Student Union SH inaugurates International House in Flensburg

On 1 August 2022, the first students moved into the International House at Thomas-Fincke-Straße 7 in Flensburg. On Wednesday afternoon, 14 September 2022, the new hall of residence was officially opened in the presence of numerous invited guests from politics and academia.

"We are pleased to have created a new hall of residence in the middle of the campus in less than two years, despite the pandemic," said Prof. Dr. Malte Braack, Chairman of the Board of Studentenwerk SH, at today's inauguration ceremony. "With this, we are sending an important signal against student housing shortages." He added that the success of the project was due in particular to the good cooperation of all actors, including the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the city of Flensburg and Flensburg's universities.

The state bore the total costs for the new dormitory of 5.6 million euros. Part of the funds came from a grant to promote student housing, the other part from the Corona emergency package "For Schleswig-Holstein - in the crisis we stand together". From the latter, a total of 15 million euros was made available to the Studentenwerk SH in November 2020 for its new building projects.

As one of the guests of honour at the inauguration ceremony, Thomas Schmitt, Head of Department in the Ministry of General and Vocational Education, Science, Research and Culture of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, brought greetings from Science State Secretary Guido Wendt: "We are pleased as a state that we have been able to support and make possible the International House through extensive financial aid. The open structure and the residential community character are a perfect fit for a house that has set itself the goal of overcoming borders and promoting the togetherness of students from different cultures."

The hall of residence, which meets high technical and energy standards, was designed and planned by Architektur Kontor│Blad from Steinfeld and TeGA-PLAN from Kiel. The focus is on a bright, open and communicative design. The individual flats, located on the first to third floors, are divided into six shared apartments with communal kitchens and rooms. 15 of the flats are barrier-free accessible.

The new hall of residence is aimed in particular at international students with and without a refugee background, whose social and cultural integration is to be promoted. On the one hand, this is to be achieved by living together with the German residents. On the other hand, an event room and a lounge on the ground floor offer places of encounter and exchange - not only for the students among themselves, but also with citizens of the city of Flensburg.

Mayor Henning Brüggemann, also guest of honour at the inauguration ceremony, emphasised in his greeting: "With the new hall of residence, the Studentenwerk is once again making an important contribution to relieving the tight housing market in Flensburg. As the city of Flensburg, we are very pleased about this and wish the residents of the International House that they will feel at home there and in our city."

The modern, four-storey new building, which is located between the campus dormitory and the campus swimming pool, offers 41 residents a place to live and study. All of the 16-square-metre furnished single flats with en-suite bathrooms are already fully booked. For a rent of around 330 euros including electricity and internet, the International House offers everything a student's heart desires, including a lift, a laundry room, 60 bicycle parking spaces, five car parking spaces, an e-charging station and plenty of space to socialise. Fielmann AG donated five trees as replacement planting for the outdoor area, which has two terraces inviting people to linger.

In addition, the ground floor houses a counselling centre of the Studentenwerk's social counselling service. This is primarily intended to meet the high counselling needs of international students. Since the entrance to the new building is barrier-free, students with physical disabilities can also take advantage of the counselling services in person.

With the International House, the Studentenwerk SH now operates six halls of residence with 508 places in Flensburg. Another hall of residence with 159 places is currently being built on campus. Completion is planned for August 2023. "In Flensburg we currently have an accommodation rate of 5.13 per cent. There is still a lot of room for improvement here," says Prof. Dr. Malte Braack. "We can and want to build more halls of residence. To do so, we depend on the city and state to provide us with affordable land close to campus. We hope that the cooperation will continue to be as good as it is."