Whoever enters the mechanical engineering building of the Technical University of Munich cannot avoid the student council.

On the way to the lecture halls and seminar rooms, through the multi-storey, light-flooded entrance hall, there is a glass cube.

It can be seen from afar who is at home here: the four representatives of all around 4000 students at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

And the more than 160 voluntary members of the student council.

Toni Seibold is deputy head of what is probably the largest German student body.

She explains: "When the new faculty was built in 1997, the student council was able to help decide where they wanted their premises to be." That's why the student council center is now where all students come by more or less every day during the lecture period, where they mainly come during the exam phase be able to talk to student council representatives early in the morning or late in the evening or learn together with them.

The student council's latest coup: a free water dispenser at the entrance to their rooms.

It's only a small change, but the water dispenser ensures that more and more students stop by who don't know what to do with the student institution or who are afraid of contact.

You are greeted by a view of a homely atmosphere of a classic mechanical engineering flat share: a mixture of second-hand sofas, a forest of screens and a randomly thrown together kitchenette, but equipped with a portafilter machine that would make many an Italian barista green with envy.

“Study always comes first”

Actually, there is always someone there who represents the student council, like on this Friday afternoon at the end of a gray winter.

"You're never really alone here, there's always someone you can talk to, even about problems.

There is simply an open and welcoming atmosphere here, and you can tell that many are friends here," says Seibold's colleague Elene Mamaladze, who is currently the head of the student council.

The 24-year-old master's student with a focus on human-machine interaction will hand over management to Seibold, who is the same age and specializes in energy and process technology, in the next winter semester.

"In all departments, we actually form a management team consisting of at least two people who work together in parallel for a year," says Mamaladze.

In this way, the newcomers can learn from the experienced.

To ensure that no knowledge is otherwise lost, the students have created a student council wiki in which everyone can write a contribution.

If someone needs advice quickly, they can write to the signal group, former members sometimes reply here.

"Actually, almost everyone is reading along, and if you need information or something needs to be organized, you get help very quickly, even in the evening or at the weekend," says Seibold.