In total, just over ten per cent of the approximately 1,000 employees contacted took part in the survey. They took the opportunity to evaluate the existing services offered by the service centre and to express any additional training needs.

The vast majority of participants (88 per cent) generally consider further training to be helpful for their current activities. A total of 42 per cent are able to use more than five days a year for further training. In the survey, respondents primarily expressed needs in the areas of teaching (60 per cent), research (50 per cent) and academic management (35 per cent).

Communication and leadership increasingly important

"It is fitting that teaching-related workshops are a focal point of our annual SaPe programme," comments Service Centre Manager Sonka Stein. The programme planners are also focusing on the topic of academic management. For example, the SaPe team is currently working on a new certificate programme that will start in the course of the summer semester. "The requirements in terms of academic and project management have changed in the meantime; topics such as communication and leadership are becoming increasingly important alongside the core tasks in research and teaching. We want to respond to this and provide our employees with the necessary and helpful skills," says Stein.

45 per cent of those surveyed stated that they talk to their superiors about personnel development measures. "In our view, there is still room for improvement here. We want to reach as many employees as possible with our programmes. Discussions in the teams and among colleagues naturally help to raise awareness and reflect on the opportunities and benefits of the programmes," explains the HR developer.

Open to suggestions

Participation in the service centre's events is free of charge and largely independent of certificate programmes: there are short, one-and-a-half-hour events as well as workshops lasting several days, both digital and analogue.

The further results of the needs survey are currently being analysed and will then be published internally at the university. Regardless of this, the service centre is always open to suggestions and feedback on the programme. "With our offers, we want to support new academic and artistic employees in particular so that they can take on current and, if necessary, future professional tasks well and professionally," emphasises Sonka Stein.

Curious to find out more? Anyone interested can find information on the SaPe programmes at www.sape.uni-wuppertal.de/en. There you will also find registration forms, an overview of dates for the regular "information consultations" and contacts for the relevant contact persons.