Since 2020, the Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering – IWT has held the certificate from berufundfamilie Service GmbH – a seal of approval for family-friendly personnel policies that consciously and sustainably promote the compatibility of work, family, and private life. Following a successful evaluation in 2025, it is now certain that the institute will be awarded this seal of quality for the third time in a row.  

A working group at the institute has been committed to family- and life-stage-oriented issues for several years, enabling Leibniz-IWT to first obtain the "excellent family-friendly" certificate in 2016 and then the berufundfamilie certificate in 2020. Measures implemented in recent years include family-friendly management, strategically anchored personnel development, health promotion and company fitness measures, and a works agreement on mobile working. The institute impressed in terms of planning, implementation, and establishment. 

The comprehensive audit conducted by berufundfamilie Service GmbH included a multifaceted inventory assessment followed by a needs analysis, a jointly developed strategic target agreement, and a review of previous targets. The quality seal, which was confirmed by the board of trustees of berufundfamilie GmbH on December 10, thus stands for a rigorous process of consolidation and examined all areas of the institutions assessed in detail. 

"We are delighted about this important award and the confirmation of our successful development at the institute," says Anja Kuhlmann, group leader for human resources at Leibniz-IWT and founding member of the institute's own working group. "We are now looking forward to further processing the new target agreements and are convinced that these will make working together at the institute even more family-friendly and further advance issues of diversity and equality."

The berufundfamilie Service GmbH is a service provider and think tank in the field of work-life balance. Its core offering is the berufundfamilie audit and the family-friendly university audit, both initiated by the non-profit Hertie Foundation. In addition, berufundfamilie Service GmbH offers events and consulting services that are also open to non-certified employers.