Studierendenwerk Marburg

What Studierendenwerk Marburg does

Studierendenwerk Marburg is a non-profit public law institution (Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts) operating under the supervision of the Hessian Ministry for Science and Research, Arts and Culture. Founded in 1924 (with 100 years of continuous operation celebrated in 2024), the organization provides statutory student services for approximately 22,000-25,000 students of Philipps-Universität Marburg. Its mandate covers the full spectrum of student life infrastructure: subsidized dining, affordable housing, federal training assistance (BAföG) administration, social and psychotherapeutic counseling, childcare through university kindergartens, inclusive services for students with disabilities, and cultural programming via the Max-Kade-Zentrum.

The operational footprint includes 13+ on-campus dining facilities (Mensa Erlenring, Mensa Lahnberge, Bistro, Cafeteria Lahnberge, Café Zeitlos, Café Satz insect bar, CoLibri, Mo's Diner, and a mobile Mensa Mobil unit, among others), approximately 2,100 student housing units spread across 15+ dormitory complexes including Christian-Wolff-Häuser, Studentendorf, Atlashaus, and the integrative Konrad-Biesalski-Haus, plus administrative offices for BAföG processing and counseling. Digital infrastructure consists of an online housing application portal, the BAföG Digital system with BundID authentication, and the Ucard cashless payment system for dining; integrations include Google Maps, Matomo analytics, and the Littel Bird kindergarten registration platform.

The revenue model combines three streams: (i) recurring student housing rent at an average warm rent of €336/month for modernized units, (ii) transactional dining revenue at €3.05-€4.75 per meal, and (iii) public funding through state subsidies and student fees. The organization is not equity-financed, holds no disclosed venture or private equity investment, and operates under a regulatory mandate that excludes direct commercial competitors. It is governed by a Managing Director (Marie-Luise Kohl, appointed September 2026, succeeding Dr. Uwe Grebe who retired after 22 years) and a Deputy Managing Director, with department heads covering housing, dining, finance, HR, IT, controlling, purchasing, counseling, and childcare. Notable institutional distinctions include Germany's first university insect bar (Café Satz, 2026 PEPP! Marketing.Award winner) and the Konrad-Biesalski-Haus integrative housing model for students with and without disabilities, operational since 1969.

Name

Studierendenwerk Marburg

Legal name

Studierendenwerk Marburg A. d. ö. R.

Website

https://studierendenwerk-marburg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Studierendenwerk Marburg is a public-law, non-profit student services institution serving approximately 22,000-25,000 students of Philipps-Universität Marburg with subsidized dining (13+ locations), student housing (2,100 units), BAföG financial aid administration, counseling, and childcare under a Hessian Ministry mandate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Student Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Support Services (6117), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Residence Halls & Dormitory Management (On-/Near-Campus) (EDAIALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Dining & Meal Plans (EDALADAA), Catering & Events Food Service (EDALADAC), Guest, Visitor & Conference Housing Services (Summer/Break Housing) (EDAEAFAN), University Dorms & Affiliated Summer Housing (THAMAGAA)

Keywords

• Student housing services
• University dining services
• Student financial aid
• Public student services
• University childcare services

Headquarters

HQ city

Marburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Student Housing Rent: Monthly rent from approximately 2,100 student dormitory units. Average warm rent of 336 euros per month for modernized units. Revenue supports dormitory operations and maintenance.
2. Dining Services Revenue: Food service sales across 13+ dining locations including Mensa Erlenring, Mensa Lahnberge, Bistro, Cafeteria Lahnberge, Café Zeitlos, Café Satz (insect bar), CoLibri, and others. Meals priced between 3-5 euros.
3. Public Funding and Student Fees: Government-funded institution under Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung. Revenue includes student fees and public subsidies for operational costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Studierendenwerk Marburg is a public-law institution that delivers subsidized student welfare services for the approximately 22,000-25,000 students of Philipps-Universität Marburg. Its core offerings are organized around five student life domains: dining (13+ Mensen, cafeterias and cafés serving €3-5 meals including the Mensa Vital healthy line and the insect bar Café Satz), housing (approximately 2,100 dormitory places plus a private room exchange), BAföG financial aid administration (with the BAföG Digital online portal), counseling and childcare (social and psychotherapeutic counseling plus university kindergartens), and cultural/international programs through the Max-Kade-Zentrum.

Product overview

Studierendenwerk Marburg is a public-law institution providing comprehensive student services for approximately 22,000-25,000 students at Philipps-Universität Marburg. The organization operates as a multi-service platform offering: dining services through multiple Mensen and cafés including the Mensa Vital healthy eating program with Ucard cashless payment; student housing with approximately 2,100 places across 15+ dormitories plus a private room exchange platform; BAföG financial aid administration with both traditional services and the BAföG Digital online portal; counseling including social, psychotherapy, disability/inclusion, and child care services through university kindergartens; and cultural offerings through the Max-Kade-Zentrum. The portfolio is organized around core student life needs: eating, living, financing, counseling, and community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Café Satz – Insekten-Bar: Insect bar serving mealworm, cricket, and locust toppings on salads, fries, and waffles.
• Mensa Vital
• Ucard

Products and services

• Mensen (University Dining Halls) Multiple dining halls offering daily menus for students and university staff, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Locations include Mensa Erlenring, Mensa Lahnberge, and Philipps Bistro.
• Cafés and Cafeterias Various café and cafeteria locations offering beverages, snacks, and light meals to students and university staff across multiple on-campus locations.
• Mensa Vital Healthy eating program within the dining halls featuring nutritionally balanced meals. The Vital Line includes healthy meal options that pause during semester breaks.
• Café Satz – Insekten-Bar (Insect Bar) Germany's first university insect bar, offering mealworm, cricket, and locust toppings on salads, fries, and waffles as an innovative sustainable food concept for students.
• Ucard Cashless Payment System Cashless payment system used across all dining facilities. Students load money onto the Ucard to pay for meals at Mensa locations.
• Hochschulcatering (Event Catering) Event catering services provided for university events and functions at Erlenring and Lahnberge venues.
• Student Housing (Wohnheime) Approximately 2,100 student housing places across 15+ dormitory complexes in Marburg. Online application system is available.
• Privatzimmerbörse (Private Room Exchange) Private room exchange platform connecting student housing applicants with private landlords offering affordable accommodations in Marburg.
• Wohnen für Hilfe (Living for Help) Social housing initiative where students provide assistance to elderly or disabled individuals in exchange for reduced rent, promoting intergenerational solidarity.
• BAföG Services (Federal Training Assistance Administration) Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) administration providing financial aid counseling, application processing, and disbursement for eligible students. Includes AFBG (Aufstiegs-BAföG) services.
• BAföG Digital (Online Application Portal) Digital application portal for BAföG allowing students to submit their applications online. Students log in via BundID to access their application data.
• Social Counseling Free and confidential social counseling services for students covering financial concerns, personal issues, and general support needs.
• Psychotherapy Counseling Psychological counseling services for students experiencing mental health challenges or emotional difficulties during their studies.
• Kinderbetreuung / Uni-Kitas (Childcare) Childcare facilities including Uni-Kita Am Schwanhof for children aged 6 months to 3 years. Full-day care placements available with registration through the Littel Bird portal.
• Max-Kade-Zentrum (Cultural and International Center) Cultural and international center offering music rooms and spaces for international students and cultural activities, located in the Studentendorf.
• Studieren mit Kind (Studying with Children Support) Comprehensive support services for students with children, including family-friendly dining options and childcare coordination.
• Studium und Behinderung / Inklusion (Disability and Inclusion Support) Support services for students with disabilities including the integrative living concept at Konrad-Biesalski-Haus where students with and without disabilities live together with individualized assistance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Served ~22,000-25,000 students annually with dining, housing, and financial services
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CROUS PoitiersflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 202650-year international partnership celebrating collaboration in 2026. Includes staff exchange programs, joint cultural events, and professional knowledge sharing between student services organizations. Partnership involves mutual visits, work meetings analyzing processes, and comparison of operational approaches. Celebrated with reception at Marburg town hall and farewell grill event at Studentendorf.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Studierendenwerk Frankfurt am Main: Largest Studierendenwerk in Hesse, serving Goethe University Frankfurt and several other institutions with dining halls, ~4,000 housing units, BAföG administration, and counseling. Most directly comparable in mandate, regulatory framework, and service mix to Studierendenwerk Marburg.
• Studentenwerk Berlin: Public-law Studierendenwerk serving Berlin's universities with extensive housing, dining, BAföG, and child-care programs. Comparable mandate and service architecture; far larger footprint.
• Studierendenwerk Darmstadt: Another Hesse Studierendenwerk serving TU Darmstadt with similar mandate, dining facilities, housing, BAföG, and counseling. Geographic and regulatory peer within Hesse.
• Studentenwerk München: Bavaria's largest student services organization serving multiple Munich universities with ~12,000 housing units, multiple Mensen, BAföG, and counseling. Same regulatory mandate structure (public-law institution) and comprehensive service portfolio as Marburg, but at much larger scale.
• Studierendenwerk Würzburg: Public-law Studierendenwerk serving Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg with housing, dining, BAföG, and cultural programming. Closely comparable in scale, single-university orientation, and Bavarian/Hesse regulatory parallels.
• Studierendenwerk Heidelberg: Serves Heidelberg University with dining halls, student housing, BAföG, and inclusive services. Comparable to Marburg in being a single-university town organization with similar service breadth.
• Studierendenwerk Kassel: Hesse Studierendenwerk serving Universität Kassel. Comparable mandate, smaller scale than Marburg, useful for benchmarking operational efficiency.
• Studierendenwerk Gießen: Adjacent Hesse Studierendenwerk serving Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen with dining, housing, BAföG, and counseling. Comparable in size, mandate structure, and proximity; closest geographic peer.

Others

• Deutsches Studentenwerk (DSW): Umbrella association of all 57 German Studierendenwerke, providing advocacy, training, and coordination. Acts as the parent industry body for organizations like Studierendenwerk Marburg and sets shared standards.

Broad incumbents

• CROUS: French national student services network that is Studierendenwerk Marburg's 50-year international partner. Operates at national scale with housing, dining, and student aid across all French universities. Closest international functional equivalent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=i_gSrUhcJg0
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studierendenwerk-marburg

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Studierendenwerk Marburg