At the start of their joint event "Campus of the Future: Housing for International Students" today, Monday, 9 September 2024, in Cologne, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Student Union (DSW) are calling on the federal government, federal states and university cities to provide greater support to the student unions in the construction and renovation of affordable housing for students. 
According to the two organisations, the goals of the new internationalisation strategy of the federal and state governments for German universities can only be achieved if sufficient accommodation is available for students from Germany and for international students.

Prof. Dr Joybrato Mukherjee, President of the DAAD, emphasises: "Germany's universities are extremely attractive for international students. Germany is now the third most popular place to study worldwide, ahead of Australia and only behind the USA and the United Kingdom. International students are urgently needed as the skilled labour of tomorrow in business and science. It is therefore essential that Germany as a popular study location also offers the right accommodation for all students - from Germany and from all over the world - if we want to be successful in the increasingly tough international competition for the most talented young people."

DSW President Prof Dr Beate A. Schücking explains: "Affordable housing is a key social issue in university cities too. Students already spend 54 per cent of their income on rent, compared to just 25 per cent of the population as a whole. Without affordable housing, studying will hardly be possible. For the politically desired internationalisation of our universities, the construction and renovation of affordable housing for students must also be adequately and sustainably financed by politicians. 
The federal-state 'Young Housing' programme is a good and important building block, and we are on the right track. However, we need the full commitment of all federal states for the 'Young Housing' programme. Since 2007, the number of publicly funded student places has risen by 52 per cent, but the number of places in halls of residence has only increased by seven per cent. In order to make up for the shortcomings of the past two decades, we need staying power. The 'Young Housing' programme must therefore be continued until at least 2030.   

The student services organisations also make a key contribution to the social and academic integration of international students. However, with the exception of Bavaria, their work, in particular the residence tutor programmes in the halls of residence, has not yet been funded by the federal states. This must not be allowed to continue. The federal states must provide financial support for the integration work of the student services organisations."
 

Background: "Campus of the future: Housing for international students"

The DAAD , the University of Cologne, the DSW and the Kölner Studierendenwerk are hosting a hybrid political dialogue event today, Monday, 9 September 2024, entitled "Campus of the Future: Housing for International Students". More than 300 representatives from federal and state ministries, universities, student bodies, science organisations and student unions are registered to take part on site and via the livestream on YouTube. 

The event lasts from 11 am to 2.30 pm. Participants include: 

• Hiba El Gali, Advisor for Higher Education Policy and Exchange on the Board of the Federal Association of Foreign Students (BAS)
• Prof. Dr. Angela Ittel, Vice President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) for International Affairs,  Gender Equality and Diversity; President of TU Braunschweig
• Annett Jura, Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building
• Theda Minthe, Head of Science City Hannover, City of Hannover
• Dr. Susanne Reichrath, Head of the Science Department at the Saarland Ministry of Finance and Science
• Jörg J. Schmitz, Managing Director of the Kölner Studierendenwerk

You can find the full programme of events online here.
YouTube-Livestream: https://youtube.com/live/Wyi2BVPRA6s