News

Berlin, Germany universities pilot kiosks for issuing student ID cards

January 25, 2017

A new system deployed at universities in Berlin, Germany is taking an alternative approach to issue student ID cards by using kiosks, according to CR80News, a magazine that covers the campus card industry.

In an attempt to alleviate the issuance process for the more than 180,000 students enrolled in Berlin’s universities, six campuses participated in a joint project that has introduced self-service kiosks from Evolis, a provider of card printers and ID solutions, for the instant issuance of student cards. The system is now enabling students to create and print their own campus cards in less than a minute and has opened the door to issuance outside the normal working hours of the campus card office.

Deployed in autumn 2016, the new ID issuance system has made it possible to convert outdated paper documents to multifunction contactless cards. In addition to serving as students’ primary form of identification on campus, the credentials act as a loan card for the university library, an electronic wallet for the cafeteria, as well as a bus and train ticket.

Prior to the new kiosk system, there wasn’t an instant issuance solution or plastic cards in place at the Berlin campuses, with the only form of student identification being printed on a paper-based credential.