What Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen does

Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen is a public-law institution (Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts) headquartered in Braunschweig that delivers essential student services across ten locations in Eastern Lower Saxony. Founded in 1922 as the Wirtschaftsamt der Technischen Hochschule Braunschweig, the organization assumed its current form through a 2007 merger with Studierendenwerk Clausthal and a 2011 rebrand. It is supervised by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and serves approximately 58,000 students at eight partner universities: TU Braunschweig, HBK Braunschweig, TU Clausthal, Universität Hildesheim, HAWK Hildesheim/Holzminden, Ostfalia Hochschule, Hochschule 21 Buxtehude, and Leuphana Universität Lüneburg.

The service portfolio spans six core lines: university dining (12 Mensen, 6 cafeterias, 4 bistros, 3 food trucks, and 1 coffee bar under brands including bistro4u, ProbierWERK, and Kantina Kreativa), student housing (36 dormitories and 1 guesthouse totaling 4,630 beds), BAföG financial-aid administration (€62.1M disbursed in 2022), social and psychotherapeutic counseling, legal advisory, kindergarten services (6 facilities, 248 places), and cultural programming. Technology surface includes a publicly available Mensa API that exposes meal plans, prices by customer type, allergens, and dietary labels via JSON REST endpoints. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Hochschulservice OstNiedersachsen GmbH (established 2011), handles cleaning, trades, and IT operations.

The revenue model is a hybrid of sales revenue (canteens and dormitories), student semester fees, state financial aid, BAföG administration cost reimbursement, and kindergarten subsidies. Annual revenue was approximately €46M in 2022 (44% sales, 25% student fees, 8% state funding, 5% BAföG administration, 8% kindergarten subsidies), with 1,005,371 meals sold in 2022. The organization employs approximately 560 staff (including the subsidiary) and is led by Managing Director Sönke Nimz, who has held the role since 2006.

Name

Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen

Legal name

Studentenwerk OstNiedersachsen

Website

https://stw-on.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen is a public-law institution in Braunschweig that delivers subsidized dining, housing, BAföG administration, counseling, childcare, and cultural services to approximately 58,000 students across eight universities in Eastern Lower Saxony, with €46M in annual revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• Student services
• University dining
• Student housing
• Financial aid administration
• Student counseling

Headquarters

HQ city

Braunschweig

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Student service operations: Revenue derived from canteen sales, dormitory rentals, BAföG administration fees, and government subsidies. Organization operates as a non-profit public-law institution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen is a public-law institution that provides subsidized student services across ten locations in Eastern Lower Saxony, including university dining at 12 Mensen and multiple cafeterias/bistros, student housing in 36 dormitories, administration of BAföG student financial aid, social/psychological/legal counseling, kindergarten/childcare, and cultural programs. The organization serves roughly 58,000 students of eight partner universities and reported €46 million in revenue for 2022, with revenue split between canteen sales, student semester fees, state subsidies, BAföG administration reimbursements, and kindergarten grants.

Product overview

Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen is a public-law institution providing comprehensive student services across 10 locations in eastern Lower Saxony. The organization operates a unified platform of services including Hochschulgastronomie (university dining with 12 Mensen, 6 Cafeterias, 4 Bistros, 3 Foodtrucks, and 1 Coffee-Bar under brands including bistro4u, ProbierWERK, and Kantina Kreativa), student housing (36 Wohnheime with 4,630 places plus a guest house), BAföG administration (€62M+ in financial aid distributed), counseling services (social, psychotherapeutic, and legal), childcare (6 Kitas with 248 places), and cultural support (2 Kulturbüros). The organization also operates a public Mensa API for accessing meal plan data. Its subsidiary Hochschulservice OstNiedersachsen GmbH provides cleaning, maintenance, and IT services. The Notfonds provides emergency financial assistance to students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hochschulgastronomie (University Dining) Subsidized university dining program operating 12 Mensen, 6 Cafeterias, 4 Bistros, 3 Foodtrucks and 1 Coffee-Bar across ten locations in Eastern Lower Saxony, serving students, university employees and guests with tiered pricing by customer type.
• Wohnen (Student Housing) Affordable student housing operated through 36 Wohnheime plus 1 Gästehaus and guest apartments, providing 4,630 housing places to students at partner universities in Eastern Lower Saxony.
• BAföG (Student Financial Aid Administration) Statutory administration of federal BAföG student financial aid on behalf of the state, processing applications and distributing financial support to eligible students (€62.1M in 2022).
• Sozial- und Studienfinanzierungsberatung (Social and Study Finance Counseling) Counseling centers providing social advice and study financing guidance to students at four locations, with 8,720 total counseling contacts recorded.
• Psychotherapeutische Beratung (Psychotherapy Counseling) Psychological and psychotherapeutic counseling delivered at four locations to support student mental health and well-being.
• Rechtsberatung (Legal Counseling) Legal counseling for students delivered at four locations in cooperation with student representative bodies (AstEn).
• Kinderbetreuung (Childcare) Childcare for student and staff families through 6 daycare centers and 3 flexible childcare arrangements, providing 248 total places.
• Kulturförderung (Cultural Support) Student cultural promotion and event programming run through 2 Kulturbüros serving students at partner universities.
• Mensa API Public HTTP API providing access to meal plans for all operated canteens and cafeterias, including daily menus, prices by customer type (students, employees, guests), allergens, additives, and dietary labels. The API uses GET requests and returns JSON responses.
• Notfonds für Studierende (Emergency Fund) Emergency financial assistance for students in urgent financial need, with an average grant amount of €760 and 474 applications approved as of August 2024; recipients sign a solidarity agreement to repay at least half the amount received.
• Hochschulservice OstNiedersachsen GmbH 100%-owned subsidiary established in 2011, providing cleaning, trades/maintenance, and IT services in support of the parent institution and its campuses.

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hochschulservice OstNiedersachsen GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Wholly-owned subsidiary (100%) established in 2011 to handle operational services including cleaning, trade/crafts, and IT operations. This subsidiary employs approximately 110 of the organization's ~560 total employees.
• Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und KulturcoreOthersThe supervisory authority overseeing the organization's operations as a public-law institution.
• Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz NiedersachsenminorOthersData protection supervisory authority for the state of Lower Saxony, responsible for handling complaints and ensuring GDPR compliance.
• Braunschweigische LandessparkasseminorOthersBank handling donations for the Notfonds (emergency fund for students in financial distress).
• Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte WissenschaftencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of eight partner universities served by the organization. Located at multiple campuses across the region.
• TU BraunschweigcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor partner university; primary location for main campus services and headquarters proximity.
• Leuphana Universität LüneburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor partner university with regional council representation at this location.
• TU ClausthalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university resulting from 2007 merger with Clausthaler Studentenhilfe.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Studierendenwerk Frankfurt am Main: Hessian Studierendenwerk serving Goethe University Frankfurt and regional institutions with the same multi-service mandate. Comparable in operational model and service breadth.
• Studierendenwerk Hamburg: Public-law institution serving Hamburg's universities with the same multi-service portfolio (dining, housing, BAföG, counseling). Direct comparable in governance structure and service mix.
• Studentenwerk Marburg: Mid-sized Hessian Studierendenwerk serving Philipps-Universität Marburg. Comparable in size, mandate, and service offering to a regional Lower-Saxony peer.
• Studierendenwerk Aachen: Aachen Studierendenwerk serves RWTH Aachen and other regional universities with the same mix of student services. Comparable peer with similar mid-sized university footprint.
• Studierendenwerk Bonn: Public-law Studierendenwerk serving students in the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region with dining, housing, BAföG, and counseling. Direct comparable in mandate and service offering.
• Studentenwerk Dresden: Saxon student services organization covering TU Dresden and other universities with identical dining, housing, BAföG, and counseling services. Direct comparable in legal form and service scope.
• Studierendenwerk Berlin: Berlin's Studierendenwerk provides identical student services across multiple universities. Comparable in size and service breadth, operating in a metropolitan setting.
• Studierendenwerk München (Oberbayern): Large Bavarian Studierendenwerk operating under the same federal Studentenwerk framework, providing dining, housing, BAföG, counseling, and childcare to students at TU Munich, LMU, and other Munich universities. Comparable in mandate and service breadth, larger in scale.
• Studentenwerk Niederbayern/Oberpfalz: Bavarian Studierendenwerk covering universities in Regensburg, Passau, and Deggendorf with the same multi-service portfolio. Comparable peer in similar mid-sized university geography.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsches Studentenwerk (DSW): Federal umbrella association of all 57 German Studentenwerke, representing the Studierendenwerk sector nationally. Provides policy representation, advocacy, and shared services — comparable as the institutional context governing entities like Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studierendenwerk-ostniedersachsen
• Instagraminstagram.com/studierendenwerk.on

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen