What is a student union?

What is a university?

After school, you can learn even more at a university. That's called studying. A university is like a school for adults. The teachers of the students are called professors.

To study, you need a school-leaving certificate. A school-leaving certificate is a school-leaving qualification. The Abitur is the highest school-leaving certificate in Germany. You can choose for yourself which subject (subject area) you want to study. By studying, you can get a degree. The degrees are called Bachelor's or Master's degrees. With a Bachelor's or Master's degree, you can go to work.

What does the Studierendenwerk Dortmund do? Where can I find it?

Each Studierendenwerk in Germany is responsible for certain universities in a city or region. The Studierendenwerk Dortmund looks after the TU Dortmund, FH Dortmund and FH Südwestfalen. It also looks after FernUni in Hagen, SRH Hamm, UE Iserlohn and ISM Dortmund.

The Studierendenwerk Dortmund is thus an independent partner of the universities. And a service provider for more than 57,000 students.

The headquarters is the large refectory building in Dortmund. The refectory building is the large orange building on the North Campus. Opposite is the Audimax and the library. The main cafeteria is in the cafeteria building. But there is also an InfoPoint where you can get information about all the universities. You can also ask questions about housing or money here.

How can I get cheap food? What does a cafeteria do?

Students usually don't have a lot of money. So that you can eat cheaply, there are refectories. These canteens are located near universities. They are organised by the Studierendenwerk.

The Studierendenwerk Dortmund has 17 large and small refectories or cafeterias. The largest refectory is the main cafeteria. Here, over 1,000 guests can eat at the same time. The main cafeteria is in the Mensa building.

Students can eat very cheaply in the refectory. University staff and external guests can also eat in the refectory. They have to pay a little more.

Students must have an ID card. They can get this ID card at their university. With this ID card, they get a low price in the refectory.

There is a lot of different food in the refectories. There are rolls, cafés, drinks, salads and hot food. You can choose what you want.

Some people can't or don't want to eat everything. That's why the food is marked with signs and small drawings. They indicate which ingredients are in the food. So you can decide whether you want to eat the dish or not.

In the canteen you can pay with cash. Or with a card. Or with your smartphone. Students' children don't have to pay anything in the refectory if they have a child ID card and mum or dad buys a full meal for them. You can get this child ID card at the university.

How do I get a cheap room to live in?

The Studierendenwerk rents out over 2,000 rooms. The rents are very reasonable. The Studierendenwerk houses are called housing complexes. The halls of residence are close to the universities. Most of the student residences are in Dortmund. There are also residences in Soest, Iserlohn and Hagen.

The rooms have a bed, a wardrobe and a desk. There is also a telephone connection and internet. Each student has a room to himself or herself. The bathroom or kitchen often has to be shared with others.

For people who do not speak German well, there is a dictionary. There are many drawings in the dictionary. The drawings show a lot of things that are in a housing complex. There are translations next to the drawings. This makes it easy to communicate with the people in the building. The dictionaries are available for the following languages

• German-Chinese-English
• German-French-Arabic
• German-French-Spanish
• German-Polish-Russian

The dictionaries can be downloaded. You can also get a printed dictionary at the InfoPoint. The InfoPoint is located in the Mensa building. To get a room, you have to apply. You can only do this on the website www.stwdo.de/wohnen. There you have to enter your name and your move-in date.

There are always more applications than places. That's why you often have to wait for a room. It can take several weeks. Students who take part in an exchange programme do not have to apply separately. They get a room from the university.

The rents are warm rents. This means that there are no extra costs. The costs for internet, water, heating and rubbish are already covered. The rent is debited from your account every month. The account must be with a German bank or credit institution.

Only students can live in the rooms. Exceptions are guest flats. The guest flats are for lecturers. The guest flats are in the building with the address Vogelpothsweg 120 in Dortmund.

There are rules in the residence halls. These rules are called house rules. Everyone has to abide by these house rules. The rules are there to help everyone live well together. That is why it is not allowed to be noisy at night. You also have to clean your own room. And you have to keep your laundry clean yourself. There are washing machines and dryers in every house.

There is a caretaker in every residence. The caretaker takes care of anything that breaks. The caretaker is in his office at certain times. You can also write him an e-mail. The caretaker's contact details are at the entrance to the building.

There are rooms in each apartment complex that everyone can use. In these rooms, you can watch TV, play games or meet up together.

How do I get money? What is BAföG?

Some parents can't support their children in their studies because they don't have that much money. That's why there is a law in Germany so that these students can get money. This money is called BAföG. BAföG is the abbreviation for Bundes-Ausbildungs-Förderung (Federal Training Assistance Act).

BAföG is paid monthly for a certain number of months. Once this period has expired, you have to submit a new BAföG application. You have to pay back part of the BAföG after you finish your studies. All German citizens can receive BAföG. There are also foreigners who can get BAföG.

In order to receive BAföG, you must submit an application. The Studierendenwerk Dortmund is responsible for this application if you are studying at these universities:

• Dortmund: Technical University
• Dortmund: University of Applied Sciences
• Iserlohn/Meschede/Hagen/Soest: University of Applied Sciences Südwestfalen
• Dortmund: International School of Management (ISM) GmbH
• Hagen: Open University
• Hamm: SRH University of Applied Sciences
• Iserlohn: University of Applied Sciences Europe

If you are not studying at one of these universities, you can find the BAföG office responsible for you at www.bafoeg.de.

The BAföG application form is difficult for many to understand. Help is available from the Studierendenwerk. For example, on the website www.stwdo.de/bafoeg. The staff at the InfoPoint or in the BAföG department will also be happy to help. Addresses and office hours can also be found at www.stwdo.de/bafoeg.

How do I get a daycare place? Who will look after my child?

The Studierendenwerk Dortmund has a day care centre. Kita is the abbreviation for day care centre. Some people also say kindergarten. The Studierendenwerk day care centre is called "Kita im Grünen, pädagogisches Zentrum am Campus". The daycare centre is located on the South Campus in Dortmund.

120 children are cared for in the day care centre. The children are between 4 months and 6 years old. The children are at the day care centre from Monday to Friday. The opening hours can be found on the website www.stwdo.de/kita.

The children are looked after by students. Local children whose parents do not study or whose children work at the university are also looked after. If you want to register your child at the Kita, you have to do this online via the Kita portal of the city of Dortmund:

https://kita-portal.dortmund.de/

After registering, you can click on "Kita im Grünen" as your preference.

Childcare costs money. This is called the "parental contribution". If parents have very little money, they do not have to pay a parental contribution. The parental contribution is paid to the City of Dortmund. The City of Dortmund also decides on the amount of the parental contribution. Food at the daycare centre costs extra money. It is paid to the Studierendenwerk.

How do I get financial help in case of need?

The Studierendenwerk will help you if you are studying and are in financial need. For example, you can eat for free in the refectory. This is called a free meal. Or you can get money for rent. If you are pregnant but don't have enough money, you can get help for the baby's equipment.

The prerequisite is that you study at TU Dortmund, FH Dortmund or FH Südwestfalen. You can get an application for emergency assistance at the InfoPoint in the Mensa building.