Important guidelines and official agreements

At the University of Konstanz, we feel it is very important to work well together. To foster this and to resolve conflicts in our everyday work at an early stage, the university has concluded an Official Agreement with the Staff Council to promote fair and respectful behaviour in the workplace.

The University of Konstanz aims to offer its staff good working conditions. This includes offering permanent employment contracts wherever possible or, if this is not feasible or reasonable, for as long as possible. The University of Konstanz has therefore passed a regulation on fixed-term employment contracts for academic and academic support staff.

The University of Konstanz officially formalized its commitment to the diversity of its members and staff in its 2019 Code of Practice on Diversity. We promote organizational structures and an academic culture that is free from discrimination to enable all our members to reach their goals – regardless of personal and social characteristics such as age, gender, skin colour, physical or health condition, life and family models, ethnic, national, social or economic backgrounds, gender identities and sexual orientation. As a reform university, we have consequently pursued our vision of equal opportunity and equal access to education.

Three central aspects shape how we foster diversity at the university: we acknowledge diversity, we ensure that all members and affiliated members can fully participate in university life and we work to prevent discrimination. Our aim is to enable all staff and students to reach their full potential.

The University of Konstanz views itself as an excellent reform university that aims to offer its members the best possible conditions for researching and teaching, studying, working and vocational training. Managers have a great deal of responsibility here. At the same time, the demands on managers have increased significantly. Managers are expected to contribute to the university’s goals in the areas they work, to react flexibly to changing conditions and to demonstrate motivational leadership.

The Kanzler and the heads of the university's divisions and staff units, the Communication, Information, Media Centre (KIM) and the Animal Research Facility (TFA) decided to develop and adopt leadership principles in 2018. These principles serve as a guide for all managers in these areas in handling complex leadership situations. The leadership principles were jointly adopted in a collaborative process involving managers at all levels as well as staff members. They form the framework for good leadership.

In 2022, the Senate supplemented these principles by adopting its Inclusive Leadership Policy, which applies to managers of academic staff and academic support staff alike. This policy ties in with the university’s Code of Practice on Diversity and is yet another key element in implementing anti-discrimination. The aim of inclusive leadership is for staff members to be seen and accepted as unique individuals, and at the same time to feel that they belong as part of a team.

The University of Konstanz is a particularly gender-equitable and family-friendly university. In its 2010 Code of Practice on Gender Equality, the university made a commitment to achieving equality between women and men at all levels and in all areas of research, academic support services and student life.

The university defines its standards for gender equality in ten focus areas, firmly establishing its measures for gender equality and family friendliness. For example, the university actively works to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender or gender stereotypes and is committed to equality-oriented recruitment and development of staff members.

The University of Konstanz stands for fair treatment and an inclusive culture. It promotes a culture of respectful discussion and communication that fosters cooperation among its members and affiliated members at all levels, characterized by equal opportunity, respect and awareness for discrimination. Discrimination and sexualized violence are a gross violation of personal rights. They create a climate of intimidation and humiliation that impairs not only a person’s enjoyment of and ability to work and study, but also the health of affected persons. The legal background is provided by the General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG) of 2006 and § 4a of the Landeshochschulgesetz LHG (state law on higher education). The university’s Official Agreement on fair and respectful behaviour in the workplace is also relevant here. The university’s mission statement, Code of Practice on Gender Equality and Code of Practice on Diversity define it as the university’s task to counter discrimination while responding to and promoting diversity at the university.

With these Guidelines to Combat Discrimination and Sexualized Violence, the university aims to maintain and promote a good working environment for staff and students as well as a diversity-friendly atmosphere.