Children needing looking after, relatives requiring care, a partner in hospital – many situations in life can result in having to take on additional caring responsibilities. It is the Cluster of Excellence’s aim to create an environment for all its staff and guests where it is possible to balance family and academic career.
The Cluster of Excellence provides childcare at events organized by its Academic Management, and covers the costs for childcare that Cluster members arrange for their conferences and workshops. If you would like to make use of these services at an upcoming event, then simply contact staff in the Cluster of Excellence office.
Cluster of Excellence members can apply for provisions to compensate for any disadvantages involved by their responsibilities of care, e.g. support from student assistants. The Cluster of Excellence has sufficient funds for this purpose.
The Cluster of Excellence has two KidsBoxes that can be used both for childcare at events and by staff themselves who might need to take their children to work for a period of time. The KidsBox can easily be rolled out at any location and transformed into a playroom with toys for children aged 0 to 7, as well as mattresses and a travel cot. Should you need a KidsBox in your office or for an event, simply contact the Cluster’s office – this can also be done spontaneously.
Staff can often better balance work with their responsibilities of care when they work from home or from elsewhere. In justified cases, the Cluster of Excellence allows staff to set up a home office with the appropriate IT equipment. It also provides the technology with microphones and cameras (‘Meeting Owl’) to enable staff to participate online in many meetings.
There is a reading corner with books for different age groups in the foyer of the Cluster of Excellence building, where children who need to pass a little time in the Cluster can make themselves at home.
In justified cases, parents of children aged up to a year can take their child and another person to provide childcare when travelling on university business, with the Cluster of Excellence covering travel and accommodation costs.
As a family-friendly university, the University of Münster does all it can to help its staff balance work and family, providing childcare services ranging from daycare centres to activities for secondary-school children during the holidays, giving advice in situations where relatives require care, taking account of family-related stress in health management, and offering support for single parents. The family portal provides an overview of services pertaining to family and responsibilities of care. All staff can contact the Family Service Office with questions to do with the family.
