Students once set off for university armed only with a buckled saucepan and a fork to work wonders with a tin of baked beans. Now they go equipped to cater for a dinner party for 20 - not that they are likely ever to hold such an event.

The list of must-have cooking implements alone is long and is the latest in student survival. It includes rice bowls, a lasagne dish, a three-way grater, double oven gloves as well as a set of saucepans.

Online shops, selling the ready-to-go kits for the university bedroom, study and kitchen, are cashing in on a generation of web-savvy students looking for short cuts, and parents who believe their teenager will only eat properly at university if they have all the right equipment.

Jane Roberts, 45, set up Unibox (theuni-box.com) after struggling to kit out her eldest son for a British university while living abroad. “I tried to get everything to him but I couldn't order it all online because the order dates weren't suitable. So I thought there's got to be an easier way.”

Unibox kits, ranging from £13.99 for a basic bedding set to £54.99 for a comprehensive kitchen pack, are timed to arrive at halls of residence on the same day as students turn up for university.

“It takes all the stress away, it can just be done as a real one-stop shop rather than trying to go around all the places,” says Roberts, who is on course to sell 7,000 packs this year. Parents and students buy the packs, she says, but adds: “Whether it's the students choosing and the parents paying for them I don't know.”

At another site, all-unied.com, students can choose from “essential” and “desirable” items. The company will store them during the holidays for an additional fee. An “all essentials pack” costs £90 and some universities have even designed their own kits, which are sold on their websites. But unless you are a true gourmet or like to cook for fun, do not get caught out.

Beyond the basics - a kettle, mugs, plates, saucepans and cutlery (costing about £30 from Argos for the lot), you do not need and will not have space for much more in your student kitchen. You are more likely to need five mugs so you can have friends round for a cup of coffee than a baking sheet and muffin tray. Your kettle will be overused, disappear, or break down so do not spend too much on one when you can get a functional and replaceable version on the high street for about £10.

It is often cheaper to get things separately and this means you will not be landed with too much of one thing and not enough of another. Call your university halls manager to find out what is already provided so that you do not double up.

Student life can be frenetic and unpredictable so the rice cooker and 14-piece wok-set are unlikely to have more than one outing a term before you resort to pasta stir-in and the occasional omelette for every meal.

Once you start fading away from lack of vitamins, persuade your parents to come to the rescue and send an emergency food parcel full of treats to see you through the dark days of the winter term.

Hamper companies dedicated to students are thriving. Hugh Band, founder of studenthampers.com explains the appeal of hampers: “It helps people to think they're not forgotten and lets parents, grandmas and aunts and uncles feel they're looking after their students.

“Parents don't particularly want to send money for students to go down to the pub but they do want to say we are missing you, you're cared about, we love you, here's some nice goodies for you to enjoy'.”

Goodies in the deluxe hamper include chocolates, biscuits, coffee and handmade marmalade for £59.95 and there is even an “exam hamper” complete with timetable and revision cards for £44.90.

But for John Foreman, dean of Students at University College London, student hampers and ready-made packs offering all you need for living away from home diminish the university experience.

“It's very important that students learn life skills and having everything on a plate means they're not learning how to live properly,” he says.

“Being able to do the things that most of us have to do, like shopping, is part of growing up and learning to be an individual and that's part of their education.”

The tendency to pamper students is part of a growing supervision culture, Foreman adds. “Parents take a far greater role in supervising their children's life at university than they used to and I don't think that is particularly healthy. I don't think it encourages them to be independent.”

Parents should let students get on with it. “Be there if they need you but otherwise leave them alone.”

His advice to students is equally chastening. It's in your own best interests to have a go for yourselves and know that your parents are there for you if you need them."

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