Digital Campus Cards: Status quo and future developments of Digital IDs in the EU

Digital ID cards for students: What are Digital Campus Cards?

A Digital Campus Card is the digital alternative to the traditional ID card made of plastic, which has long been used by students and staff at universities and colleges. Accessible directly on a smartphone – usually via a mobile app or integrated into a digital ‘wallet’ – a Digital Campus Card is more than just a digital replica of the physical plastic card:

The Digital Campus Card displays up-to-date personal information of students or university staff, the authenticity of which can be verified using security mechanisms such as cryptographic verification. Furthermore, additional functions such as a termly travel pass for public transport, library cards, canteen payment systems or electronic door access (NFC) can also be integrated into the Digital Campus Card.

The European Student Card and EUDI: Recent developments at EU level

Just a few years ago, there were only a handful of higher education institutions that acted as digital pioneers by developing their own digital ID cards instead of the traditional paper ID – for example, in collaboration with Studo. These solutions paved the way for transnational initiatives such as the European Student Card (ESC). With offerings such as the European Student Card, a digital student ID is no longer tied to a single university but, thanks to EU-wide standards, also works across borders. This is not only relevant in terms of a common European higher education area but also facilitates international and seamless mobility between campuses.

This development is now being driven forward even further by another EU initiative, the EU Digital Identity (EUDI). With this digital European identity, the trend is moving away from isolated solutions and towards a digital, mobile ecosystem that brings together not only the education sector but all areas of public life. EU Member States must make the EUDI wallet available to their citizens by the end of 2026. For universities and students, this means that student status can also be stored via this wallet. As a so-called ‘verifiable credential’, the European Student Card, provided it is issued by the university, will be stored in the wallet. This will allow students to identify themselves as students throughout the European Union.

National progress on digital ID cards in higher education

Whilst work is still ongoing in Germany to finalise a digital identity based on EUDI – with the launch planned for late 2026 or early 2027 – it is already part of everyday life in other countries: In Austria, the electronic student ID card has been available digitally since April 2026 as part of “ID Austria” (in use since 2023). Use of the ID card is voluntary, and recognition is at the discretion of the respective university or higher education institution. The French equivalent is called “France Identité” and has been storing personal identity documents since February 2024. Through integration with the European Student Card, the digital student ID can also be added here. In Croatia and Slovenia, too, all preparations are currently being made for the national roll-out of the EUDI Wallet, which is expected to be available to users by the end of this year.

Why universities are switching to digital ID cards

Switching to digital ID cards saves resources and resolves numerous administrative challenges faced by university IT departments and administrations. For this reason, Digital Campus Cards have been a recurring topic at European universities for several years and represent one of the most significant current developments in IT:

Digital Campus Cards eliminate the costs associated with plastic cards, as well as with printing stations and terminals used to validate ID cards. Time-consuming administrative processes such as printing, issuing and posting physical ID cards are completely eliminated, which also reduces staffing costs. Furthermore, by moving away from plastic, a university is taking an important step towards sustainability.

With a Digital Campus Card, the IT department retains full control over all issued identities via a dashboard. Unlike plastic ID cards, digital IDs cannot be “lost” but are always available on a smartphone – even offline, if required.

Digital Campus Cards are automatically generated upon enrolment and are updated or blocked in real time depending on the student’s enrolment status. Whilst physical cards are not forgery-proof, Digital Campus Cards utilise multiple encryption techniques – such as cryptographic verification or holograms – thereby ensuring greater data security and integrity.

A Digital Campus Card is also flexible and expandable. New functions, such as those relating to access management, public transport tickets or payment solutions, can be added to all students’ digital IDs with a single click.

Studo’s Digital Campus Card: A wide range of additional features

Studo is the first software company in the German-speaking world to have been providing digital ID cards for universities and higher education institutions since 2021. Thanks to direct connection to a higher education institution’s existing IT infrastructure and integration via LDAP, Shibboleth and SAML, Studo’s Digital Campus Card can be deployed rapidly and is immediately compatible with individual systems.

As digital identity technologies have advanced at both national and EU level, Studo’s Digital Campus Cards have also been enhanced: for example, Studo is an official provider of the European Student Card and supports universities with technical integration with the ESC router and the automated generation of European Student Identifiers (ESI). This reduces the technical workload for a university’s IT department, and the ESC is available to the university in no time.

In addition to integrating additional features such as a library card, payment options, public transport tickets, and access management solutions, the Digital Campus Card also enables a particularly important function: Critical Alerts.

These emergency push notifications can be sent by universities in an emergency situation to alert students and university staff. The app associated with the Digital Campus Card is authorised to send emergency push notifications that override the phone’s silent mode. This means that, in an emergency, all users are informed immediately and reliably with a single click, even if they have blocked push notifications.

Learn more about the Digital Campus Card or discover all the possibilities and features in a personal meeting.