Participation, Diversity & Equal Opportunities

As an institution, BIGSSS believes that diverse backgrounds and ideas are crucial to academic excellence and therefore welcomes and promotes diversity and aims at mutual respect and the inclusion of all of its members regardless of their ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio‐economic status, age or dis‐/ability.

Furthermore, BIGSSS encourages active participation of its fellows in organizational matters and decision making processes.

Fellow Representation

BIGSSS centers around its fellows. To give them the chance to participate on all important levels of BIGSSS' organisational structure, Fellow Representatives are elected each year. Among others, the Fellow Representatives participate in the selection process of new fellows and are members of BIGSSS' Academic Council.

If you would like to reach our Fellow Reps, please send an email to fellowreps@bigsss-bremen.de

The Fellow Reps will respond as soon as possible. Please be aware that the content of your emails will be kept confidential if you prefer.

Equal Opportunities

BIGSSS aims at ensuring equal opportunities for all people involved in it; no matter whether they are PhD or Postdoctoral fellows, members of faculty or staff, or applicants to our program. It commits to the anti-discrimination guidelines of the University of Bremen and Constructor University:

Equal Opportunity and Anti-Discrimination at the University of Bremen

Constructor University Community Standard

Furthermore, every year the BIGSSS fellows elect a team of Equal Opportunity Officers.

The EOOs provide information on equal opportunity measures and are advocating non-discrimination with respect to ethnicity, language, religion, dis-/ability, age, sexual orientation, gender and family responsibilities.

If you would like to reach our EOOs, please send an email to eoos@bigsss-bremen.de.

The EOOs will respond as soon as possible. Please be aware that the content of your emails will be kept confidential if you prefer.

Ombudsperson

The role of the ombudsperson is to mediate between potentially opposing BIGSSS parties in case of conflicts which cannot be resolved internally.

Prof. Dagmar Borchers is the official ombudsperson of the University of Bremen.

Before consulting Prof. Dagmar Borchers, any problems should first be addressed to the respective Field Coordinator and the Director of Studies, or to other members of the Executive Team.