Look out parents, kihz is coming!

Source:
http://www.unipublic.unizh.ch/ campus/uni-news/2002/0632/
Brigitte Blöchlinger 16.10.2002

by Brigitte Blöchlinger

The Foundation for Childcare in the Zurich University Area, kihz, aims to take the uncertainty out of childcare issues. It plans to offer more places at its crèches by next year.

Mum has to attend a conference for a few days, and this presents a problem for the family; or Dad is promoted to head of the institute, and this creates a problem for Mum. – There are countless scenarios like this where university employees run into problems just because they wanted to have children as well as work. For many years the people affected had to find a solution for themselves. The unsatisfactory result of this was that everyone had to start from scratch again and again and sort out the question of their own childcare.

Things should now change. The University of Zurich has teamed up with the ETH Zurich and formed the kihz Foundation, with the aim of anchoring childcare for university employees institutionally. A foundation was deemed to be the most suitable form for making a lasting improvement to the childcare on offer.

Put at the top of the agenda
Good childcare facilities are now a feature of a good university. It may make all the difference when trying to attract the best new talent. On this note, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zurich, Professor Hans Weder, said: «While childcare isn't the core area of business of our university, nurturing new talent is one of our most important tasks. And offering childcare is part of the modern development of new talent. It enables couples to do what they are qualified to do without having to forego having a family. That's why the University of Zurich is committed to childcare.»

The ETH Zurich's view of that is very similar. Its Children's Coordinator, Piero Cereghetti, the Head of Human Resources at the ETH, describes the task of kihz as follows: «In the future, all the employees of both universities will be given clear, customer-friendly information about the childcare facilities available. To facilitate this, the existing services on offer must be coordinated and extended, and the cooperation with all the departments involved must be consolidated. kihz is meant to provide new ideas and incentives in childcare outside the family."»

The contacts
Needless to say, it is up to the existing, privately run childcare organisations to decide whether they wish to come under the kihz umbrella or to continue to operate independently, although it would surely make sense to coordinate the services on offer.

The university has engaged the services of an outside PR expert, Julia Gerber Rüegg, to run the business, whereas the ETH has made an internal appointment, giving the job to Sergio Tassinari, its childcare coordinator. The two managers will split the post on a jobshare basis. They now have to draw up projects together and put them to the Board of Trustees. "I am very confident that things will progress now", points out the university coordinator, Julia Gerber Rüegg, when interviewed by unipublic. The great advantage of a foundation is that there will be money earmarked for childcare in the long term, irrespective of the political and economic situation.

Initial concrete steps
A new crèche is planned for next year at Schönberggasse 4, just beside the main university campus. Twenty new places will be created. There are also plans for the Foundation to take over the ETH's Hönggerberg crèche because the previous organisation has been wound up.

In the future, not only will small children of pre-school age and schoolchildren be able to enjoy competent childcare, but there are also plans to offer other university-specific services such as holiday clubs and childcare during conferences and congresses. And the extended package of services will be open not only to the children of research and lecturing staff, but also to the children of all associates at both universities, i.e. canteen staff, new academics, admin staff and employees.

State funding to get the ball rolling
Initial credit was provided by the state. The priority was to improve the childcare facilities on offer for the children of new academics. Funding for this was provided by the Swiss Universities Conference (SUK). The University of Zurich and the ETH then injected funding of their own, which is to be invested on a long-term basis.

Earmarked Foundation funds
The kihz Foundation, which officially came into being on 9 September, must now be set up. For this purpose, the university and the ETHZ each provided capital of CHF 200,000 to establish the Foundation. The foundation capital will be increased further in the coming years. In addition, funding will be provided for an office.

Brigitte Blöchlinger is a registered journalist and regular contributor to unipublic