On 30th August 2012 the University of Stuttgart received the certificate “family-friendly university” from berufundfamilie gGmbh. With the target agreement on “audit family-friendly university“, which was signed by the university management, Rector Prof. Dr. Wolfram Ressel and Chancellor Dr. Bettina Buhlmann on 26th June 2012, the university entered into the obligation to further develop the already existing support programmes for employees and students regarding the family-friendly organisation of study and work conditions at the university.
“As the university management“, according to Rector Professor Wolfram Ressel, “we consider the
topic of compatibility of work and study with family responsibilities to be particularly important:
it is an investment in the future.“
The University of Stuttgart sees itself as a family-friendly university and for this purpose
undertakes to anchor this credo in its structures, processes and tools. In this respect Prof.
Wolfram Ressel determined the compatibility of work and study with family responsibilities at the
beginning of his second period in office as Rector as one of the four focal points of the diversity
strategy at the University of Stuttgart along with the diversity dimensions gender,
internationalism and interdisciplinarity. The commitment at the university to the compatibility of
work, study and family ”is geared towards the guiding principle of a culture of diversity and the
active use of the potential resulting from all people and perspectives at the university“,
according to Wolfram Ressel in his 10-point programme on the future development of the
university.
University Chancellor Dr. Bettina Buhlmann underlined that the main aim along with the purely
operative implementation of the measures as being to create a family-friendly atmosphere throughout
the entire university: ”The basic family-friendly attitude includes respecting and acknowledging
the various interests of all university members. We are constantly committed towards employees and
students from our university being supported in finding a balance between their work and family
responsibilities.“
The aims and measures were worked out internally in the university in April 2012 in auditing
workshops. Around 80 people from all status groups and divisions in the university were involved in
this process.
The target agreement for the next three years comprises a total of 17 goals and 58 measures,
in particular with the focus on the fields of work and study organisation, leadership and service
offers for families. 14 of these measures will be implemented in the first year alone. Added to
this are 25 continuous measures for the coming three years.
Already existing family-friendly structures and successfully implemented measures will be
continued in the development and implementation of new measures:
Already established and tried and tested structures and measures at the University of Stuttgart
are (selection):
- The service University & Family with its advisory and support offers
- The Internet portal “www.uni-stuttgart.de/uniundfamilie.de“
- Possibilities of flexible working hours
- Regulations on teleworking
- The Dual Career Programme
- Child care offers such as, e.g. places for employees, emergency care and the holiday
programme for school children
Future measures are (selection):
- Consistent further development of the child care offers
-The expansion and central bundling of the information and advisory offer regarding
everything to do with compatibility
- Support measures for executives in administration, the institutes and faculties when
realising a family-oriented organisational culture
- Support in the compatibility of scientific qualifications with family responsibilities
- Optimisation of arrangement of temporary contracts
- Stronger consideration of family requirements when arranging work processes
- Support in the organisation of “Studying with a child“
- Optimisation of the processes regarding everything to do with parent and care leave
- Development of offers in the field of care
All member of the university are responsible for the implementation of the target agreement on
the ”audit family-friendly university“ of the University of Stuttgart, however in particular the
executives of the university. All members of the university are considered to be executives in
terms of the “audit family-friendly university“ who have responsibility for personnel and/or
perform management tasks and consequently have a decisive influence on the working conditions of
others. Those participating in the auditing at the University of Stuttgart were in agreement: if a
university promotes the compatibility of work, study and family, everybody benefits from this: It
- increases the opportunities for mothers and fathers to return to their workplaces resp. to
continue their studies quickly
- promotes equality between men and women
- reduces absent periods and the fluctuation of executives in science and administration
- enhances the attractiveness of the university as an employer and place to study and
- flexible work and study regulations increase the satisfaction of the employees and students
alike
Your contact persons:
Dr. Bettina Schmidt, University of Stuttgart, person responsible for the audit
tel. 0711/685-84037, email: auditfamilie(at)uni-stuttgart.de
Dr. Hans-Herwig Geyer, University of Stuttgart, University Communication
tel.:0711/685-82555, email: hans-herwig.geyer(at)hkom.uni-stuttgart.de