Bielefeld Questionnaire on Study Conditions and Health

Bielefeld questionnaire on study conditions and health

At the heart of this project are nationwide surveys of students on their study conditions and their (mental) health. Participating universities are supported in taking a closer look at their study conditions and deriving data-supported measures to make them more (health) sponsorable and, if necessary, to implement the risk assessment of mental stress for study places.

On these pages you will find information ...

• on the background, objectives and cooperation partners of the project
• on the structure, content and possible uses of the questionnaire
• on the university network
• current dates, publications and milestones
• on the results of the survey

Symposium ‘10 years of the Bielefeld questionnaire’ from 5th November 2024

Findings on working and study conditions and (mental) health in the triad of university practice, policy and research

On 5th November, our symposium ‘10 years of the Bielefeld questionnaire - findings on working and study conditions and (mental) health in the triad of university practice, policy and research’ took place in Bielefeld. We would like to take this opportunity to express our special thanks to the DGUV's Universities Division, whose funding made this symposia possible.

Around 10 years after the first use of the Bielefeld questionnaire, we presented the key research findings from our projects - based on a total of over 80 staff and student surveys. Among other things, it became clear that there is a great need for action in structural aspects: for students, for example, courses and the organisation of examination periods can be mentioned here, while employees perceive fixed-term contracts or time requirements as particularly stressful. The analyses of our cross-university data sets show that these factors are associated with important outcomes such as mental health and thus represent relevant levers for the design of working and study conditions at universities.

In addition to quantitative research findings, comprehensive process experience has also been accumulated in ten years of survey support at universities nationwide, which we shared in the programme item ‘Lessons Learned’ on organisational development processes, communication and participation at universities and classified from multiple perspectives as part of a panel discussion. Last but not least, it became clear that, from the perspective of university practice, research, politics and legislation, there is still untapped potential on the way to a healthy university environment.

The day was rounded off by in-depth dialogue in focus groups on various topics. This led to stimulating discussions on how much exhaustion or stress is actually ‘normal’, the extent to which addressing the topic of health at a strategic level often means ‘drilling thick boards’, the role of ‘social capital’ as a driver of health and engagement at universities and how health managers can navigate the tension between self-care and engagement.

In the beautiful atmosphere of the inclusive cultural centre ‘Neue Schmiede’ in Bethel, we were able to reflect together on important results and discuss future developments, with the exchange benefiting in particular from the diverse composition of the group of participants - in line with the triad mentioned in the title - and, of course, from the one or other delicious scoop of ice cream 😊 We have received many positive re-enrolments, such as that the symposium has opened up new perspectives. We would like to thank you for this and we agree: we also take away many valuable ideas for our future work.

Note on the survey processes

The follow-up project ‘Roadmap4StudiBiFra’ started on 1st April 2024. Further information can be found on the ‘Roadmap4StudiBiFra’ page.

The ‘StudiBiFra’ questionnaire project ended in August 2023. You can find the key results on the ‘StudiBiFra (completed)’ page. If you are still interested in a student survey, please do not hesitate to contact us.