The university city of Aachen has long been characterized by the large number of students living, working and studying here. In the last 10-15 years, the importance of the science location has increased significantly in the course of the university and campus boom. Almost 60,000 students now enliven the cultural, economic and academic center of the border triangle of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The city would be unthinkable without the diversity of student life. Its attractiveness as a place to study, which radiates to many corners of the world, draws many young people to Aachen every year and creates a high demand for suitable living space for this target group. As a municipality that has set itself the goal of providing all Aachen residents with suitable and affordable housing, special attention must therefore be paid to the topic of student housing in Aachen. For this reason, this was also identified as one of the central fields of action in the City of Aachen's housing action plan - the housing strategy.
A portfolio of instruments and measures to strengthen the student housing market segment (e.g. to create publicly subsidized housing for students) has since been launched. In addition, cooperation between the city, the universities and the Studierendenwerk has been intensified. A joint working group on housing for students meets regularly, with representatives from the City of Aachen, FH Aachen and RWTH Aachen as well as Studierendenwerk Aachen, members of the AStA FH and RWTH and various experts taking part. This also gave rise to the idea of discussing the topic of "housing" in depth from the perspective of students. On 24.01.2024, Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen invited students to a joint workshop in the Coronation Hall of Aachen City Hall. A large number of students accepted this invitation and discussed the challenges and experiences as well as requirements for housing that arise from the everyday lives of students together with the experts from the various institutions.