2.2 Tax-free shopping

Almost 65% of the participants thought the Tax-Free shops on-board had Good or Excellent deals. An

additional 26% thought the prices were OK. Certain comments were submitted wishing for a greater

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variety of cold food in the shops, this is something that is out of ESN's hands, but the wishes will be

forwarded to the ferry company, who is responsible for the shops on-board.

2.1.2.3 ESN Group Leaders

Just under 75% of all participants estimated that the ESN Group Leaders did a Good or Excellent job

during the event. Only a small part, around 5% of the participants did not rate favorably the work of the

Group Leaders. The number is low, but need to be worked on further. Some of the comments that might

have affected this rating were related to the lack of information when being requested for assistance as

well as missing or late information regarding departures from home towns and other relevant practical

local information. Participants also requested from the Group Leaders a more united standing point

regarding the rules and their implementation. For future events the ESN Sea Battle organization will

ensure that all Group Leaders have a common understanding of the rules and how they should be

implemented.

2.1.2.4 Security guards

The work of the security guards was rated with lower scores than the work of the ESN Group Leaders. In

general the numbers are though satisfactory. The work of the security guards is always more straight

forward than that of the Group Leaders, which automatically leads to some discontent among the

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participants. Some specific example of the actions of the security guards were submitted and the most

relevant ones will be discussed with the security personnel when evaluating the past event and planning

the next one.

2.1.3 Program and activities

2.1.3.1 Sightseeing tours

In total around 500 students participated in the sightseeing tours in Stockholm and Tallinn. Most

participants attended only one of the sightseeing tours, but some few ones had the possibility to attend

the tours in both cities. Satisfaction with the tours was not rated in the evaluation, but from the

comments it appears that the satisfaction with tours divided the participants. Even if a high amount of

students appreciate the tours there is still room for improvement.

2.1.3.2 ESN Sea Battle t-shirt

Only a small part of the participants did not get their ESN Sea Battle t-shirt, less than 5%. Many students

requested smaller t-shirt sizes; this is something the ESN Sea Battle organization will work with to

improve for the next event. The small group of participants that did not get the t-shirts could be

explained with the fact that the students didn't find fitting sizes or that they simply forgot to pick-up the

t-shirts. In any case the sizing issue will be one of the priorities to be improved for the next event.

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2.1.3.3 Favorite activities

The different theme parties organized during the event, together with the Karaoke and the ESN Sea

Battle dance, were the most popular events on-board. The Write-On-Me party was overwhelmingly the

most popular one, followed by the Pirates vs. Vikings party. Many participants expressed their

satisfaction with smaller events and requested more such events during later hours of the evening.

These suggestions will be evaluated and if possible implemented at the next event. The most important

conclusions from the evaluation was that participants appreciate smaller, more intimate events and

would be interested in attending such events in a greater extent, if only available.

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2.1.3.4 Favorite dance floor

The participants are split when it comes deciding the most popular dance floor on-board. Both the Ibiza

Disco and the Starlight Palace both got almost an equal high rating, the Ibiza Disco club being just slightly

more preferred than the Starlight Palace. These two dance floors are though remarkably more popular

than the Tango Lounge, possibly due to the styles of music played at them and also their opening hours.

2.1.4 Communication

2.1.4.1 Information prior to the event

Over 90% of all participants were of the opinion that they had got enough information about the event

prior to the actual event. The figure is notably similar to the results on the question if the participants

had got the official ESN Sea Battle mail (see 2.1.4.4), hence it could be that these issues are interrelated.

It becomes hence a higher priority to ensure that in the future 100% of all participants get the official

mail prior to the mail. As was mentioned earlier above, some students though also expressed that they

lacked proper or on-time information from their local levels regarding practical local arrangements.

There are hence several areas of improvement, both for the local organizations and for the central ESN

Sea Battle organization.

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2.1.4.2 Information during the event

In general just under 90% of the participants were satisfied with the information they got during the

event. Taking into consideration the high amount of participants and all on-going activities the figure is

satisfactory but should of course still be improved. Participants requested more frequent

announcements in the central speakers, as well as better informed ESN Group Leaders. Unfortunately

due to logistical problems also a part of the participants did not got access to the printed program fliers;

something that will not occur again in the future.

2.1.4.3 ESN Sea Battle website

The big majority of all participants had visited the ESN Sea Battle website prior to the event, even though

the number was a bit lower than the amount of students that received the official ESN Sea Battle mail.

Since the website contains the most practical and important information regarding the event, it becomes

essential to underline in the future the necessity to visit the website in order to be well-informed prior to

the event. The content of the website was not evaluated in the evaluation form, but neither did any

participants submit any complaints about missing information on the website, besides maybe the fact

that proper guides and information should be available on what to see and do in Stockholm and Tallinn.

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2.1.4.4 ESN Sea Battle emails

As mentioned above, the number of participants that received the ESN Sea Battle mail prior to the event

was very similar to the amount of participants that felt they had got enough information about the

event, prior to attending. Hence, in order to increase the awareness of the participants about the event's

information, it becomes relevant to aim for a higher percentage of email readers/receivers. This is a

technical issue that will be worked on by the central organization.

2.1.4.5 Best communication method

As expected, both the Facebook pages of the ESN Sea Battle and of the local ESN sections were

mentioned as the top three most useful ways to get information about the ESN Sea Battle. It is though

very satisfactory to also see that over 50% of the participants considered the website of the ESN Sea

Battle to be the best way to get information about the event. This is especially relevant since this

communication channel is different and more complete than social media channels like Facebook. It

must be concluded that to enable proper communication towards the participants, the ESN Sea Battle

organization and local ESN sections both need to work on maintaining active communication on their

Facebook channels, as well as the ESN Sea Battle organization needs to maintain the website of the ESN

Sea Battle up-to-date at all moments.

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2.1.4.6 Information about rules

It is very satisfactory to see that over 90% of the participants were of the opinion that they had been

informed about the rules of the ESN Sea Battle, prior to the event. It could be assumed that the inclusion

of the rules in the official ESN Sea Battle mail had a positive effect on the high number of students that

were aware of the rules. Regarding this point the most feasible way to increase the percentage of

awareness about the rules of the event would be to increase the successful reception of the ESN Sea

Battle mail.

2.1.5 Final questions

2.1.5.1 Previous participation

About 8% of the persons that filled in the evaluation form informed that they had taken part in the ESN

Sea Battle before. Since most participants are exchange or international students who only stay one or

two semester in one of the participating ESN countries, it must be assumed that most of the submissions

regarding previous participation come from ESN Group Leaders and other actives who indeed have

participated in previous editions of the event. In the evaluation of the spring edition of the ESN Sea

Battle it will become more relevant to compare if the figure is higher since the majority of international

or exchange students that stay for two semester do so over an academic year.

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2.1.5.2 Interest in future participation

It is positive to see that around 50% of the participants were of the opinion that they would absolutely

be interested in attending the event also next spring. It is though also a very remarkable amount of

students, about 25%, that is of the opinion that they would attend the event one more time, but only if

the destination was different from the one visited this fall. This has been evaluated in the past and will

be up for discussion also in the future. For the moment there are though no plans to change the

destinations of the event.

2.2 Most common submitted comments

2.2.1 Food

A high number of the participants that filled in the evaluation form requested also a second buffet

dinner the second evening. A smaller amount of participants requested other cheap food solutions for

the second evening. There are certain practical challenges with trying to provide food to participants also

the second night, and in the case of not being possible, at least the information regarding the catering

possibilities the second evening will be explained better.

Some participants also explained that the organization of the buffet dinner was complicated due to too

high number of persons eating. The ESN Sea Battle organization will consider how this problem could be

solved for the future, taking into consideration that the maximum available seats are already being used

at the moment to provide the dinner for all participants; this is especially applicable in the case of the

students from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

2.2.2 Sightseeing tours

The comments regarding the sightseeing tours in Stockholm and Tallinn are split when it comes to

positive and negative feedback. All positive comments related to committed guides, while most negative

comments related to lack of guiding experience by the student guides. It will be a task for the next

edition to train even better and prepare the ESN guides for their tasks during the sightseeing tours.

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2.2.3 Program and activities

Many participants informed that they would have like to see the program spread out over a longer

period of time during the evenings, especially the evening of the 19th of November. Many of the activities

were said to have happened while the students were having their dinner and to have ended rather early.

The participants requested more small and intimate events that would be good alternatives to the dance

parties going on at the Ibiza Disco and Starlight Palace. This request will be considered and evaluated for

the next event.

2.2.4 You're great!

A high number of the participants that filled in the evaluation form expressed in many different ways

their gratitude towards the organization of the event and their satisfaction with it.

3. Areas of improvements

3.1 Communication

From the results of the evaluation form it can be included that the communication from the local level

towards the participants can still be improved. Earlier and more detailed information regarding

departure times and general information about the event needs to be communicated to the participants

by the local ESN sections in the future.

Considering it's importance to the general reception of information about the event, the central

organization of the ESN Sea Battle needs to work to reach an even higher percentage of participants that

receive the official ESN Sea Battle email prior to the event.

3.2 Group Leaders

The role of the ESN Group Leaders should be explained better to the participants in the future. At the

same time, the Group Leaders should be trained even more and have more general information about

the event in the future. At the moment certain participants felt like certain ESN Group Leaders were not

able to provide all the necessary information to the participants that these would have needed.

3.3 Programming

For future events it should be specified that there is indeed a limited amount of tickets to the sightseeing

tours in Stockholm and Tallinn. Also the schedule for the selling of the tickets will be revised in order for

all participants to have an equal fair chance to buy the tickets.

As has already been mentioned above, the participants requested more smaller, social events, but that

these should take place at a later time of the evening. The arrangements of the schedule will be re-

considered for the next event in order to offer a wider selection of events that would take place during a

more spread out time of the evening.

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Two other areas of improvements are the organization regarding the buffet dinner and the distribution

of ESN Sea Battle t-shirts. New solutions will be evaluated in order to better offer all participants with t-

shirts that suit them. Regarding the buffet dinner, the issue will be discussed with the ferry company and

solutions will be evaluated in order to make the practical arrangements of the buffet dinners work better

and easier for the participants.

4. Final words

To end this report the ESN Sea Battle would like to thank everybody who took the time to fill in the

evaluation form. We received a lot of very useful comments and suggestions, out of which some for

certain will be implemented at the next editions of the ESN Sea Battle. All comments, both positive and

negative, help us to improve the event and make it even better than it already is!

Besides thanking all participants of the ESN Sea Battle, a big thank you goes to all ESN'ers that put a lot

of effort and enthusiasm into the organization of the event; from selling of tickets to organizing smaller

events on-board. Your help is more than appreciated: without it the event would not be possible!

For any additional comments or questions regarding this evaluation or the ESN Sea Battle in general,

you're all more than welcome to contact us at [email protected].

Thank you once again to everybody that participated in the ESN Sea Battle this fall. We hope to see you

soon again,on-board the ESN Sea Battle – Spring 2012!

Oscar BoijeESN Sea Battle Coordinator

[email protected]

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ESN Sea Battle Fall 2012 - Cover Letter + Student Evaluation

Documents

esn quiz

esn sweden

esn countries

esn bergen

esn latvia

esn estonia

esn lithuania

esn denmark