Welcome to the TU family! “Baby bags” and a welcome meeting for parents and their offspring
TU Lions, many shining children’s eyes and a lively exchange with the parents: the traditional welcome meeting for families with TU President Professor Angela Ittel took place for the tenth time. In a relaxed atmosphere, new parents and their offspring had the opportunity to network with other families in the parent-child room and the Sandkastenzentrum in the historic main building, to share their personal wishes and to get to know the family-friendly offers of Technische Universität Braunschweig.
“The welcome talks are a wonderful opportunity to get to know you and your newborns in person and to talk to you about your experiences after the arrival of your children and your wishes for the future,” said President Angela Ittel, welcoming the new parents with their offspring. “It is not always possible to predict how life will change with the birth of a child and the care work involved. This makes it all the more important for us as a university to exchange ideas with you and to receive feedback on how we can best support and assist you.”
Cuddly lion and red rubber duck
The highlight of the event was once again the distribution of the well-filled “baby bags”. While the parents were provided with a wealth of useful information about family-friendly services at TU Braunschweig, the little ones were delighted to receive a rubber duck and a cuddly TU lion. Afterwards, the premises of the Sandkastenzentrale and the parent-child room offered plenty of space for playing and chatting over snacks, and for expressing wishes and ideas in personal conversations with President Angela Ittel and the head of the Human Resources, Legal and Academic Affairs Department, Bernt Erlewein, or on the feedback wall.
Student Jacqueline Solberg came with her five-month-old daughter Ivy. She is managing the balancing act between studying architecture, having a child and a job as a student assistant. The networking opportunities offered by the Family Office are particularly appealing to her: “As a student, I rarely have contact with other parents at the university. So it’s all the better that there is an opportunity here to exchange ideas and make contacts.”
Dr Saddam Hijazi was accompanied by his wife and one-year-old son. The research associate at the Institute for Partial Differential Equations has already made use of the Family Office’s information services on several occasions. He was particularly looking forward to the welcome meeting. “It is a good opportunity for my son to find new playmates. And for my wife, it’s a chance to learn about the facilities and support services my employer provides for our family.”
The traditional welcome event for new parents at TU Braunschweig took place for the tenth time, offering families the opportunity to exchange ideas and network. Photo credits: Silja Klemenz/TU Braunschweig
A highlight this year was once again the distribution of well-filled “baby bags”. Photo credits: Silja Klemenz/TU Braunschweig
Also in the bag: the cuddly TU lion and a red squeaking duck... Photo credits: Silja Klemenz/TU Braunschweig...
…but the information material for parents was also met with enthusiasm by the little ones. Photo credits: Silja Klemenz/TU Braunschweig
President Angela Ittel talked to the families about their personal wishes and ideas. Photo credits: Silja Klemenz/TU Braunschweig
Student Jacqueline Solberg is pleased to have the opportunity to exchange ideas and make contacts with other parents at the university. Photo credits: Silja Klemenz/TU Braunschweig
Dr Saddam Hijazi was also there with his family. “It's a good opportunity for my son to find new playmates. And for my wife, it's a chance to learn about the facilities and support services my employer provides for our family.”
V.I.B.: The little ones were the most important guests of the day. Photo credits: Silja Klemenz/TU Braunschweig
More formats in planning
Anne-Christin Eggers from the Family Office is delighted that the programme has been so well received again this year: “Such moments of exchange are a valuable building block for a family-friendly university, because mutual understanding for the exciting but also challenging experience of parenthood can lead to new solutions and a lot of common ground.” Our colleague Luisa Perdomo Lopez, who took part in this year’s event with her own offspring, also draws a positive conclusion: “The welcome meeting showed us that the interest in networking between families at TU Braunschweig remains high – we are already working on further new formats and welcome ideas to continuously improve our service as a family-friendly university!”
The welcome meeting takes place once a year and is organised by the Family Office team. All employees and students who have become parents during their time at TU Braunschweig are more than welcome to attend the next welcome meeting. Parents can register at the Family Office with their birth certificate. Students also need their student ID. Parents can collect their “baby bags” directly from the Family Office. Other family interaction formats are regularly posted on the Family Office website and in the events calendar.