Contact: Equality Team
The Equality Team is your point of call for all issues concerning equality and family.
Women’s network and events for female students
Frauennetzwerk@THU
Frauennetzwerk@THU is a network for female students at THU, set up by the Equality Representative. It provides female students with information about Equality events, and also gives them the opportunity to network with each other.
If you would like to take part, you can sign up to the Moodle course (German) of the same name. Just get in touch with the Equality Team at gleichstellungsteam@thu.de.
Events for female students
The Equality Team offers the following formats regularly:
• Informal discussion evenings (the so-called "Kaminabende") – successful women from industry come to THU to talk about their career and answer students’ questions
• Seminars and training sessions on topics such as careers, job applications, and personal development
• Awareness and empowerment workshops
Mentoring and buddy programm
Mentoring
The mentoring concept: An experienced person (mentor) passes on their specialist knowledge and experience to a person with less experience (mentee). THU participates in a variety of programs.
proTHU-Mentoring:
proTHU - Network of alumni and supporters of Ulm University of Applied Sciences (in German)
The proTHU Network consists of alumni and people who wish to support Ulm University of Applied Sciences. It also offers a mentoring program.
HAWKarriere Career Mentoring Program:
HAWKarriere Career Mentoring Program
The HAWKarriere Career Mentoring Program is an inter-university program for young academic employees and new professors (mentees) at universities of applied sciences (Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften – HAW). It is implemented as part of FH-Personal, a federal-state program.
BayernMentoring (only for women):
BayernMentoring
Female students at THU have the option to take part in the BayernMentoring program at Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences. The mentors there are women who work in industry. There is also an accompanying program of training sessions, workshops, and lectures. If you would like to become a mentee in this project, please contact the Equality Team at gleichstellungsteam@thu.de.
Student buddy program for female first years at THU
In this program, female students, who have already been at our university for some time, support female first years during their start at THU. If you are interested, please contact the Equality Team, who will find you a partner. The buddy and the fresher meet up for a coffee, and then decide for themselves if they wish to stay in touch.
If you would like to be a buddy, or if you are a fresher looking for a buddy, just write an email to gleichstellungsteam@thu.de.
Support programs, scholarships, and external networks
Support programs and scholarships
There are many offers of support for female students on STEM degree programs. Here are some links to pages providing an overview of the scholarships and other support programs on offer:
Women’s networks in the sciences
- Scientifica is the portal for women in science and technology in Baden-Württemberg. It offers an overview of various Women in Science networks (partly in English). Here you can find the latest dates for the informatica feminale (summer school) and the meccanica feminale (winter school). Both include lectures, workshops, and a lot of networking in their programs.
- You can find lots of information for women in STEM careers on the Frauen in MINT-Berufen website (in German). For example, this organization also offers workshops for female students.
Advice services
The Equality Team is happy to advise and support you! You will find all the relevant contact people and their details under Contacts.
For example, we can offer you advice on:
• Combining career and family life
• Equality
• Mentoring offers
• Grants and support programs
• all questions regarding gender-related discrimination, sexualized harassment, and violence
Contact for students with disabilities
So that students with disabilities or chronic illnesses are not disadvantaged in their studies, Ulm University of Applied Sciences has established the office of Representative for Students with Disabilities. One of the Representative’s tasks is to assert claims for compensation for disability-related disadvantages. The person holding this office is elected by the Senate for a term of four years.
The Representative for Students with Disabilities is currently Prof. Dr. Felix Capanni. You can reach him at Felix.Capanni@thu.de or on 0731 96537-371. Felix Capanni is Deputy Dean of Department T.
There are also many support centers in Ulm:
• Ulm City Council has compiled an overview of them (machine translation available, toggle language in top-right corner).
• Ulm Students’ Union (Studierendenwerk Ulm) also provides a Psychosocial Support Center for students. The advice and courses on offer here are open to all students in the Ulm Students’ Union (Studierendenwerk Ulm) – this includes THU students. It also offers legal advice and advice on family issues.
A family friendly University of Applied Sciences
Ulm University of Applied Sciences has been officially rated as a “Family-focused organization” (website in German). The following offers for families are currently available:
Family rooms/rooms for breastfeeding
There is a family room at both THU campuses. These are rooms where students or employees with children can go if, for example, they were unable to find childcare for that day. All rooms have desks and child-friendly facilities. There is also a PC available in the Prittwitzstrasse.
The family rooms are located
• in the Albert-Einstein-Allee: Q211
• in the Prittwitzstrasse: F011
You can borrow the key from the relevant library during its opening times. The Terms of Use for the Library of Things apply. The Terms of Use for the Family Room (internal document, in German) are available on the Intranet.
We also have keys which we can lend out on a longer-term basis, if required. Please get in touch with us at gleichstellungsteam@thu.de.
Maternity leave
The legal provisions of the Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz) also apply to students. You must officially inform Ulm University of Applied Sciences about your pregnancy. You can find more information in the Intranet at Maternity and parental leave (Mutterschutz und Elternzeit) (internal document, in German).
Part-time studying and parental leave
Students can also study part-time at THU if they are unable to study full-time due to their family responsibilities. The THU guideline on this is also in Maternity and parental leave (Mutterschutz und Elternzeit ) (internal document, in German). Furthermore, general information is also available from the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth website (in German, some information available in English).
Advice services
The Equality Unit is happy to advise you about studying part-time, parental leave, and combining your studies with family life. Just get in touch – here are our contact details.
School holiday activities
School-age children of THU students can participate in a variety of events during the school holidays, organized by Ulm University. The costs are partially subsidized; the number of places is limited. If you are interested in participating, please contact the Equality Team.
Baby pack ("Baby-Päckle")
Are you a student or an employee at THU, and have become a parent? Or do you know someone to whom this applies? Then let us know – because the University will send a “Baby pack” (information in German) when the baby arrives. However, you must contact us at gleichstellungsteam@thu.de because, due to data protection rules, the Human Resources Department cannot pass the information on to us.
Discrimination, sexualized harassment, and violence
Ulm University of Applied Sciences will absolutely not tolerate sexualized harassment or violence in any form. THU has issued a guideline on this (internal document, in German), which is available on the Intranet.
The following people are available to talk to for anyone who has suffered sexualized discrimination, harassment or even violence at our university of applied sciences – or for those who wish to highlight deficits/risks in this area:
• Barbara Streppel: barbara.streppel@thu.de
• Tim Pietzcker: tim.pietzcker@thu.de
All conversations take place in the strictest confidence, and further action will only be taken with the express permission of the affected person. You can find other support centers and contacts (regional and national) under the “Advice services” tab.
Furthermore, THU is currently working on a protection plan. For example, a protection plan defines measures to better protect people from sexualized harassment, specifies prevention programs, and establishes processes.
External offers
- The Ministry of Science has a legal counsel (Vertrauensanwältin, website in German) who can provide legal advice to students for free. She is available for questions concerning discrimination, sexualized harassment, and violence. Legal Counsel Michaela Spandau presents herself briefly in this video.
- Violence against women: In addition to the free Helpline 08000 116 016 there are other regional and national services.
- Weisser Ring: People who are the victim of a crime can get support from numerous Weisser Ring (in German) offices throughout the country. The offer is free and can be used anonymously. Weisser Ring also has an office in Ulm.
- Legal info NERO and NERO U21: NERO is a support center for victims of sexual offences and other violent crimes. Its objectives are to provide victims with information about their rights in an unbureaucratic way, to simplify processes and, if necessary, to refer the victims to other services.
Gender-inclusive and non-discriminatory language
“Do I have to use gender-inclusive language for my Bachelor thesis?” We get asked this a lot. The answer: THU is currently working on the following guideline (in German) to stay abreast of the latest changes in the German language.
Why is gender-inclusive language important?
Language has the potential to discriminate against and exclude people. At the same time, it also offers the opportunity to create visibility and, in the long-term, to change the situation.
Example: People should choose their degree subject according to their interests. But in German, if only the male form of the role is commonly used (“Ingenieur, Techniker”), it sounds as if only men can work in these professions. Of course this is not the case – but, for example, for schoolgirls, it can have a significant, yet subconscious, effect upon whether they can imagine themselves in such careers, or if they exclude them right from the start.
How do I use gender-inclusive language correctly when writing in German?
When writing in German, the Equality Unit recommends using an asterisk (also called the “gender star”). It is a placeholder which allows non-binary people to be visible alongside women and men.
There are also gender-neutral forms for many terms in German, which encompass all genders. For example, words such as “Studierende” (instead of “Studentinnen und Studenten”) or “Mitarbeitende” (instead of “Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter”). You can find an overview of gender-neutral alternatives in the Geschickt gendern dictionary.
Important! When writing scientific theses: Whichever form you choose to use, make sure you use it as consistently as possible throughout the entire document.
Other offers for students
Ulm University’s Sport Program (in German) offers regular courses to help with self-defense. This also includes offers concerning violence prevention and self-assertion, which are specifically aimed at women. THU students and staff are also entitled to attend these courses.
