“We Calculate For You to Count”: 21st Social Survey Has Started

How do students do – economically and socially? That is what the 21st social survey by Deutsches Studentenwerk wants to find out. Please participate!

It started on May 23: the 21st social survey by Deutsches Studentenwerk (DSW), conducted by the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), concerning the economic and social situation of students in Germany. The survey is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and conducted entirely online for the first time, which will surely increase the number of participating students. Every sixth student, chosen at random, will be invited to participate by his/her university by e-mail – may be you take part too! Questions are among others: How do students finance their studies? What are their living expenses? How many students have a job while they study? How much time do they need for studies, how much for the side job?

Why is it important to participate and answer the questions? The president of Deutsches Studentenwerk (DSW), Prof. Dr. Dieter Timmermann, explains the relevance of the social survey for the students themselves: “Deutsches Studentenwerk can use the data obtained in the social survey to show to politicians and the public, where there is need to act on behalf of students and which measures of education, academic and social policy are important to achieve social and economic improvements for students.”

17 percent of the currently 2.8 million students in Germany, in total more than 400,000, will be invited to participate in the survey. The first results will be available in early summer 2017. For information on the survey, please refer to www.sozialerhebung.de/en