At the MPI-CBG we are invested in equal opportunities and are continually improving the equality of our work place.
We are proud to have been named the “Most Family-friendly Company in Dresden” in 2012 for our efforts in helping working families balance the demands of career and home. We are constantly working to improve these measures, weaving the theme of family and work through seminars on human resources management for managers and employees, to explore possibilities for teleworking, identifying role models for fathers, organizing courses and seminars targeted at different stages of careers and implementing a mentoring service for all pre-docs and post-docs.
Spouses can use the DRESDEN-concept Dual Career Service to find a job.
www.dresden-concept.de/en/services/dual-career-service
The MPI-CBG organizes childcare for families. 35 places are reserved for staff of the MPI-CBG and the neighboring Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD) at the Biopolis nursery, 20 places at the Parkhaus Kindergarten, and 15 at the Lowi Kindergarten – all within walking distance of the Institute. The MPI-CBG also provides financial support to these organizations for infrastructure and education. Moreover, we are planning to establish a nursery for toddlers for children under one year of age in the Institute’s guest house located within 100 m of the Institute.
We also offer a Family Room. The purpose of the Family Room is to provide a space where children can play while their parents work, for instance on days when the usual childcare options become unavailable. The space can also be used by breastfeeding mothers who wish to work part of the day while having their child nearby in the care of a babysitter. In addition to comfortable seating and a play area, the room will have desks with computers that can be used by parents or older children who wish to do their homework in the room after school.
All faculty meetings and seminars are scheduled to finish before 5PM so that parents can pick their children up from daycare. We organize supervision and activities for children during MPI-CBG and CSBD social events.
The Max Planck Society has revised its policy towards contracts requiring that all predocs and postdocs are hired on contracts rather than stipends which raises the equality and improves the finances for new parents.
The goal of the Mental Health Initiative at the MPI-CBG is to cultivate and maintain a healthy environment for employees at all levels. Specifically, we aim to facilitate access to help when it is needed, start a discussion about mental health and destigmatize
and clarify the mental health issues that can occur in academic life.
Our local initiative includes the following peer-to-peer support programs:
