EQUALITY & DIVERSITY

Central Equal Opportunity Officer

Laura Herhaus

• Gleichstellungsbeauftragte@hfmt-koeln.de
• Office hours by appointment:
• Tel.: +221 / 2 8380 - 347

Deputy Equal Opportunity Officer

Kathrin Immich

• Kathrin.Immich@hfmt-koeln.de
• Tel.: +221 / 2 8380 - 347

Laura Lang

• Laura.Lang@hfmt-koeln.de
• Tel.: +221 / 2 8380 - 387

Rebekka Smolibowski-Fuchs

• Rebekka.Smolibowski-Fuchs@hfmt-koeln.de
• Tel.: +221 / 2 8380 - 107

Isabel Ostrich

• Isabel.Strauss@hfmt-koeln.de
• Tel.: +221 / 2 8380 - 109

All members of the Equal Opportunity Commission - from all departments and disciplines of the university - can be downloaded as a pdf file.

The Cologne University of Music and Dance lives by the maxim of a discrimination-free culture in which respectful, professional and appreciative interaction is cultivated. Sexual harassment and abuse of power are not tolerated at the Hochschule.

The "Guideline for Protection against Sexual Harassment and against Violations of Sexual Self-Determination at the Cologne University of Music and Dance" (see below) defines reporting points and clear procedural steps in the event of violations of sexual self-determination. Members, relatives, guest students as well as former students and visitors can also turn to an independent office in case of complaints.

In cases of sexual assault, sexual harassment and discrimination in the university context, two lawyers who are bound to professional secrecy are available here. They advise victims free of charge, confidentially and independently. They provide information about possible further steps and assistance. If the victims wish, they can be passed on to the university (also anonymously) and accompanied through the university's internal procedures.

The contact persons are:

Lawyer Petra Ladenburger
Neusser Strasse 455
50733 Cologne
T.: 0221 / 973 128-54

Lawyer Martina Lörsch
Breite Strasse 33
53111 Bonn
T.: 0228 / 656911

E-mail: info@ladenburger-loersch.de
www.ladenburger-loersch.de

In addition to the guideline, the university regularly raises awareness of the issue through posters, workshops, and information and action days.

Downloads

• Guideline for protection against sexual harassment and against violations of sexual self-determination at the Cologne University of Music and Dance.
• Flyer: We say NO

With a course of study, you are starting a new phase of life: unfamiliar people, unfamiliar situations and unfamiliar surroundings.
This beginning is exciting, interesting and perhaps also somewhat filled with fear and uncertainty; because (not only) with health impairments, this stage of life requires additional energy as well as diverse considerations and decisions.

With our offer "Studying with Impairments", the Cologne University of Music and Dance (HfMT) would like to support you in this stage of life in an equal and independent participation in your studies and student life.

Our goal is to create a university for all. This means disadvantage compensation and equal opportunities for all who are impaired by a disability/chronic illness in the aptitude test and in their studies.

"People are disabled if their physical function, mental ability or mental health is likely to deviate from the condition typical of their age for more than six months and therefore their participation in life in society is impaired." (§2 Abs.1 Sozialgesetzbuch IX)
The Higher Education Freedom Act of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia provides: "The universities shall cooperate in the social promotion of students. They take into account the special needs of disabled and chronically ill students (...)." (HFG § 3, para. 5)

We are very happy to provide advice on everything to do with aptitude tests, studies and examination situations - because we want to work towards targeted support for students with disabilities and structural improvements at the university. Counseling is open to students and prospective students who are interested in studying at HfMT or who are already enrolled.

Compensation for disadvantages
Compensation for disadvantages is available to prevent disadvantages in studies resulting from an impairment.

Depending on the impairment (doctor's report), individual solutions can be found, e.g. time extension in exams, conversion of written exams into oral exams or vice versa.
In the case of illness during the semester, extensions of time for homework, for example, can be requested.

If you are unable to attend classes due to a prolonged illness and this prevents you from completing the expected coursework and exams, another option is to apply for a semester off.

The members of the Cologne University of Music and Dance are committed to the university as a space free of discrimination, in which respectful, professional and appreciative interaction with each other is practiced. This includes the appreciation of diversity and the avoidance of exclusion and marginalization. The university therefore strives to avoid any form of discrimination in written and spoken language and to make diversity visible. By using language sensitively, all university employees can contribute to gender equality and to addressing all persons in an appreciative manner.

The entire guide to gender-sensitive language can be found as a download:

• Guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language at HfMT Cologne.

In artistic teaching, comparatively few women still teach in many subjects. In order to promote the exemplary character of these subjects and thus come closer to the goal of a more gender-equal university, the HfMT is participating for the third time in the federal and state program for female professors. As a result, women can be recruited in various departments for guest professorships, promotional teaching assignments and artist-in-residence positions, providing new impetus in artistic teaching.

The overarching goal of the support program is to provide professional assistance to female graduates of HfMT Cologne on their individual career paths at a college or university. In this way, HfMT Cologne is pursuing its long-term equal opportunity policy strategy of significantly increasing the proportion of women in (academic) leadership positions at colleges and universities.

The program accompanies participants for a total of two years and started for the first time in the winter semester 2018/2019. During the entire course of the program, the participants are supervised and supported by teachers from our university as mentors. Within the framework of individually arranged meetings with the mentors, it is possible to observe classes and gain an insight into the self-administration of the university. In addition, the participants have access to a wide range of workshops by experts, which also prepare them for current career steps. In forum meetings, the participants exchange ideas with each other and with the mentor team and can thus establish and maintain important networks or even try out job application situations.

You can find out more about the program here. You can also submit your application using the application form:

• Application: Support program for female graduates

If you have any questions about the support program, please do not hesitate to contact us.

This platform champions the artistic work and impact of women and non-binary people. The diverse formats showcase female and non-binary artists, including performers, creators, educators and scientists of various artistic and cultural backgrounds. Through various events, from workshops, concerts and podcasts, to projects with students, we aim to mediate the space between theory and practice. La Cité des Dames endeavours to be an accessible platform for students, faculty and the greater Hochschule community, that promotes diversity and inclusivity within the Hochschule environment.  The artistic directors are Prof. Shannon Barnett and Junior Prof. Winnie Huang.

Through targeted acquisitions for the university libraries at all three locations as well as at the ZZT, the tangibility and accessibility of the musical as well as choreographic work of women is actively promoted. This strengthens the artistic, pedagogical, and scholarly engagement with the artistic work of women. Proposals for acquisitions can be submitted here.

High-caliber and interdisciplinary gender research in dance studies also takes place within the Forschungskolleg Tanzwissenschaft at the FB7/ZZT, which explicitly works with the holdings of the German Dance Archive Cologne. National and international, doctoral and post-doctoral scholars* who are working on gender-specific issues or methodological approaches can apply for the gender-related research fellowship. The research is presented within the framework of events organized by the FB7/ZZT. This will promote a return flow of innovative ideas from gender research into the dance and dance-scientific mediation practice of the university.

The call for proposals will be published on the following page.

The Equal Opportunity Commission awards various scholarships to students at the university each year. Current announcements can be found on the following page.

Scholarships for female students in subjects with female underrepresentation
The University of Music and Dance awards at least one scholarship of €5,000 annually for female students in subjects in which few women have been represented to date. In special cases, the scholarship can also be shared. In recent years, female brass players, composers, conductors, guitarists, double bassists and drummers/percussionists have been supported.
The goal of the scholarship is to support excellent female students in fields where there is an underrepresentation of women, and to help them graduate or continue their studies and later enter the workforce by providing financial support.

Scholarships for final theses and projects with a gender-related theme
The Equal Opportunities Commission of the Cologne University of Music and Dance awards five scholarships of 500€ each for final theses or final projects that deal with a gender-related issue. Female and male students of all fields of study in the Bachelor's and Master's programs are eligible to apply.

In this way, the commission would like to promote the continuous development of gender-related research as well as the encouragement and support of gender-focused seminar papers and theses in order to set new impulses in gender research at the university.

In order to counteract underrepresentation in the long term and to raise awareness of this issue at various levels, the university has participated in the nationwide Girls' and Boys' Day since 2018. On this day at the university, children learn about professions and courses of study in which few women or men have been represented to date.

Since 2011, the university has offered its students and staff the opportunity to take advantage of childcare at the KITA ZWERGENTANZ for children under the age of three. The daycare center is located directly next to the main building of HfMT Cologne at Unter Krahnenbäumen 81-83 in Cologne.

At KITA ZWERGENTANZ, up to nine children between the ages of one and three are cared for by our two experienced daycare workers Natalie Moser and Ricky Granrath. Five children can be cared for from Monday to Friday during the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and another four children from 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m..

The application for a place is made through the university. At the same time, an application must be sent to the Sozialbund Katholischer Frauen, which is responsible for allocating the daycare places for the city of Cologne. The care is currently financed by the university and the city of Cologne. The city, in turn, requires a monthly contribution that depends on the income of both parents.
If you are interested in a daycare place, please fill out the following form "Kinderbetreuung KITA ZWERGENTANZ" and send it by e-mail to kinderbetreuung@hfmt-koeln.de.

• Form: Childcare Kita Zwergentanz

Childcare demand is not sufficient?

If there is an additional need of 35h/week, there is the possibility to get a place in a daycare of the FRÖBEL-Group in the city of Cologne for a fee via the university. The costs are based on the childcare needs and the annual net income of both parents.

Who or What is the FRÖBEL Group?

"Competence for children" - with this guiding principle, the FRÖBEL Group operates crèches, kindergartens and after-school care centers in various non-profit companies in several German states. Work and action are focused on the well-being of children and their families. The basic principles of the FRÖBEL Group are:

1. Principle of holistic ("body, mind and soul").
2. Principle of being active ("Thinking active")
3. Principle of bonding
4. Principle of mutual recognition
5. Participation

You can find out more about the FRÖBEL Group, the mission statement, the pedagogical concept and much more at www.froebel-gruppe.de.

HfMT Cologne and the FRÖBEL Group
The cooperation with the FRÖBEL Group offers students and staff a quick and flexible solution for childcare. Through the cooperation, the university offers a facilitated arrangement of childcare places so that the children of employees* and students are well taken care of. This cooperation with FRÖBEL is intended to make it easier for working or studying parents, and especially single mothers and fathers, to reconcile work or studies with family life.
In particular, the FRÖBEL daycare centers offer demand-oriented extended opening hours, the waiving of summer closing times and the offer of further flexible individual supplementary services.

FRÖBEL childcare places for under-threes
Your childcare needs cannot be adequately met by the KITA Zwergentanz? Are you a member of the Cologne University of Music and Dance? Your child is between 1 and 3 years old? Please contact us if you have an additional need of 35h/week or more!

FRÖBEL childcare places for over-threes
You need a childcare place for your child? Are you a member of the Cologne University of Music and Dance? Your child is at least 3 years old? Then please contact us!

Procedure and application for a FRÖBEL childcare place
If you are interested in a FRÖBEL childcare place in cooperation with the HfMT Cologne, please complete the following form and send it to kinderbetreuung@hfmt-koeln.de.

FRÖBEL allocates the places of the contingent in coordination with the HfMT Cologne. For this purpose, FRÖBEL concludes a childcare contract with the parents. However, a prerequisite for the conclusion of a care contract by FRÖBEL is the granting of a valid approval by the responsible youth welfare office.

• Childcare Fröbel-Cooperation

What are the costs for a childcare place in a FRÖBEL kindergarten?
The day care center is basically financed like a public kindergarten according to the regulations of the law for early education and support of children (KiBiz). The parental contribution regulations of the city of Cologne apply. The amount of your parental contribution is based on your income and the amount of care you have chosen. The parental contribution does not include the cost of lunch.

Families who have booked a FRÖBEL childcare place through the university are also subject to a cost reimbursement of 10% of the costs invoiced monthly to HfMT by FRÖBEL for the respective child. Students are excluded; they are exempt from cost sharing. The amounts are currently:

• 35 euros per month for children under 3 years of age
• 19 Euro for children over 3 years per month.

Thebilling procedure with HfMT Cologne
The monthly costs are collected by direct debit from the university. You will receive a direct debit declaration from the university with the request that you return it to the university. The amount will then be debited from your account on a monthly basis.

In the course of studies and work, childcare hours may be required outside of regular childcare hours due to, for example, further training, business trips or excursions and participation in committee meetings. Upon request, members of the university can be reimbursed for the costs of caring for children up to the age of 12 outside of regular childcare hours under certain conditions. More information and an application form can be found here:

• Information sheet on reimbursement of childcare costs outside of regular childcare hours.

The equal opportunities team at HfMT Cologne offers a babysitting pool to act as an intermediary between parents and student babysitters.
The offer is intended to meet the childcare needs of all university members outside regular childcare hours, e.g. for important appointments, exams or at times when public facilities in particular are already closed.

If you are interested in a babysitter, please contact us by e-mail Babysitter@hfmt-koeln.de with the desired times and other necessary information (age of the children, place of residence, desired services, etc.).

Admission to the pool
To be accepted into our pool, students can contact us by email at Babysitter@hfmt-koeln.de with a CV and a completed profile. After an introductory meeting, the future babysitters will be given the opportunity to acquire a babysitting license (e.g. from Caritas). After successfully completing the course, the students can be added to the babysitting pool and are available for placement from this point on.

• Information Sheet Babysitting Pool
• Profile Babysitting