Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Family Support Centre

Flexible Childcare

The HU’s flexible childcare service

Humboldt-Universität has cooperations with two external providers (KidsMobil and Die Kinderwelt) that can, under certain conditions, facilitate flexible childcare for HU students and staff. Depending on the type of childcare in question, it can take place on the Humboldt-Universität premises or outside the university.

The flexible childcare service is decentralised. The Family Support Centre is not authorised to allocate childcare hours, though it does coordinate the service within the university. Please enquire in your faculty or department about whether it already participates – or wishes to participate – in the flexible childcare service. 

Information for faculties, departments and institutes

All university departments can participate in the flexible childcare service. The financing and organisation of the service is decentralised, hence the need for one person to take on the role as a contact for external providers and to authorise the allocation of childcare hours. This might be the department chair or administrative head or, in the case of third-party projects, the coordinator.

You have two options: first, to purchase a prepaid allotment of hours (KidsMobil) or, second, to receive a monthly invoice for the number of childcare hours you have accumulated (Die Kinderwelt). In the case of Die Kinderwelt, parents must contribute to the childcare cost.

Flexible childcare must not serve as a substitute for regular childcare or exceed 12 hours per week. A parent might need flexible childcare when, for example, there is an unexpected loss of regular childcare when the parent is indispensable at work or at university; there are working hour irregularities/substitutes outside regular childcare hours; or a parent is required to participate in academic/degree-related events, conferences, business trips, meetings and committee meetings that must take place outside regular childcare hours.

If you want to provide flexible childcare in your department, the Family Support Centre would be happy to give you more information about the costs and other details.

 

External services

Emergency babysitter service

The company Babysitter Express offers flexible, last-minute childcare by qualified professionals that is tailored to your specific needs. Parents must pay for it themselves. Babysitter Express has created a special booking procedure for HU parents (PDF) in cooperation with the Family Support Centre.

MoKiS: Mobile childcare service

Through the MoKiS mobile childcare service, students or employees who perform shift work or regularly attend lectures outside regular childcare centre or after-school club hours can receive supplementary childcare. This care is financed by the youth welfare offices through the supplementary childcare service. The MoKiS project regularly hosts information sessions on the topic.