Summary of a study visit in Austria | Gdańsk University of Technology

From September 2022 until April 2023, Gdańsk University of Technology conducted a project titled “Hey, are you OK?”, coordinated by the International Relations Office. The main objective of the project was the emotional health support of students and staff. One of the tasks within the project included study visits to European universities engaged in activities within the area of wellbeing.

First two study visits were organized in February 2023: on 7-9 February at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (read here) and on 20-22 February at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (read here). During the last study visit to TU Wien, the employees of the International Relations Office – Monika Czerepak, Deputy Head of the Office and Justyna Sudakowska, met with Stefanie Madsen from HR Development and Christoph Brunner, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs.

There are 28 thousand students at 8 faculties in TU Wien. The university is ranked 180 in the QS World University Ranking (data from 2022). More information can be read here.

Wide training offer for the staff

First part of the study visit focused on wellbeing and development of the staff (professional and not only) at TU Wien. The university has a lot to offer in this area – on-campus sports classes (available for a symbolic fee), yoga classes
and online Pilates, or gym discount.

In addition to these solutions, partially introduced also at Gdańsk University of Technology, TU Wien pays special attention to the training program offered to their staff. The university conducts regular trainings on cultural differences, mediations, work under time pressure, as well as presence of women in the engineering sciences and workshops on work-life balance.

- What we particularly liked in the offer of TU Wien for their staff, was the possibility to obtain funding for trainings organized outside the university. If an employee finds an offer of e.g. workshops, more or less related to their field of work, they can apply for partial or total funding of the participation costs. If a larger group of employess is interested in such workshops, TU Wien can organize them free of charge, as part of the university activities. We were informed that the employees often take advantage of this possibility – says Monika Czerepak from IRO.

Parent-friendly university

Parents are an important group to whom TU Wien dedicates their wellbeing and HR Development activities. It is with their needs in mind that the university opened a kindergarten (it is also planned to open a nursery for children under the age of one), and daycare for the youngest during summer holidays and breaks. Parents who struggle with various difficulties in raising children can also benefit from professional parent coaching. One can find out about all the activities that parents may be interested in in a special newsletter.

- For over 60% of the time, the employees can perform their duties remotely, as part of the home office. However, they must be available from 10:00 a.m to 14:00 p.m. We would like the home office working hours to be fully flexible in the near future, without the need to be available at specific hours, which would certainly help a lot in organizing lwork and ife for parents with small children, but also for people taking care of their sick parents, grandparents and relatives in general – says Stefanie Madsen from TU Wien.

Freshmen support

During the second part of the meeting, Gdańsk Tech employees met with Christophen Brunner, the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and a student participating in the mentoring program at TU Wien.

- A few years ago we noticed the increasing number of students who, for various reasons, do not finish their studies. That is why we decided to introduce a mentoring system to support newly admitted students and increase their chances of obtaining a diploma - says Christophen Brunner from TU Wien.

The university is very proud of this program, which is hardly surprising. Every year, over 20 new mentors are recruited – senior students who can boast of very good learning results. Each of them supervises 15-20 students, whom they meet with 8 times during the semester (in total, students spend about 75 hours a year on mentoring).

Prior to participating in the program, mentors undergo training in group management and its dynamics, respecting the boundaries of their privacy, professional burnout, etc. After such preparation, they are to support new colleagues at the university – explain where, how and with whom they can arrange various matters at the university or inform about various events or projects for students (e.g. additional mathematics classes for first-year students).

As Christophen Brunner informed, the first positive effects of the program are already visible.