Announcement of vacancies in the AStA
The student parliament at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences is looking for speakers or working group leaders for the General Student Committee (AStA).
General information
The AStA of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences represents the student body of the h_da as a corporation under public law. The tasks of the student body are defined in accordance with Section 84 of the Hessian University Act. In particular, it is our task to take care of the university policy, economic and social interests of the students and to provide them with political education.
To deal with these areas of responsibility, the AStA has departments and working groups working on various topics. The departments and working groups are opened by the student parliament and given core tasks; the heads are elected by the student parliament. The topics are reorganized every year and arise from the political orientation.
We see ourselves as feminist, anti-racist and consistently oppose any form of discrimination.
In order to increase the proportion of women and diverse people in the AStA, we expressly encourage these groups of people to apply.
Information about an application and the further process
All students at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences who are interested in volunteering can apply.
It is possible to apply for several departments/working groups, but you cannot work in several departments/working groups at the same time. Ultimately, you have to decide on one.
The application must contain
on page 1:
- personal information such as name and contact details (student email address, telephone)
- please also send your enrollment certificate for the current semester
on page 2:
- a letter of motivation (max. 1 A4 page) for the interested department/working group. In particular, previous experience in committees or voluntary work, ideas about the work in the department/working group as well as possible personal projects and goals are of interest.
The application must not contain
- CV, photo, certificates or similar
Please send the applications in PDF format via the student email address to the StuPa Presidium (praesidium.stupa@asta.h-da.de)!
The file name must have the following pattern: "application_ref_abc_page_1.pdf" and "application_ref_abc_page_2.pdf" ("abc" please replace with the name of the department/working group; when applying for a working group, please replace "ref" with "ag").
Please send the application to the StuPa Presidium by July 6, 2025 (praesidium.stupa@asta.h-da.de)
The StuPa Presidium will review all applications received, sorting out applications that do not meet the above criteria.
To prepare for the meeting, the parliamentarians will only receive the letter of motivation and, from the Presidium, information on why applications were not considered.
If there are formal errors in the application, the applicants will be informed and given the opportunity to correct them.
The Presidium will invite all applicants to the StuPa meeting on July 15, 2025.
In the event of an election, the term of office shall begin on the day following the acceptance of the election.
Basic requirements for working in a department/working group
In addition to the core tasks of a department or working group, there are some general requirements for working in the AStA:
- Active participation in student and academic committees related to the department's or working group's area of responsibility
- Regional and national networking within the department and active alliance work
- Participation in Student Union (StuPa) and AStA meetings and minutes (including AStA meetings), writing annual reports (mandatory only for departments)
- Offering your own consultation hours in the AStA rooms (Darmstadt and Dieburg), approximately 2 hours per month
- Promoting and conducting events, disseminating information about relevant events
- Providing accessible public information/committee materials in German and English
- Collaboration and support with events/projects of other departments
Furthermore, as a departmental representative, you can implement your own projects within the department, contact the relevant departments regarding problems within the university, or develop projects together with them.
You don't have to implement your ideas alone - you can also develop ideas with people outside of the AStA.
For volunteer work, there is an expense allowance, which is paid per department or working group. According to the Student Union's financial regulations, the expense allowance per department/working group is currently €400 per month. If the department/working group is staffed by two people, two-thirds of the expense allowance is paid per person.
Social Affairs Department
Main Responsibilities:
- Contact point, mediation, and support for students in all social matters (including studying with children, financing, and emergencies)
- Active networking and collaboration with social interest groups and socio-political organizations
- Development of ideas to improve studies for disadvantaged students
- Organization and implementation of social and socio-political events
University Democracy Department
Main Responsibilities:
- Strengthening broad student participation and democratic involvement in the university as a whole
- Developing a position on current university policy processes and events
- Close collaboration and coordination with the Student Councils and University Policy Departments
- Active and barrier-free promotion of elections
- Organization of the Student General Assembly
- Providing barrier-free information and events, especially for newcomers to committees
Department of Student Councils
Main Responsibilities:
- Provide close cooperation with the Student Councils
- Create a loan catalog for all student councils
- Support the joint Freshmen's Weeks (EWOs) of the student councils and coordinate cross-departmental EWO events
- Organize a Freshmen's Week event
- Coordinate and advance the institutionalization of the Student Council Conferences (FSK)
EUt+ Department
Main Responsibilities:
- Mandatory active participation in the EUt+ Student Board (the student body in our alliance)
- Regular reporting and active participation in EUt+-related events
- National and European networking on the topic of European University Initiatives/European University Alliances
- Organizing informational offerings and events related to EUt+
Public Relations Working Group
Main Responsibilities:
- Regular, active support and evaluation of the AStA's communication channels (social media, AStA newsletter, AStA website)
- Publicly informing about university policy and reporting on current events
- Collaboration/support in drafting statements, press releases, and publications
- Coordination of internal and external student inquiries or statements
Difference between Department and Working Group
What is the difference between a department in the AStA and a working group (AG)?
The departments usually meet weekly for the AStA meetings, at which each department can bring up, discuss and vote on topics. The speakers have an advisory vote in the StuPa. In general, one can say that the departments have more of a political dimension and task.
In the working groups, individual consultations usually take place or they serve to maintain the infrastructure of the AStA or to carry out the tasks of the AStA. Working groups can and may contribute to AStA meetings, but have no vote in votes. They are responsible to the AStA departments, work according to its instructions and report regularly to the Student Parliament and the AStA.
Other open positions in student self-government
In addition to filling positions for departments and working groups, there are other committees that need to be filled.
These currently include:
- The Council of Elders (3 members)
- The Student Election Committee for the university elections in the winter semester 2025/2026 (6 members)
- The Student Election Committee (2 members)
For these positions, it is sufficient to contact the Student Parliament Presidium (praesidium.stupa@asta.hda.de) shortly beforehand or to attend the Student Parliament meeting and introduce yourself. There is no need for a formal application, as is the case for the departments/working groups.