Uni-assist
Uni-assist e.V. is a Berlin-based non-profit association, founded in 2003 by German universities with DAAD and HRK, that processes approximately 350,000 international student applications annually for around 150 member German universities, providing credential evaluation and a centralized digital admissions portal.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Uni-assist does
Uni-assist e.V. (Arbeits- und Servicestelle für internationale Studienbewerbungen) is a Berlin-based, non-profit registered association founded in November 2003 by 41 German universities together with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Rectors' Conference (HRK). It provides centralized processing and evaluation of international student applications on behalf of approximately 150 German state-recognized member universities, handling roughly 350,000 applications per year from candidates in over 190 countries. Its core function is credential evaluation: assessing foreign school and university certificates against German standards using the authority version of the KMK anabin database, converting grades, checking admission requirements, and issuing standardized preliminary review documentation (VPD) where required.
The service is delivered through the My assist online portal, a proprietary digital platform where applicants register, submit documents, pay processing fees, and track status. The platform integrates via dedicated interfaces (Schnittstellen) with common German campus management systems, the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung's distributed admission procedure (DoSV/Hochschulstart.de), and the TestDaF Institute for language test verification. Supporting tools include a credential admissibility checker (Check: Hochschulzugang), country-specific guidelines, a university directory, checklists, a glossary, and sign-language video tutorials. A self-disclosure form for refugees addresses applicants unable to provide standard educational documentation.
Uni-assist is financed through two streams: transaction fees paid by applicants (€75 for the first course application per semester, €30 for each additional course) and annual membership fees from universities (€2,000–€85,000 depending on student population and international share). As a non-profit, fees are tied to actual costs; initial funding came from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research via DAAD. The organization is governed by an honorary board chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Strackeljan, with Ulrich Schneider serving as Managing Director, and employs approximately 200 permanent staff in Berlin.
Uni-assist firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Uni-assist
- Legal name
- Arbeits- und Servicestelle für internationale Studienbewerbungen (uni-assist) e.V.
- Website
- https://uni-assist.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Uni-assist e.V. is a Berlin-based non-profit association, founded in 2003 by German universities with DAAD and HRK, that processes approximately 350,000 international student applications annually for around 150 member German universities, providing credential evaluation and a centralized digital admissions portal.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Uni-assist industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Credential Evaluation Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Assistive Technology (AT) Evaluations & Needs Assessments (EDAKAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Assistive Technology (AT) & Accessible Learning Tools (EDALAGAB)
Keywords
Where Uni-assist is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Uni-assist business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Application Processing Fees: Fees charged to international students for processing their study applications. First application costs €75, additional applications in the same semester cost €30 each.
- University Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from German universities. Fees range from €2,000 to €85,000 depending on the university's student population and proportion of international students.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | First study course application |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Additional study course applications |
| Subscription | Annual | University membership fees |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Uni-assist product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Uni-assist is a non-profit association that processes and evaluates international student applications for approximately 150 German universities. It provides centralized credential evaluation, foreign grade conversion to German standards, and standardized preliminary review documentation (VPD) through its digital My assist portal. The organization charges application processing fees to students and annual membership fees to member universities.
Product overview
uni-assist e.V. is a non-profit association supported by approximately 150 German universities that provides centralized processing and evaluation of international student applications. The core product is a unified service combining the My assist online portal (for digital application submission, document upload, and status tracking) with a certificate evaluation service that assesses international educational credentials against German standards. For some universities, uni-assist issues the Vorprüfungsdokumentation (VPD), a preliminary review certificate that applicants submit directly. Supporting tools include a university admission checker database (Check: Hochschulzugang), country-specific guidelines (Länderhinweise), a university directory, checklists, glossary, and video tutorials. Special services exist for refugees who lack documentation due to asylum circumstances.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- My assist (Online Application Portal) Digital self-service platform where international students register, create study applications for member German universities, upload required documents, pay processing fees, and track application status throughout the review process.
- VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation) Preliminary review certificate issued by uni-assist confirming that an applicant's educational certificates have been evaluated and meet admission requirements for German higher education; applicants submit the VPD directly to participating universities.
- Certificate Evaluation (Zeugnisbewertung) Evaluation of international school and university certificates against German educational standards, following guidelines of the Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB), with conversion of foreign grades into the German grading system.
- University Portal (Hochschulportal) Dedicated portal through which member universities access processed international applications, download evaluation documents, and integrate uni-assist evaluation results with their campus management and admission systems.
Quantifiable outcome
- Processing time: 4-6 weeks for standard applications
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Uni-assist
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Uni-assist technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
Uni-assist partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)coreFounding member of uni-assist e.V. Provided initial funding during the founding phase using funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Continues as a statutory board member represented by Dr. Michael Harms, Deputy Secretary General.
- HRK (German Rectors' Conference)coreFounding member of uni-assist e.V. Represented at board meetings as a permanent guest with advisory function by Marijke Wahlers, Deputy Secretary General.
- German Universities (Member Institutions)coreApproximately 150 German state-recognized universities are members of uni-assist e.V. They provide strategic direction through the general assembly and board, and rely on uni-assist for processing international student applications.
- Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (Foundation for University Admission)coreuni-assist maintains interfaces (Schnittstellen) to the distributed admission procedure (DoSV) operated by the Foundation for University Admission through hochschulstart.de.
- KMK (Kultusministerkonferenz/Standing Conference of German Ministers of Education)coreuni-assist evaluates educational certificates based on recommendations from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) at the KMK. The organization works with the authority version of the anabin database.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Uni-assist competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- ENIC-NARIC Networks: ENIC-NARIC is the European network of national credential information centers, of which uni-assist operates as the German node for higher education. The network itself is not a competitor but the broader ecosystem within which uni-assist's credential-evaluation activities are situated.
- Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (Hochschulstart): Hochschulstart operates the centralized DoSV portal for restricted-admission programs in Germany and is integrated with uni-assist's applicant data flow. It is a parallel admission infrastructure player rather than a competitor — both serve the same international applicant base through complementary technical interfaces.
- DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst): DAAD is a founding statutory board member of uni-assist and the main German agency promoting international academic exchange. It is not a competitor but a strategic partner that channels scholarship students and information flow toward uni-assist's platform.
Emerging players
- Studyportals: Studyportals is a global study-search platform helping prospective students find and compare programs. It targets the same upstream international-student audience as uni-assist but operates at the discovery layer rather than the evaluation layer.
- ApplyBoard: ApplyBoard is an international student recruitment and application platform connecting students to universities worldwide. It is adjacent rather than directly competitive — focused on recruitment and application routing rather than credential evaluation — but serves the same international-student-to-university funnel.
Direct peers
- International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS): IQAS, operated by the Government of Alberta, evaluates international educational credentials for use in Canada. It shares uni-assist's combination of government/agency backing, standardized grade conversion, and per-application transaction fees for international applicants.
- Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC): Ecctis is the UK's national credential evaluation service, comparing international qualifications to UK frameworks for universities, employers, and immigration. It is structurally analogous to uni-assist — a national reference point for credential equivalence with institutional integrations across the UK higher-education system.
- World Education Services (WES): WES is the largest credential evaluation service for international students and immigrants pursuing education or employment in North America. It mirrors uni-assist's core offering — evaluating foreign credentials, converting grades, and producing standardized reports for institutions — under the same transaction-fee model.
- Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE): ECE is a US-based credential evaluation provider producing course-by-course and document-by-document reports for international students. Like uni-assist, it charges per-evaluation fees, works directly with universities, and operates a digital submission portal for applicants.
Broad incumbents
- AACRAO International: AACRAO is a US-based association of registrars and admissions officers that also provides credential evaluation services through AACRAO International. It serves a broader portfolio (membership association plus evaluation services) but operates in the same credential-evaluation space as uni-assist.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights1 record
Customer concentration
Uni-assist social profiles
Digital presenceUni-assist compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Uni-assist financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Uni-assist leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Uni-assist funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Uni-assist M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Uni-assist
What does Uni-assist do?
Uni-assist is a non-profit association that processes and evaluates international student applications for approximately 150 German universities. It provides centralized credential evaluation, foreign grade conversion to German standards, and standardized preliminary review documentation (VPD) through its digital My assist portal. The organization charges application processing fees to students and annual membership fees to member universities.
Is Uni-assist a public or private company?
Uni-assist is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Uni-assist founded?
Uni-assist was founded in 2003. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Uni-assist based?
Uni-assist is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Uni-assist make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Application Processing Fees are the primary driver. The others are university Membership Fees.
Who are Uni-assist's main competitors?
Others on record are ENIC-NARIC Networks, Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (Hochschulstart) and DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst). Emerging players are Studyportals and ApplyBoard. Direct peers are International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS), Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC), World Education Services (WES) and Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE). AACRAO International is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Uni-assist have an API?
No public API is recorded for Uni-assist.
What industry is Uni-assist in?
Uni-assist's product category is Education Credential Evaluation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAKAIAA, Assistive Technology (AT) Evaluations & Needs Assessments, with a secondary code of EDALAGAB, Assistive Technology (AT) & Accessible Learning Tools. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.