University of Erfurt awarded as a family-friendly university for the seventh time

The University of Erfurt had previously successfully completed the so-called dialogue procedure for the audit, which is open to employers who have been pursuing a strategic family and life-phase-conscious HR policy for at least nine years. The university was first awarded the certificate in 2005, which was valid for three years. The re-audits have now been followed by the third dialogue process, which has reconfirmed the permanent nature of the certificate.

"For many years, our university has been committed to a family-friendly personnel policy and family-friendly study conditions. Much has been achieved to date, as the renewed certification shows," says Dr Theresia Piszczan, Equal Opportunitiy and Family Affairs Officer at the University of Erfurt. The situation for students and employees with caring responsibilities has improved significantly, for example through the possibility of participating in hybrid events or through video conferencing.

The existing programmes and measures for a family-friendly university are continuously reviewed and developed further. For example, the counselling options on issues relating to care organisation, which have been intensified in recent years, will be further expanded in the future. With even closer cooperation between the Equal Opportunities Office, the International Office and the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, international students with family responsibilities will also become an even greater focus of the family-friendly university. In addition, preventative and training services in the area of mental health are to be expanded.

"We will continue to fill the 'audit family-friendly university' seal with life in the future and keep a close eye on the needs of university members with family responsibilities," announces Dr Theresia Piszczan. "And as a university, we will continue to make great efforts to develop family friendliness as an integral part of a living campus culture."