Coordinator for University Members with Health Impairments and Disabilities

In accordance with § 181 of the German Social Security Code IX (SGB IX), the University of Potsdam has appointed a coordinator who is responsible for representing the university in matters that affect severely disabled people. This ensures that severely disabled employees have a contact person on the employer side who is familiar with their problems and to whom they can present their complaints and suggestions. The coordinator also works together with the representative body for severely disabled persons, the works council and the authorities entrusted with the fulfillment of tasks in accordance with SGB IX, i.e. the employment office and the integration office, as stipulated in § 182 SGB IX.

• Support in setting up a barrier-free workplace
• Information and training for those affected in cooperation with university health management, the human resources department, and the staff council
• Development of informational material for employees with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses
• Organization of information events and peer-to-peer counseling opportunities
• Networking at the city and state level to improve the visibility of the topic and the University of Potsdam’s proportion of severely disabled employees

An estimated 13 percent of the students at the University of Potsdam have a health impairment. This is about 2,600 people. For this group, there are concrete ways in which equal opportunities are implemented at the university. In accordance with § 69 of the Brandenburg Higher Education Act (BbgHG) or Art. 17 of the University of Potsdam’s Basic Regulations, the University of Potsdam appoints a representative for the disabled for a period of two years. At the University of Potsdam, Robert Meile was appointed to this task by the Academic Senate on May 12, 2021.

The Coordinator for Students with Impairments has the following responsibilities: 

• Advising university management and administration on the development of structurally barrier-free study conditions and appropriate provisions
• Support in the implementation of disadvantage compensation
• Participation in steering groups for student health management
• Drafting of statements at the request of social service providers (social and youth welfare offices, student services)
• Communication with doctors and therapists or clinics with regard to the writing of statements or expert opinions for disadvantage compensation or hardship applications
• Participation in the selection of scholarship recipients within the framework of the University of Potsdam Scholarship Program
• Participation in the selection process for undergraduate and graduate degree programs with restricted admissions within the framework of the quota for exceptional hardship (hardship quota)
• Participation in the selection committee for the Inclusion Award of the University Society e.V.
• Preparation of informational material for prospective students with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses
• Organization of information events
• Participation in the network of representatives in the state of Brandenburg

You can find additional information and advisory services about “studying with disabilities” here.

Together, the Coordinators work on:

• Advising the university management and administration on the  further development of a structurally barrier-free university landscape.
• Implementation of training measures for the professionalization of university members with regard to the concerns of people with impairments.
• Involvement in the inclusion team.
• Participation in the steering groups for digital and structural accessibility.
• Participation in the conception and implementation of the Inclusion Award of the University Society e.V.