Combining studies or work with taking care of a little child often seems an impossible task. South Ural State University has solved this problem at a system level: a mother-and-child room functions here, which was opened as part of a “Help Mum Study” program. There is no bustle or discomfort in this space, it is all about quiet, safety and understanding here.
If you are a student with a little child and a need to take exams, the mother-and-child room at SUSU will help you out. We know that for any student parent not the exam questions or interaction with teachers are the main problem, but rather where to stay with a child during preparing for the exams. Now there is a solution to this problem.
SUSU staff have long came to a conclusion that students with kids must not be forced to make a difficult choice between career, education and being parents. That is exactly why a comfy spot, the mother-and-child room, was opened at Dormitory No.3 at 79 Soni Krivoi Street. You can come here and take your time to feed your child, change his/her clothes, cook his/her food, or give your child and yourself some rest from the noisy university corridors’ bustle. The room offers everything you need: a baby changing table, comfortable sofas set to feed your child, and toys. And the main thing here is the atmosphere where no one would frown upon you and would not ask you to go some place else.
A SUSU student Eva Petrova is one of those, who have already tested this space. The young woman remembers how they lived in a standard dormitory room with their child:
“We have only one room to live in. There’s no space to run around. In the corridor we could bother our neighbours. And now, things will be really great, I think, since we have a special space where we can have some rest and play with different toys.”
It is important to mention that this room is intended not only for student parents. Young university teaching staff members can also spend time with their children during the breaks from lectures here. For them, this is an opportunity to stay on the job and not be haunted by guilt for their family. The “Help Mum Study” program had been launched during the Year of the Family in 2024, and SUSU had been among the first to support this initiative. Our university’s application was approved, and today this room keeps functioning and welcomes new little guests and their parents.
Mums or dads can come here any time whenever there is a need to solve some child-caring issues without leaving the walls of their alma mater. No presenting of unnecessary certificates or bureaucracy here. Only care and understanding that little kids must not be looked at as something standing in the way of making one’s big dreams come true. SUSU stands up to this belief.