Press Release
Heiko Appelbaum
Paderborn University has now been awarded the Corporate Health Award's Seal of Excellence in the field of student health management. This puts the university, which currently has around 20,000 students, in the top 10 list at national level and continues its successful course of offering excellent study conditions.
"As part of the Corporate Health Award, Paderborn University was able to prove that it is committed to the health and performance of its own students in an exemplary manner," says the jury in its statement.
This was preceded by an audit carried out by EuPD Research Sustainable Management GmbH.
Dennis Kehne, a member of staff in University Sports and responsible for student health management at Paderborn University, is delighted with the award. "The result shows that we are making good progress in the field of student health management in Paderborn. However, as the topic is still very new in the university context, we believe we are only at the beginning of an important journey."
Dennis Kehne's belief in the importance of student health is supported by a recent study, the results of which are striking: "To summarise, we found that stress and pressure had already increased before, but especially during the coronavirus crisis. There is a strong demand for programmes to reduce stress and promote health. This means that sustainable structures for a holistic, healthy university are becoming increasingly important."
A comprehensive range of activities and counselling services are available to students in everyday university life. Dennis Kehne and his team coordinate numerous partners - a broad health network has been established, from university sports to the student union and student counselling.
"As part of a new project called 'moving study - studying moves 2.0', a further focus is to be placed on making the university more exercise-friendly," says Dennis Kehne. "Our focus here is on activating university teaching."
Dennis Kehne is delighted that his past endeavours are bearing fruit. The jury's further justification for awarding the Seal of Excellence is like an accolade for Paderborn University's activities to date: "The university has established an outstanding student health management programme that is one of the best in Germany. The SGM is structurally and strategically integrated into university processes and sponsors a university-wide health culture. Students benefit from comprehensive health services tailored precisely to their needs and are sustainably strengthened in their performance and motivation."