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Tips for student life in Heidelberg

We have compiled a few helpful links and tips to make your start into student life in Heidelberg a bit easier.

The Studierendenwerk – Organisation for student affairs

The Studierendenwerk can help you with all kinds of (organisational) questions about your studies – regarding accommodation, student grants and loans or other issues. They also host an array of different events which take place on a regular basis. Aditionally, they provide the daily menus of the student canteens.

Public Transportation

You can get almost anywhere in Heidelberg and the surrounding area via public transportation.

If you are under 27 years old, buy a D-Ticket JugendBW for 365 € per year (valid throughout Germany). If you are at least 27 years old, the Deutschlandticket for 588 € (= 12 · 49 €) per year (valid throughout Germany) is probably the best option. If you moved to Heidelberg for your first semester and have your residence there, you can get a one-time refund for a part of the costs of Deutschlandticket, D-Ticket JugendBW and some other tickets.

Lots of websites and apps can be used to work out your itinerary:

CampusBike

All around Heidelberg, you will find VRNnextbike rental bikes. These perfectly complement public transportation and can save you a lot of hassle if you ever miss the last bus of the night or if your bike breaks down twice during exam week. *painful memory*

There is a special offer for students of Heidelberg university: if you register with your @stud.uni-heidelberg.de e-mail adress, the first 30 minutes of every rental will be free of charge and there are other advantages. You can find more information here.

Got lost?

If you’re ever trying to navigate to one of the hundreds of university buildings and not succeeding, take a look at one of these maps.

This map helps you get from Neuenheimer Feld to the Old Town by bike.

Garbage

Yes you read that right: garbage. Maybe this is the first time you’ve got your own place and/or you’re generally unsure how to correctly separate and recycle waste? The Abfall-ABC (alphabet of garbage) lists all kinds of items and how you can dispose of them, have a look!

These compact, multilingual sorting manuals that you can print out and put up in your kitchen will make waste separation even easier for you.

If you don’t live directly in Heidelberg but still want to educate yourself on this topic, you can check out this site. In that case there’s even an app to remind you of garbage collection days.

Also good to know

University sports: Want to get in shape and stay healthy? The university offers diverse sports programs and classes which we can definitely recommend. There’s almost anything your heart desires, whether it’s swimming, dance or even quidditch! Check it out here.

Blood & plasma donations: One of Germany’s largest medical centers is located right next to your lecture halls. Support science and save lives with a simple donation, possible at IKTZ Heidelberg; you will find everything you need to know about donating blood on their website.

Reusable cups: We should all be striving to avoid unnecessary plastic waste whenever possible. That’s why there are two reusable cup systems in place in Heidelberg.

You can save money in many local cafés by bringing your own cup, you can find more information on this here.

The Studierendenwerk offers a deposit system in student canteens and cafés, more on that here.

This page (or parts of it) were translated automatically using DeepL.