Career and Family
Family-friendly working conditions are essential for scientists who are pursuing a career and caring for children or other family members. As women tend to bear a greater share of the care burden, measures to combine career and family play an especially important role in retaining women in science.
NeuroCure’s host and partner institutions have been certified by the auditing program “berufundfamilie” as family-friendly institutions, offering support in planning parental leave, re-entry scholarships, assistance with childcare, activities for children during school holidays, and more.
NeuroCure participates in selected programs of the Charité and has also worked with the Administrative Office for Family and Charité to expand institutional offers to combine career and family:
NeuroCure offers flexible emergency childcare through Charité cooperation partner KidsMobil. This childcare addresses situations not covered by regular childcare, such as:
- child is ill or recovering from an illness and cannot attend regular childcare
- parent has unforeseen work duties; short-notice changes in work schedule; overtime beyond regular childcare hours; covering for sick colleagues
- unexpected, short-term unavailability or cancellation of regular childcare
For more information, contact kimberly.mason@charite.de
NeuroCure played a key role in initiating the FRÖBEL Kindergarten at the Charité, which opened in 2017 near the Campus Mitte. The new facility provides daycare for approximately 70 children of employees and students of the Charité as well as families from the local community.
The Charité has also entered into cooperation agreements with several other daycare providers. See the Administrative Office for Family and Charité for more information and assistance in finding a suitable childcare option.
In its second funding period NeuroCure provided seed funding for a week-long summer camp on Campus Mitte organized by the Administrative Office for Family and Charité for children aged 6-12.
Based on the success of the program, the Family Office was able to secure longer-term funding for summer camps on all three Charité campuses. See the Administrative Office for Family and Charité for more information about the Charité's holiday childcare programs.
NeuroCure collaborated with the Administrative Office for Family and Charité on English-language guides for parental leave to make this essential information more accessible to international employees.
Maternity and parental leave - Charité guide for employees
Maternity and parental leave - Charité guide for supervisors
Charité guidelines for discussions between employees and supervisors prior to family-related absence
For additional tips on preparing for parental leave, see:
Planning Parental Leave and Return - Tips for Mothers and Fathers
We also offer new recruits with families support in getting settled in Berlin, including assistance with:
- dual career positions in our partner institutions, or outside academia in cooperation with our partner Talent Berlin
- finding childcare and schools
See also Welcome Service and the Welcome Guide for Berlin Neuroscientists (available at the Berlin Neuroscience Network)