Easy language

You are here on the website of Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen. On this page you will find inform­a­tion about us and our work in easy language.

What is a Studierendenwerk?

A Stud­i­er­enden­werk is a large organ­isa­tion. People work at the Stud­i­er­enden­werk. These people help students during their studies. Students are people who learn a lot at a univer­sity. The people at the Stud­i­er­enden­werk support students so that they are well looked after. For example, they help students find afford­able accom­mod­a­tion. Or cheap food. Or money. There are Stud­i­er­enden­werke all over Germany. They can be found wherever there are universities.

The Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen is respons­ible for students at the univer­sity in Siegen. A higher educa­tion insti­tu­tion can be a univer­sity. The abbre­vi­ation for this is Uni.

The Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen employs 150 people. Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen looks after around 15 thou­sand students in Siegen. These students study at the Univer­sity of Siegen.

There is a law that regu­lates the tasks of the Stud­i­er­enden­werk. This is the Student Services Act. The Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen is a non-profit organ­isa­tion. Non-profit means that people help other people. The Stud­i­er­enden­werk receives money for this from the state of North Rhine-West­­phalia. The Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen also finances its work from the sale of food and drink, rental income, contri­bu­tions from parents for child­care and contri­bu­tions from students.

What is a university?

After school, you can learn even more at a univer­sity. This is called studying. A univer­sity college is like a school for adults. The teachers of the students are called professors. Or they are lecturers.

To study, you usually need the Abitur. The Abitur is a school-leaving qual­i­fic­a­tion. The Abitur is the highest school-leaving qual­i­fic­a­tion in Germany. You can choose which subject (specialism) you would like to study. You can obtain a degree by studying. The degrees are called Bach­elor or Master. With a Bach­el­or’s or Master’s degree, you can work in certain professions.

Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen helps students with many tasks:

1/ Students need money to live.

Many students have little money. The Stud­i­er­enden­werk tells students how to get money from the state. The money from the state is called BAföG. BAföG is the abbre­vi­ation for Bundes-Ausb­ildungs-Förder­­ungs-Gesetz (Federal Training Assist­ance Act). This is finan­cial aid from the Office for Educa­tional Support. If parents are unable to pay for their child’s studies, these students can apply for BAföG money. BAföG money consists of 2 parts. Students receive one part as a gift.
The other part is loaned to the students. This means that the students have to pay back half of the money after their studies. BAföG is paid out monthly for a certain number of months. Once this period has expired, you have to submit a new BAföG application.

We check the BAföG applic­a­tions of students studying at the Univer­sity of Siegen.

Many people find the BAföG applic­a­tion diffi­cult to under­stand. Help is avail­able from the Stud­i­er­enden­werk. For example, on the BAföG website: STW Siegen (studierendenwerk-siegen.de). The staff in the student finance depart­ment are also happy to help. They also advise students on how they can finance their studies in other ways and receive money.

2/ Students also need to eat and drink something.

The Stud­i­er­enden­werk has 3 canteens, 1 bistro and a food court. These are places where students can buy food and drinks and socialise with other students. The food is cheap and there are many different options. People who work at the univer­sity and other guests can also eat in the canteen. They then have to pay a little more. Students must show their student ID card at the checkout. They receive this card at the univer­sity. With this card, they receive a favour­able student price in the canteen.

There are different types of food. For example

- for people who like meat and
– for people who do not eat meat.

Some people can’t or don’t want to eat everything. That’s why the dishes are labelled 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.

You can pay with your bank card in the canteen. Or with your smartphone.

3/ Students need a place to live.

The Stud­i­er­enden­werk Hamburg rents rooms or flats to students in halls of resid­ence. Halls of resid­ence are houses with many rooms and flats. The rooms and flats have a favour­able rent. Students from all over the world live in the halls of resid­ence. The Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen has almost 1,000 places in 9 halls of resid­ence in Siegen.

If you would like a place in a hall of resid­ence, you must complete an applic­a­tion for admis­sion. You can complete the applic­a­tion online. There are almost always more applic­a­tions than places. That’s why you often have to wait for a room.

The rents are warm rents. This means that there are no extra costs. The costs for internet, water, elec­tri­city, heating and rubbish are included in the rent. In the rooms there is a bed, a ward­robe and a desk. In some resid­en­tial complexes there are rooms that all resid­ents are allowed to use. In these rooms you can study, play or meet up together.

There are rules in the resid­en­tial complexes. These rules are called house rules. Everyone must abide by these house rules. The rules are designed to help everyone live well together. For example, it is not allowed to be loud at night.

There are house masters in the resid­en­tial complexes. The care­taker takes care of anything that breaks. You can write an e‑mail or call the caretaker.

4/Some students have children.

The Stud­i­er­enden­werk Siegen has a child­care centre. The child­care centre is called Flexi. Flexi looks after the chil­dren of students. At Flexi, chil­dren can play, eat and sleep during the day. This allows students to concen­trate better on their studies.