HSZG Brings d-you into Everyday College Life
As a launch partner for the new government-sponsored digital identity wallet, d-you, HSZG is rolling out specific applications for enrolment and student ID cards and is playing an early role in shaping their use in higher education.
The German government’s EUDI wallet is called d-you and is set to launch on January 2, 2027. About 40 launch partners from the business, academic, and government sectors are developing their own applications for it. The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) is among them.
Lars Rönisch represented the HSZG at the unveiling of d-you on September 9 at the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernization in Berlin. There, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs Dr. Karsten Wildberger, together with the launch partners, presented the name, the logo, and the next steps for introducing the wallet. As Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer, Lars Rönisch is leading the digital transformation of HSZG.
The HSZG is shaping the use of d-you with
The specific applications at HSZG are being developed and tested as part of the Campus.Connect² project, which the university is implementing in collaboration with the Dresden University of Applied Sciences. The goal is to integrate digital identities and credentials into university processes, thereby paving the way for further steps toward fully digital administrative processes.
With d-you, digital identity is now taking concrete shape. We got involved early on with use cases from the university sector and are thus playing a pioneering role. The focus now is on designing processes so that students can identify themselves securely in the future, regardless of location or time—and on developing solutions that other universities can also use in the future.
”Enrolment is set to become fully digital
A first concrete use case involves enrolment. The HSZG’s goal is to establish a process that, in the future, can be handled entirely digitally—from identification and verification of the required information all the way through to payment.
For secure digital identification, the HSZG plans to use both BundID and d-you in the future. Identity verification should be possible directly via the wallet. Additionally, BundID can be used for legally compliant delivery to a digital mailbox. This will make it possible to handle further steps in the enrollment process entirely digitally in the future. The technical support for this is already available in HISinOne.
According to current plans, the first implementation at HSZG is scheduled for enrolment for the summer semester of 2027.
Digital Identity for Employees, Too
Digital identification may also play a role in the future for employee-related processes. For example, it is intended that BundID be used for email and digital signature certificates. Currently, this requires an in-person identity verification.
In the future, this step could be carried out entirely digitally. The current in-person process will remain available as an alternative. Digital identification can also serve as the basis for security procedures such as multi-factor authentication.
Student ID Card Right in Your Wallet
Another component of Campus.Connect² is the digital student ID card. It is intended to be made available as verified proof directly in the wallet.
Students could use it to digitally verify their student status, for example, with public institutions or other participating organizations. In order for the digital ID to be used in everyday life outside the university, the relevant organizations must accept this digital proof. According to current plans, the digital student ID card is scheduled to become available in the first quarter of 2027.
Solutions for Other Universities
Campus.Connect² has been designed with future reusability in mind from the very beginning. Many universities use the HISinOne campus management system. The project’s results are therefore intended to be integrated into existing systems in such a way that they can eventually be used at other universities as well.
d-you itself is to be gradually developed further after its launch and expanded to include additional features and digital credentials. Use of the platform is voluntary and free of charge. Digital credentials are stored in encrypted form on the user’s device. The system is based on common technical standards of the European Union, so that the wallet can eventually be used across borders as well.
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