Family-friendly University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart has been recognized several times over the years for being family-friendly. It is dedicated to the continued development of support offerings it currently provides for employees and students by way of family-friendly work and study environments. It is not only members of the University with family obligations who benefit from a university that is organized as family-friendly: we also win by attracting and retaining highly qualified employees, using our human resources more effectively, and reducing family-conditioned interruptions to studies.
All University of Stuttgart members have a responsibility for implementing these goals and standards, but this applies especially to management. Our university leadership lends its active support to making career and studies compatible with family life.
"Making career and studies compatible with family is part of our University's strategy."
Prof. Wolfram Ressel, Rector, University of Stuttgart
As family, the University of Stuttgart understands all life partnerships which take on long-term social responsibility, including parents and children, life partners, siblings, grandparents, as well as relatives needing care.
The „FamiliesCAMPUS Stadtmitte“ and „FamiliesCAMPUS Vaihingen“ maps feature all family-related locations for our University: childcare, diapering facilities, playgrounds, and family service points. The Studierendenwerk Stuttgart also provides family housing units for students with children.
The family-friendly facilities offer various ways of use:
In December of 2017, the multi-functional room at the house of students was opened. It’s located at the house of students on the 4th floor with the room number 4.006.
The room can be used as:
- A parent child room
- Nursing room
- Recreational area for disabled and chronically-ill people as well as pregnant women
Apart from nursing and changing your child’s diapers, the room may be used for studying or working while looking after your child in a child-friendly environment. This way, employees can handle last-minute child-care emergencies and students are able to look after their child between lectures.
For this purpose they are offered a desk with a telephone, a changing table, a lounger with a privacy shield and the KidsBox. The room can be used by employees or students of the University of Stuttgart. You may use the room once or multiple times – either for a short amount of time or the whole day.
Via the sign on the door frame, you can indicate if the room is currently in use and if you wish to use it by yourself or if a second person may use the room at the same time. When leaving the room, please switch the "in use" sign for "free". Please turn off the lights and electronic devices, close the windows and lock the door upon your leave.
By making use of this room, you agree to the terms of use [de] posted in each room. A key can be obtained from these persons/facilities at the House of Students, 4th Floor:
- Sigrid Eicken, room 4.028
- Monika Rupp [de], room 4.009
- Ulrich Eggert, room 4.021
- If the persons listed above are not available: Central House Service in the entrance hall, Pfaffenwaldring 55, room 0.364
The keys are to be returned to the person you obtained them from, or to the respective mailbox on the 4th floor. Exept of the key of the Central House Service: If agreed upon with the house service, you can return the key to the security service in the next room (room 0.362).
There is no fixed claim on the room or a specific time, neither is there a preference for a specific group of people. As long as it is discussed and agreed upon, multiple people may use the room at the same time (e.g. as a recreational area and a nursing room). Currently it is not possible to book the room in advance.
Point of contact for use as a nursing and baby-care room or rehabilitation area for pregnant women: Inken de Wit
Point of contact for use as a rehabilitation area for disabled or chronically ill people: Sigrid Eicken
Since November 2019, a new parent-child room at the Campus Vaihingen has been available to students and employees of the University of Stuttgart. If your regular childcare gets canceled at short notice, you can use the room to work or study and to take care of your child in a suitable environment at the same time. What’s more, the room can be used for breastfeeding, feeding, changing the baby’s diaper or as a sanctuary for parents and their children. The room offers enough space for resting, snuggling up or reading, and has:
- two workspaces with telephone and access points (WiFi, please bring your own laptop)
- kitchen, including refrigerator, microwave, (children's) crockery
- large baby-changing table
- nursing chair
- child’s bed (please bring your own cover or support for child’s mattress)
- clamping seat (as children’s high chair)
- Kidsbox with drawing table and various toys, drawing materials and books
- three gym mats/crawling mats
- beanbag and play tent
The room is in Pfaffenwaldring 57, 2nd floor, Room 2.526, and can be reached by elevator. You can use the room once or several times – just for a short time or for a whole day. If you use the room, you automatically consent to the rules governing the use of the room which hang up on the wall. The room must be reserved via C@ampus (search > rooms > search term: PF57/02/2.526) or by emailing Manuela Schlummer-Held. This ensures that all users can find out in advance if the room is occupied. Short-term use of the breast-feeding and baby changing facilities is of course possible without a reservation.You can obtain a key from these persons/offices.
- Pfaffenwaldring 57 (2. OG): Silke Börner
- Pfaffenwaldring 57 (8. OG): Elke Gangl
- Pfaffenwaldring 61: Stefanie Siegert
- Azenbergstraße 12: Manuela Schlummer-Held
- Pfaffenwaldring 55 (EG, Nachbargebäude): Zentraler Hausservice Vaihingen, Raum: 0.364, T 0711 685-60040, Mo-Do: 6:30-15:30 Uhr, Fr: 6:30-15:00 Uhr
Please be aware that the published opening hours for those in charge of handing out keys are not binding. Opening hours may be subject to change in the case of illness or an important appointment. Please contact the relevant person by telephone to make sure you will have access to a key at the required time.
There is no entitlement to reserve the room at a particular time and no preference is given to any particular individuals. Multiple people may use the room at the same time providing they agree to do so.
Because the parent-child office has only recently been set up and we are currently trialing the usage concept, we would appreciate it if you could give us some feedback.
Contact person: Manuela Schlummer-Held
In early 2018, an additional room was put into service in the city center at Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 24 C. It is on the 1st floor, Room 1.124. This room can be used:
- as a quiet room for disabled and chronically ill people as well as for pregnant women
- as a feeding or baby-changing room
For this reason, a recliner with a privacy screen is available, as are two tables which can be used as a desk or a baby-changing table. Please bring your own baby-changing mat.
Key for the room
If you use the room, you automatically consent to the rules [de] governing the use of the room which hang up on the wall. You can obtain a key from the following persons/offices:
For short-term and irregular use:
- Central Facility Management in the foyer on the ground floor, Keplerstr. 11 (KI)
- Kurt Hagemann (1.129)
- Staff Council (Room 1.107)
For regular use over a longer period of time (for example a semester or during a pregnancy):
- For disabled and chronically ill students: Sigrid Eicken
- For disabled and chronically ill employees: Kurt Hagemann
- For pregnant women and for use as a baby-changing room: Inken de Wit
The key must be returned to the relevant person subject to agreement.
Occupied / vacant
You can use the sign on the door to make it clear that the room is being occupied, and whether you want to be left alone or whether somebody else can use the room at the same time. When you leave the room please change the sign to “frei” (vacant). When leaving the room, please also close the windows, switch off the lights and electronic devices, and close the doors.
The room is available to students and employees of the University of Stuttgart. You can use the room just once, several times or on a regular basis. This room is not intended to be used for the entire day. There is no entitlement to reserve the room at a particular time and no preference is given to any particular individuals. Multiple people may use the room at the same time providing they agree to do so (e.g. as a quiet room and at the same time as a baby-changing room). It is not possible to reserve the room in advance.
Feedback
Because the multi-function room is still new and we are currently still trialing the usage concept, we would be happy if you could give us some feedback [de].
Contact person for using the room as a parent-child room and a breastfeeding or baby-changing room: Inken de Wit
Contact person for using the room as a quiet room or sanctuary: Sigrid Eicken and Kurt Hagemann
As well as the two parent-child rooms in the Student Services Center and at Pfaffenwaldring 57, there are additional facilities at the university which are equipped with a KidsBox.
A Kidsbox can be used in the university libraries at the Vaihingen and City Center campuses.
Employees of the university can loan a KidsBox from the following places and use it for example in their own offices:
- at the Sim Tech Cluster of Excellence (Pfaffenwaldring 5a)
- at the Institute for Theoretical Chemistry (NWZ I, Pfaffenwaldring 55)
- at the Uni & Family Service (Azenbergstraße 12)
Additional offers
The Uni & Family Service in the Gender Equality Office is the go-to resource for all staff members and students with questions on balancing career, studies, and family at the University of Stuttgart. The Uni & Family Officer coordinates already existing and develops further compatibility measures and supports the university's internal networks. In addition, she has project responsibility for the "audit familiengerechte hochschule" (family-friendly university audit) and represents the university management in regional and national networks, especially in the largest German-speaking network for family policy at universities, the "Familie in der Hochschule e.V.".
The University of Stuttgart has appointed an interested employee as a care advisor. The care advisor offers a personal point of contact for employees and students who care for relatives. The advisor provides assistance if, for example, a relative suddenly requires care unexpectedly, as well providing information about where affected persons can obtain further advice.
At the University of Stuttgart, there are a number of services designed to support students with children. You are welcome to join our newsletter to get information and news concerning young family lifestyle (e.g. about child benefits, maternity leave) or events for studying parents (e.g. holiday childcare programs, networking events for studying parents).
Subscribe to receive regular information (once a month) from Service Uni & Family. Just write an e-mail (without text message). You can unsubscribe at any time.
Hohenheim-Stuttgart Kids University
The Kids University is offered by the University to children between the ages of eight and twelve. Every semester, professors explain complex sets of facts relating to topics in their research fields in terms that children can understand.
Pupil Campus on Science Day
Once a year, on Science Day the University of Stuttgart opens its laboratories to let visitors explore the world of science and its insights. The day includes a Pupil Campus, a program of exploration geared to children and youth when not just besides observing and listening but doing hands-on experiments frequently is the order of the day.
Mensa: Kids eat for free
Students' children up to the age of ten can partake of meals free of charge in Stuttgart Student Services cafeterias.
Students with children are very welcome to join the regular meetings of our Studying & Family network. Here you can network with other students with children and swap experiences.
The meetings are organized by the Uni & Family Service and take place roughly once a month at the Vaihingen and Downtown campuses (Stadtmitte). All those taking part can contribute ideas, questions and suggestions and have their say in organizing future meetings. The dates of upcoming network meetings are announced on our News [de]. If you want to be kept informed by e-mail, please sign up for our Studying & Family mailing list.
In contrast to other networks, the network Uni & Care is not target group specific but designed for employees and students with nursing responsibilities or future nursing needs. During the meetings, especially general and university-specific information in regards to legal rights and flexibility programs in the nursing field as well as the need of help for family members without a level of care are discussed.
The network meets every last Tuesday of the month, alternating between the campus Vaihingen and Stadtmitte with around 10 members regularly attending and is guided by a care-coordinator and the managing director of the Service Uni & Family. Please subscribe to our internal mailing-list (write E-mail).
The virtual FamilyNETWORK entails a university-internal classified-ads service for employees and students of the University of Stuttgart. It was created in collaboration with the Service Uni & Family and the Technical Information and Communication Service (TIK) with the financial support of the collaborative research center Transregio 75 to further the exchange and mutual support between studying parents.
You can find important information in the Studying Abroad with a Child [de] portal, as well as reports from other students on issues relating to studying abroad with a child. The page has been developed as part of the “Family at the University” best practice club, with the aim of supporting students with children.
Exchange – our family networks
The University of Stuttgart supports exchange between members of the university on how to juggle the demands of work and family life. There are four different active family networks, whose members mostly meet up and exchange ideas over lunch. Students are very welcome to join either of the following networks.
Students with children are welcome to attend our regular Studying and Family network meetings. These give you the opportunity to talk to other students with children and exchange information and experience, as well as widen your network.
These meetings are organized by the Uni & Family service and usually take place once a month on the Vaihingen and Stadtmitte campuses.
All of those involved are welcome to contribute ideas, ask questions and help to design and structure the service's wider network.
The dates for current network meetings will be published in our news section. If you would like to be informed via email, please add your name and email address to the Studium & Familie mailing list.
In contrast to the other networks, the Uni & Care network is not aimed at any specific group. It is intended for all employees and students who are carers, or who will become carers in the future. The meetings focus on general and unspecific information about the rights and flexibility demands in the field of care, but the needs of relatives where lower Levels of care are required are also discussed.
This network meets on the last Thursday in the month and usually welcomes at least ten regular participants. The meetings alternate between the Stadtmitte and Vaihingen campuses and a care advisor and the director of the Uni & Family service are also in attendance. If you are interested in joining then simply add your name to our intern mailing list (via email).
The virtual Family NETWORK offers a university-internal "search and find" portal [de] for employees and students at the University of Stuttgart. This was created as a cooperative project by the Uni & Family Service, and the Technical Information and Communication Services (TIK), with financial support from the Collaborative Research Center Transregio 75, to initiate the exchange of information and mutual support.
Contact
Inken de Wit
Dipl. oec.Service Uni & Family
- Profile page
- +49 711 685 84037
- Write e-mail
- Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Julia König
Service Uni & Family
- Profile page
- +49 711 685 84037
- Write e-mail
- Tuesday to Thursday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.