The University of Stuttgart congratulates the Studierendenwerk on reaching its 100 year anniversary

The Studierendenwerk Stuttgart turns 100: the Stuttgarter Studentenhilfe e.V., was the forerunner of the Studierendenwerk and was founded in June 1921. Even back then, it fought for equal opportunities for students. Today, students benefit from a wide range of services designed to make everyday student life easier. The roughly 450 people employed at the Studierendenwerk deal with issues such as affordable housing, cheap meals in the canteens and cafeterias, childcare provision close to the university, free counseling services, legal advice and psychotherapeutic counseling, as well as dealing with BAföG applications.

Prof. Wolfram Ressel, Rector at the University of Stuttgart, congratulates the Studierendenwerk for the successful and valuable work it does to support the social needs of students. "The services provided by the Studierendenwerk have made life easier for students for a hundred years, and helped them to focus on their studies. The university service provider supports students particularly in the areas of housing, food and student financing. But advice on social and legal issues or psychological problems is also an important component."

The Studierendenwerk – formerly known as Studentenhilfe or Studentenwerk – has built up a strong social infrastructure over the years. Managing Director Marco Abe: "We’re very proud to be able to look back at 100 years of history. It shows how important our work is for the university region as a whole. We play our part and we are committed to ensuring that studying is not a privilege."

The Studierendenwerk Stuttgart today

Today, the Studierendenwerk Stuttgart is an important point of contact for more than 60,000 students at 15 different universities in Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, Esslingen, Göppingen and Horb. Life for students and the Studierendenwerk has been completely transformed by the coronavirus. Studying has mostly been done from home for the last year and a half, while many university buildings have stood empty. "It’s had an impact on everything we do, and we still have to be very flexible in adapting to circumstances", explains Marco Abe. "We’ve reacted to the situation with a range of measures, for example we’ve switched to providing advice through digital channels. In the cafeteria we offer take-out as well as sustainable reusable bowls." It is particularly important for the Studierendenwerk to keep improving the range of services it offers, to meet the needs of students and to keep an eye on sustainability.