Newsletter November 2025
News from the TU Dortmund University
Glitter, icing and Christmas music: creativity takes center stage at our cookie decorating event on 18.12.25 from 15:30 to 18:00! Together with Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and TU Dortmund University, Studierendenwerk Dortmund invites you to decorate festive cookies in the gallery.
For €7 you can buy a Christmas tin with 250 g of cookies (approx. 20 pieces) and get creative with sprinkles, colors and writing in a convivial atmosphere. Children's punch or cocoa is also included! From 16:00, an exciting Christmas story for children will also be read aloud.
Whether big or small, everyone is welcome to join in, snack and get in the mood for the festive season. In addition to students, employees with children are also cordially invited to register by 11.12.25!
Do you support your grandparents in everyday life? Do you help your partner with illness and care? Organize doctor's appointments for your parents? Do you look after your child in need of care? And all this while studying?
If these tasks sometimes overwhelm you or you simply want to talk to others in similar situations, the care meeting for students is the right place for you. Here you can exchange ideas with other people in similar situations and find out about topics relating to the compatibility of studying and care, organizational challenges and possible relief. The care meeting is a collaboration between TU Dortmund University and Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts as well as Pflegeselbsthilfe Dortmund.
When? Every 2nd Tuesday of the month online from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
HoKiDo cordially invites all parents with children up to the age of 3 to the toddler group.
The meetings take place on Wednesdays, 14:30 - 15:30 in the gym (Emil-Figge-Straße 57, entrance 11, TU Dortmund University campus).
You can expect:
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Singing together, finger plays and rhymes
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Free play, movement, handicrafts and creativity
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Space for exchange and networking among parents
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An open, warm atmosphere in which everyone can contribute their ideas
Please bring your own: Slippers, crawling blanket and favorite toy if applicable.
Registration: 0231 / 75 77 1 or by e-mail to infohokidode
The HoKiDo parents' café is opening its doors again!
From 3 to 4 p.m. on selected dates in the KuKi room, there is an opportunity for a relaxed exchange over coffee and cake. Children are very welcome - parents are responsible for supervision.
Dates:
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Thu, 11.12.
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Tue, 13.01.
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Thu, 19.02.
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Wed, 18.03.
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Wed, 01.04. (no joke ;-) )
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Tue, 12.05.
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Thu, 18.06.
Questions, suggestions or requests: 0231 / 75 77 1 or by e-mail to info@hokido.de
HoKiDo's short-term childcare offers students, employees and guests of the university flexible childcare for children aged 1 to 3 years. A playgroup is available in the mornings and afternoons.
Contact and registration: 0231 / 18 74 515 or by e-mail to kuki@hokido.de
The Department of Sociology has published an exciting interview with researchers from a DFG project on queer families and their struggle for recognition.
News from Dortmund and the surrounding area
On 3.12.25 the event "Fatherhood is..." will take place at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. The Family Service and the Equal Opportunities Office of the RUB invite all interested persons to discuss the meaning of fatherhood in today's world. This year, Jochen Malmsheimer has been invited to speak at the event. Dr. Benjamin Neuman from TU Dortmund University will provide the scientific input. We are delighted about the cooperation and are looking forward to a convivial evening.
When: 3.12.2025, 19:00 to 21:00
Where: Canteen foyer of the Ruhr University Bochum
Universitätsstraße 150
44801 Bochum
Information and registration for the event "Fatherhood is..."
RheinMain University of Applied Sciences invites you to an exciting online reading on the topic of "Overprotection and ways to trust children more" .
Parents want to support their children's development as much as possible and not make any mistakes in their upbringing. The current tendency to take as much as possible from children in order to protect them from the dangers of the world means that children do not learn to take responsibility and fall well short of their potential - the needs of adults often fall by the wayside.
Children are much more robust than we allow them to be today. The authors Maria M. Bellinger and Norbert F. Schneider explain not only the complex reasons for our culture of overprotection, but also how we can break free from it.
When: 16.12.2025, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: Online via Zoom
Information and registration for the online reading "Courage does you good."
Every Sunday in Advent, mondo mio! offers families with children aged four and over a new creative activity to join in and marvel at. They can make things in the paper workshop, try out upcycling or experiment with Christmas scents. The offer is free of charge.
On December 21, the story "Mama Moo celebrates Christmas" will be read aloud at the Literaturhaus in Dortmund. It is a Christmas story in which the curious and adventurous cow Mama Moo gives her best friend, the impatient crow, an unforgettable Christmas present. Despite the anticipation of the festivities, the crow cannot contain her curiosity and opens all her presents prematurely. The event is free of charge.
When: Sun December 21, 2025, 3:00 pm
Where: literaturhaus.dortmund
Neuer Graben 78
44139 Dortmund
The puppet show "Weihnachten bei den Schmuddels" for everyone between 4 and 104 will take place at Theater Fletch Bizzel on December 7. A ticket costs €12.
Can a broom, a brush and a tousle-haired pug celebrate Christmas together? Of course they can! And they've been doing it with full commitment every year for 40 years! So enjoy how the Schmuddels plunge headlong into the inevitable pre-Christmas hustle and bustle, including house cleaning, shopping frenzy, Christmas roast and Christmas tree bliss. And when the Christ Child himself bursts into the idyllic cellar, the Christmas spirit is at boiling point! Well then, happy holidays...
When: Sun. December 07, 2025, 11:00 a.m.
Where: Humboldtstr. 45, 44137 Dortmund
New legislation
On June 1, 2025, a significant amendment to the Maternity Protection Act came into force, which grants people who suffer a miscarriage after the 13th week of pregnancy an extended entitlement to maternity protection. The periods of protection are staggered depending on the week of pregnancy in which the miscarriage occurred:
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For miscarriage from the 13th week of pregnancy up to two weeks maternity protection
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For miscarriage from the 17th week of pregnancy up to six weeks maternity leave
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Up to eight weeks maternity protection in the event of miscarriage from the 20th week of pregnancy
During these protection periods, the employees concerned may not work and the students concerned may not study, unless they expressly declare their intention to work. Students are also entitled to change examination dates. All those affected are entitled to maternity pay during this period, the amount and duration of which depends on the respective protection periods.
This regulation is intended to help provide those affected with the necessary space to grieve and recover in difficult times and at the same time alleviate their financial worries.
Interesting projects, offers and surveys
Children from non-academic families are significantly less likely to go to university than children from academic households. This social imbalance varies depending on the field of study. The team working on the project "BiFam - Bildungserfolgreiche Familien? Intergenerational and interdisciplinary perspectives on first-generation students" (Department of Social Sciences) are researching this topic and are currently looking for participants:
"In our research project here at TU Dortmund University, we are investigating how studying affects the families of so-called first generation students. We would like to conduct family interviews for this purpose. As a thank you, there is an expense allowance of €80."
Contact: bifam.mibi.sowitu-dortmundde
The Moms@Science project at the Freiburg University of Education is committed to making the achievements and successes of innovative female scientists with child(ren) visible. The aim is to make their stories, challenges and achievements accessible to a wide audience and thus show the diversity of scientific careers.
Exciting online lecture
Tue, 9.12.25, 12 to 1 pm: "Motherhood is actually the main factor here - On the situation of female scientists with children"; Dr. Lisa Tölle, Carolin Quenzer-Alfred & Dr. Franka Metzner-Guzka
Registration for the Moms@Science online lecture
The project examines factors that promote and inhibit the success and visibility of female scientists with child(ren). Based on these findings, sustainable measures are to be developed to improve their visibility. To this end, Moms@Science is cooperating with the Motherhood and Science Network and currently 34 local groups at universities and colleges in Germany and Austria. The project thus makes an important contribution to more equal opportunities, visibility and inspiration in science.
For years, the vacation and lecture periods of many federal states have overlapped and there is no change to this situation in sight. For many university employees and students, this means that only a small proportion of the school vacation weeks can be used for joint recreational leave with the family. As institutional role models, universities should create the right framework conditions to make family and career/studies compatible.
We would be delighted if you would take 3 minutes of your time to complete a survey on the situation regarding the compatibility of vacation periods at your university. The working group "Compatibility of lecture periods and school vacations" (AK VVS) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) is responsible for the survey.
To the survey "Compatibility of lecture times and school vacations"
How can family, academic career, studies and career be reconciled? This question shapes the lives of many university members - often without the associated challenges being immediately apparent.
In the RMU talk series Focus on Family - Compatibility in Research, researchers from the Rhine-Main universities and associates shed light on different facets of compatibility and provide insights into current studies, practical experiences and perspectives.
Upcoming events as part of the talk series:
11.12.25, 2 to 3 p.m.: "How the parental role has a positive effect on job and studies", Prof.'in Nina M. Junker
29.01.26, 2 to 3 p.m.: "Working on cloud 7?! The influence of cloudworking on family life", Omar Shehata, M.A.
Good to know
Did you know that the Studierendenwerk offers children of students a free lunch every day? You can order a children's card with a motif of your choice from us. The offer is valid for children up to the age of ten. On presentation of the children's cafeteria card, the children's plate is free, provided the accompanying person purchases a full meal themselves.
Fun Facts
Babies actually have more bones at birth than adults! Later, they grow together, leaving 206 bones.
Contact, advice & feedback
Our Family Service offers a wide range of advice on how to combine family responsibilities with studies and training as well as academia and work. We support students and employees in finding individual solutions for different life situations.
Possible topics could be
- I am pregnant during my studies - what now?
- Maternity protection for students
- Studying with child(ren)
- Organizing work with a family
- Parental leave and parental allowance for employees
- Childcare on campus
- With child(ren) on campus
- Caring for relatives (due to age, illness or disability)
To arrange an appointment, please contact us at familien-servicetu-dortmundde or by telephone. We look forward to hearing from you!
Here you can access our LimeSurvey survey, where you can add constructive criticism, praise and topic requests.
We look forward to your feedback so that we can make the newsletter even more tailored to your needs!
