In the run-up to the renaming, the community was asked for suggestions. The aim was to find a name that not only included the Potsdam location, but also the other two university towns in the area of responsibility, Brandenburg an der Havel and Wildau. At the same time, the aim was to create an analogy to the second partner Studierendenwerk in Brandenburg. The former Studentenwerk Frankfurt (Oder) has therefore been operating under the name Studierendenwerk Ost:Brandenburg since the beginning of September.
Peter Heiß, managing director of the Studierendenwerk, is satisfied with the chosen approach:
"Our services are open to all students. What we have always practiced is now finally reflected in our name. This approach is also reflected in our new corporate design. The "i" as a recurring element stands for the 31,000 students as the center of our work. But it also represents the 200 employees who make it all possible day after day. Employees who prepare healthy lunches in the Mensa kitchens, who open the doors to the first own home in the residence halls, who provide counselling when worries arise and who process thousands of BAföG-Applications semester after semester, thus laying the foundation for study financing. I am pleased to now turn this social core of our work even more visibly outward."
The corporate design used so far dates back to the early 1990s, when the organization was founded, and has been used ever since. The name has also remained untouched until now. In response to widespread requests from the student body and the institution itself, the renaming process has finally been implemented. The Studierendenwerk West:Brandenburg is thus in good company, as 49 out of 57 student service institutions and the umbrella organization itself, the Deutsches Studierendenwerk, have now given themselves a contemporary name.
With the publication of the amended statutes in the official gazette of the state of Brandenburg (only in German: No. 38 of September 25, 2024), the new name "Studierendenwerk West:Brandenburg" can now be used with immediate legal effect. This was preceded by the amendment of the Brandenburg Higher Education Act (BbgHG of April 9, 2024), which created the legal framework for the renaming. The administrative board already passed the resolution for the official name change in November 2022.
A renaming takes time. There will be a longer transition phase in which both worlds and images will be present in parallel. Managing Director Peter Heiß: "We have given ourselves two years to completely replace and address everything. This relatively long period of time is due to the fact that we want to conserve resources as much as possible."
The renaming also goes hand in hand with a new way of being reached: the Studierendenwerk website can now be accessed at www.stwwb.de, and the email domain is @stwwb.de.