Message to staff and students from Senior Vice-Principal - Thursday 12 March 2020
Dear colleagues,
In the last 24 hours there have been significant developments regarding coronavirus Covid-19, which has now been declared a pandemic. The UK Government has also today announced the move to the ‘delay’ phase of its plan to tackle the virus. International travel is becoming ever more difficult with far-reaching restrictions being imposed by national Governments.
The Coronavirus Steering Group has taken a number of important decisions in light of these developments.
Staff and student travel
All work and study related travel outside the UK should be postponed until further notice. Field trips and study visits in the UK should also be suspended. We are also strongly recommending that potential visitors to the Aberdeen campus from overseas should delay their travel at this time. Any queries related to this should be directed to coronavirus@abdn.ac.uk.
Those planning to travel outside the UK for personal reasons should follow latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice for your destination and for any country you will be transiting through. You should be aware that severe travel restrictions are being increasingly introduced around the world, and if you decide to travel there is a risk that you may find it difficult to return to the UK.
While classes at our Aberdeen campuses are still running, we understand that some international students may decide to return home soon. We will support international students who return home, including putting alternative assessment provision in place.
With countries around the world announcing the suspension of teaching or temporary closure of universities, colleges and schools, we have also updated our advice to our students currently overseas, recommending that they return to their usual place of residence.
Contingency plans for teaching and exams
While recognising that the current advice of Scottish Government is that universities should remain open, there is a risk that face to face teaching may need to be suspended at some point, and that the upcoming exams on campus may not be able to take place, or even if they do some students may be unable to attend. We are therefore prioritising preparations that would allow teaching to be delivered online and assessments and the upcoming exams to be completed at a distance.
Events
The University is closely following advice from the Scottish Government today that gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled from next week. We have already decided to postpone tomorrow’s Live on the Lawn for students. We are currently reviewing all major events including Summer Graduations and will provide a further update on this and other events shortly.
Home working
Schools and Directorates have been asked to prioritise important activities and prepare for the possibility that working from home will be required. Guidance on home working has been created and can be viewed here.
Our colleagues in the Directorate of Digital and Information Services are working to ensure that services are in place to facilitate staff working from home, and that support will be available via the IT Service Desk if you require it. Guidance on the University’s remote access solutions is available here www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/working-here/remoteaccess.php.
Public health guidelines
I would also remind you of the public health guidelines to prevent and slow the spread of Covid-19:
- wash your hands with soap and water often – for at least 20 seconds
- always wash your hands when you get home or into work and before eating
- use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve - not your hands - when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
Please keep checking our Coronavirus webpages and if you have a question that isn’t answered in the FAQs, please email coronavirus@abdn.ac.uk.
These are extraordinary times. I want to thank you for everything that you are doing to deal with the exceptionally challenging circumstances we are dealing with.
Best wishes
Karl
Professor Karl Leydecker
Chair Coronavirus Steering Group
Senior Vice-Principal