HSZG Is Now Officially a "Family-Friendly University"

Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences was honored on June 18, 2024, at the 26th certificate award ceremony hosted by berufundfamilie Service GmbH in Berlin. On behalf of the HSZG, the university’s rector, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Kratzsch, accepted the certificate for the first time during a festive ceremony. The “family-friendly university” seal of quality was presented by Lisa Paus, Member of the German Bundestag (MdB), the audit’s patron and Federal Minister for Family Affairs; by Oliver Schmitz, Managing Director of berufundfamilie Service GmbH; and by Prof. Dr. Dr. Helmut Schneider, holder of the SVI Endowed Chair for Marketing and Dialog Marketing at Steinbeis University and certification officer for the berufundfamilie Board of Trustees.

The HSZG is one of a total of 306 organizations—119 companies, 151 institutions, and 36 universities—that were awarded the “audit berufundfamilie” or “audit family-friendly university” certificate this year. The awarding of the quality seal was preceded by a structured audit process lasting several months, during which solutions were developed to better balance studies, work, family, and personal life, and the family-friendly approach was embedded in the university’s culture . Participants from all departments developed goals for the various topic areas during the audit workshop in late November 2023 and used these to devise a wide range of measures. These goals and measures were compiled into a list by early January 2024, assigned responsibilities and deadlines, and presented to the Rector’s Office. Following their approval, the list was submitted to berfundfamile, and after a positive review, the certificate was officially presented in Berlin.

In his remarks at the certification ceremony—which was held under the theme “Responsibility Reloaded: Who, What, How Much?”—Oliver Schmitz also emphasized the importance and responsibility of organizations: “Companies, institutions, and universities that are committed to work-life balance or study-life balance through the ‘audit berufundfamilie’ or ‘audit familiengerechte hochschule’ initiatives take on the responsibility of making work-life balance a strategic priority and driving it forward. They systematically bring this responsibility to life, so that awareness of family and life stages becomes a driving force in their culture. In doing so, they also demonstrate their commitment to adequately addressing the individual needs of their employees and, where applicable, students—and thereby ensure the functionality and viability of their organization. That’s truly unique!”