Promoting a healthy work-study-family balance

Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 23 September 2015: Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences has been officially certified as a family-friendly university. This comes as the culmination of an official audit process, which was conducted over the course of 2015. The purpose of the audit was to examine the University in terms of how well it accommodates students and staff in finding a healthy balance for their work, study and family obligations. The audit, which was conducted by berufundfamilie gGmbH, an initiative of the non-profit Hertie Foundation in Germany, represents a strategic instrument aimed at promoting a positive work-life balance throughout society by encouraging improvements to frameworks, structures and HR policies of companies and other organisations.

This new certification also highlights the University Executive Board’s awareness of the importance of this topic and its ongoing efforts to improve policies for all students and staff of the university. “I’m very pleased with the successful conclusion of this initial audit process. It’s visible proof that the University has implemented and developed effective family-friendly measures over the years. This certificate is only just the beginning, though – now our task will be to develop and implement the many measures outlined in the audit’s objective agreement”, noted Professor Dr Nele Wild-Wall, Equal Opportunities Commissioner at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

The question of a healthy work-study-family balance has been an ongoing focus of the University since its founding, and will remain so for the future. The coming three years in particular will see not only the development of many new measures, but also their thorough implementation as well. Some examples include fleshing out new ideas for flexible working hours and locations, and envisioning improvements to existing organisational and structural concepts. Students should be able to benefit from this with more family-friendly study conditions and scheduling, for example. All students and staff are highly encouraged to support this long-term development process with their own ideas and initiative.

Rhine-Waal University’s current certification will expire by the end of 2018. Nevertheless, the University is committed to using the next years to continuously improve and implement effective changes to its policies and structures, ensuring that it remain qualified for another audit and re-certification.