Guide: what your affiliations get you
Evergreen answers researched 2026-07-21 across Heidelberg University, UKHD, DKFZ/NCT, TU Dresden and national services. The reader: a medical-imaging AI PhD student employed via Uniklinikum Heidelberg (UKHD) at NCT, enrolled at TU Dresden, holding a Heidelberg Uni-ID (URZ account). Rules change — the dashboard monitors the linked pages weekly.
The student-card question, settled
You cannot get a Heidelberg student card. Baden-Württemberg has no Zweithörer (secondary enrollment) status, and the only non-degree option — Gasthörer — explicitly grants no student ID, no student status, no semester ticket. A real student card would require moving your doctorate to a Heidelberg faculty.
You don't need one. Your UKHD employment covers nearly everything at staff level:
- Sports: Hochschulsport explicitly admits UKHD, DKFZ and NCT staff — sports ID 5 €/semester with an employment certificate. UKHD's own BGM program adds 100+ free/cheap courses.
- Library: university employees get a free UB Service Card (registration); externals pay 15 €/year.
- Mensa: open to staff and guests with a CampusCard — no student status needed (staff price tier).
- Transit: UKHD subsidizes the Deutschlandticket Job-Ticket to 34.85 €/month (benefits page; ordering is on the intranet). But note: your TUD Deutschlandsemesterticket is already a full Deutschlandticket valid on all Heidelberg VRN transit (226.80 €/semester ≈ 37.80 €/month, includes nationwide nextbike 30-min rentals) — you likely don't need both.
- Student discounts elsewhere: your TUD student card + ISIC + GitHub Student Pack work regardless of where you live.
GPU/HPC compute — four routes
| Route | What | How |
|---|---|---|
| Heidelberg (Uni-ID) | bwForCluster Helix: ~200× A100/A40 + H200; SDS@hd 20+ PB storage | heiSERVICES entitlement → bwHPC registration; also bwUniCluster 3.0 |
| TU Dresden (ZIH login) | Capella (624× H100), Alpha Centauri (A100) — free, fully remote via SSH | ZIH access → JARDS project application (supervisor as PI) |
| NHR alliance | National GPU centers (NHR@TUD, NHR@KIT HoreKa...) — free for German-university members | NHR access; Starter projects approved in days; PI must hold a doctorate |
| DKFZ/NCT | ODCF compute cluster, ITCF GPGPU cluster, 15+ PB storage | Needs a DKFZ identity (your NCT affiliation qualifies): ODCF project setup → cluster wiki unlocks with DKFZ credentials |
Institutional LLM services (GDPR-friendly, free)
- TUD:AI — chat + API (LLMs, transcription, embeddings) for anyone with a TUD login; TU Dresden is the GDPR-responsible body. Best default for API work with sensitive text.
- YoKI — Heidelberg's on-prem LLM platform (GPT-OSS, Qwen), students and employees, campus network/VPN.
- KISSKI Chat AI — free for all German universities via AcademicCloud/DFN-AAI login (open-weight models, ~400 req/day). ⚠ Funding continuation past mid-2026 unconfirmed — the dashboard watches AcademicCloud news.
Funding — where you're actually eligible
- Heidelberg Graduate Academy: NOT eligible — heiDOCS/LGF require admission to a Heidelberg faculty. (Heidelberg-enrolled labmates are.)
- TU Dresden Graduate Academy: your GA — historically travel awards up to 1 500 €, research-stay/summer-school grants up to 4 500 €, completion stipends. ⚠ As of mid-2026 no further 2026 calls; 2027 pending — exactly what the dashboard monitors.
- Med. Faculty Heidelberg internal programs — via your UKHD/faculty employment context (PI-driven; discuss with your group leader).
- External calls: MedFak's curated list, DFG, BMFTR health research, DKFZ-Hector seed funding.
Known intranet-only areas (not crawlable, ask HR/check intranet)
UKHD Jobticket ordering, UKHD corporate-benefits portal, Heidelberg GA course database, TUD Promovendus course registration, DKFZ ODCF cluster wiki.