What is BEST?

The Board of European Students of Technology, also known as BEST, came to existence in April 1989. It has been 31 years that BEST has been connecting students of technology from all over Europe. Currently, we are composed of 93 Local BEST Groups (LBGs) from 34 countries. BEST has developed itself to be a center for innovation in the educational field and student support, and also organised to work for a million students from the hundred universities that we take part in. BEST works to ensure that students are able to apply their full potential in a culturally diverse environment and, to achieve this, we constantly strive to find new and disparate opportunities for the development of students of technology. The focus of the organisation has revolved around three main areas. Firstly, we provide complementary education integrating the one our universities already provide, bringing knowledge ever closer to the students in need from all over Europe. Our most notable service on this is the organisation of around one hundred BEST Courses per year, gathering students from several different backgrounds.

Secondly, BEST offers itself to be a platform for educational involvement. To do this, we gather students, academy and industry’s input on how education should be improved, so that solutions can be proposed to higher education institutions.

Thirdly and lastly, BEST acts as a network between the industry, academy and students, so opportunities of collaboration can be found and also provides career support to our students so they can get closer to their future careers.

Following the vision of “Empowered diversity”, we provide complementary education through BEST Courses and Competitions, adding value to formal education and creating a unique opportunity to learn through experience. That’s how the mission of our organisation, “Developing students'', reaches its full meaning, by giving students the chance to study and gain both practical knowledge and self-improvement, all in a multicultural environment. Through international involvement, students lower their cultural barriers and learn to respect and understand different ways of thinking. All of our work is done for students and by students. Through the engagement of our members, we provide services that aim to broaden the horizons of European students of technology. Our actions are inspired by our values. Through flexibility, we are open to quickly respond to changes. We always aim for improvement by continuously raising the standards in everything we do. We value friendship through building good personal relations and supporting teamwork. We strive to help students become more internationally minded by learning and having fun in every area where we exist. That, however, is not where we stop, since we believe in continuous improvement and growth. And we will for the years to come. Providing BEST services to over 1.200.000 students from all around Europe wouldn't be possible without highly motivated and devoted BEST members. For us, the members, every single corner of Europe is our home, and we are a huge family.