Press release

Zurich Colleges are expanding their family and child care services

Foundation kihz
The Foundation for Childcare in Zurich Colleges (kihz) now has an increased possibility to support College students and administrative employees in the area their supplementary family care. The foundation (kihz) runs five child daycare centers with more than 130 spaces for children and also offers temporary child daycare in the form of „kihz mobile“. "kihz holiday clubs" organizes courses for older children in the school vacation periods. As well as these offers, the foundation also initiates innovative projects and research in the area of supplementary family care.
The three new day care centers are in Zurich; firstly on Plattenstrasse 45 in the building of the old „Plattenkindergarten“, secondly in the Coachhouse right next to the main building of the University of Zurich and thirdly on the ground floor of the teachers’ training college Wolfbach on the Kantonsstrasse 3.

New opportunities in discovering child care

Zürich, 28. August 2006. The foundation for child care at the University of Zurich and the ETH Zurich are expanding their childcare centers with 50 more open spaces for children.
The teachers’ training college Wolfbach is now also a part of the foundation and has established a child day care centre in the School Wolfbach. These new Day care centers were opened today.

Many well educated women in academic working fields have to interrupt their carriers in order to take care of their families. The main reason for this is that the critical years of education and starting a family develop during the same time. Due to this fact many colleges experience a loss of well educated women. The University of Zurich and the ETH Zurich therefore founded the foundation kihz in the year 2002. The foundation’s aim is to support college students and administrative employees in all areas concerning supplementary family day care services and therefore enable women with both scientific careers and children to follow their careers.

Not only child day care

Near the Uni Irchel on the Hönggerberg, the foundation kihz has already been able to establish and develop 80 more day care spaces for children of college attendees. In order to satisfy the requirements of women with children the foundation has now opened three new child day care centers with about 50 more spaces for children.
These three new day care centers follow new dimensions in child care. Parents able to benefit from a good day care centre, as well as rest assured that their child’s development from the ages one to three are also being motivated more intensely. This is because kihz bases their educational work on scientific research.
During today’s opening ceremony for „Scientist’s children- scientific children“, the neuro-research scientist Prof. Norbert Herschkowitz and educational scientist Prof. Reinhard Fatke confirmed that early childhood is a crucial era; especially for brain development and the child’s learning process.

Special solutions for open spaces for babies

Most of the children that are on the waiting list are infants. As the care of babies is dominated by controversial judgment, the foundation assigned the educational Institute of the University of Zurich to conduct a study concerning this controversy. The results of this study will be incorporated in the concept and qualification of personnel in new day care centers. As well as these studies a pilot project called “the family day care centre” will be introduced to research a combination of home care and daycare.

Financial Input will pay off for the colleges

Prof. Hans Weder, Rector of the University of Zurich and President of the foundation is pleased about the new project and is convinced that; “if the colleges succeed in combining studies or scientific research with child care possibilities, more young women will be able to realize their scientific careers.“. The rector of the educational college of Zurich Walter Furrer is also sure that the management of child daycare centers makes a substantial and effective contribution towards equal rights for both sexes- a contribution that is especially important for the Zurich institutions of teachers education. The foundation has invested more than a million francs in this concern and has prospects for further expansion in this area.