Student ID vs Athena Card: A Complete Overview
New international students, here's a helpful guide to two important cards we use at TU Darmstadt
2023/08/10
As an incoming international student at TU Darmstadt, there’s definitely some challenges you will face when trying to adjust to your new life. One of the things you have to learn is differentiating between the different cards you need to use to take advantage of the various facilities of the university. To help you with the typical confusion, here is our comprehensive guide to the two most important cards for your student life: the student ID and the Athena Card.
What differentiates the two cards?
The two cards look different and naturally have different uses. However, both are crucial to experiencing life at its fullest at TU Darmstadt. The student ID, which also has your semester ticket printed on the back of it, is a small and thin card that you can easily carry around in your pocket or wallet. The ticket allows students to use public transport within Darmstadt and the surrounding area without additional costs. It’s also common that students are asked to bring the student ID to exams or to show them as proof if you want to get student discounts in places like the cinema or restaurants.
Meanwhile, the Athena Card, which is a thicker card that you normally use by scanning, is used for multiple purposes, most commonly as a payment function for services offered by the Studierendenwerk like the Mensa (Cafeteria) or Bistro. But that’s not all, you can also borrow books and media from the libraries of TU Darmstadt or use the lockers in the libraries. There are even more uses to the card that you’ll surely find out during your stay here in Darmstadt.
In the Mensa and Bistro locations belonging to the Studierendenwerk, it’s cheaper to pay with the Athena Card. These locations are spread all around the city, so a useful map of their locations and also their menus can be found on Studierendenwerk’s website. The student-friendly prices make the food super worth it!
How do you get these cards?
To get these two cards, you have to complete important steps that coincide with your registration into the university. For the student ID, the steps are slightly different for exchange students compared to every other student. For you exchange students, you need to wait for the notice via e-mail from your coordinator at the International Relations & Mobility Office here in Darmstadt. For every other international student, it will be sent to your address that you inputted in TUCaN after you’ve completed your registration and paid the semester fee. Please keep in mind that the student ID is (re-)issued to all students each semester, so make sure that your semester address is always up to date in TUCaN!
For the Athena Card, the steps are the same for both exchange students and other international students. To apply for your Athena Card, you need to upload a photo to the IDM portal using your TU-ID login information. Afterwards, the card will be delivered to your semester address per post. There are some more instructions available on the HRZ website and even a tutorial video!
What do you do if you lose the cards?
For the student ID, it can be reissued when lost, but it is subject to a fee of 15.00 Euros. And it’s similar for your Athena Card; your first card is issued for free, but any further cards (like in case of loss) can be purchased for 20.00 Euros per card. Also note that if you have lost your Athena Card, you should block your readers account at the ULB as soon as possible. Hopefully you will never have to encounter this problem, but in case you do, now you know what to do! Of course, it’s always better to just take good care of them and not lose them.
Now that you know all of the benefits of owning both of these cards, don’t forget to get them as soon you arrive in Germany! It’s also important to know that both of these cards are personalized, so you shouldn’t lend it to other people.
These two cards are also not interchangeable. For example, you can’t use your Athene Karte as a semester ticket and vice versa. The ticket is valid for an entire semester (and also one month before the beginning of the semester) and can be used on buses, trams, and regional trains within the operational area of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV). The area that it covers is very wide, so not only does it help you to commute from your home to the university, but you can also spice up your life in Germany by traveling to other cities around Darmstadt.
For more information on the semester ticket and a map of the area where it is valid, go to AStA’s page on the semester ticket.
For even more information and FAQs about these cards you can visit the Athena Card page and also the student ID page. Have fun using these cards to make the most out of your time in TU Darmstadt!
Natasha,
Student Assistant at ISS
As a new international student, it was a bit confusing to me at first what the differences between the two cards were and how I can properly use them. But with time, it definitely became easier, especially with the help of the great friends and people I met along the way!
