From Juny 15, students will be able to meet with their project group on campus, PhD students will be able to defend their thesis - in a small scale pilot phase - and there will be room for small-scale meetings and incidental work sessions.
Working and studying at home remains the norm for the rest of the academic year. According to executive board spokesperson Laurens van der Velde, this is in line with the national guidelines. Nevertheless, employees who experience problems with working from home can return to campus. 'It's not entirely cast in stone what we define by these problems. It will therefore be a tailor-made conclusion, in consultation between employees and managers,' according to the spokesperson.
Fitting and measuring
A protocol is currently being drawn up for the easing as of 15 June. This will be a fitting and measuring process, says Van der Velde. 'The solution must be found on the level of building and departments. The use of the usual workplace is desirable, provided that this can be done. In any case, the general safety regulations continue to apply: stay one and a half metres away from each other, wash your hands regularly and stay at home if you have cold symptoms.'
According to the spokesperson, employees shouldn’t return en masse to the campus for weekly work meetings. ‘But an incidental meeting in which it is useful to see and speak to each other physically is fine. Or a work session in which you want to achieve quick results in a project by means of an intensive brainstorming session. In all cases, the RIVM guidelines will be leading, in combination with what is possible in a room.’
What is already reopened?
Slowly but surely, more and more UT facilities have already reopened - be it limited and under strict regulations: the Bastille, the library in the Vrijhof, the sports fields, the water sports complex, the Pakkerij and about 40 percent of the labs - also for graduation projects.
After the summer
Later this month, the Executive Board wants to provide clarity for working and studying on campus after the summer. 'We’re in a hurry, because staff and students need to be able to prepare well: teachers need to shape their educational programme and students need to make preparations for travelling to Enschede and arrange accommodation, to name a few things,' says Van der Velde.
In any case, the intention is that 'considerably more teaching and research activities can take place on the campus, making optimum use of the extensive campus and its many facilities'. The UT gives 'high priority' to the new batch of first-year students.
