The reopening of the university facilities to begin starting from 10 August – teaching and other work will continue partially remotely
University’s facilities will be reopened to a limited extent starting from 10 August, and teaching, studies and work will continue partially remotely. It will also be possible to arrange artistic events in the university facilities.
There will still be some restrictions concerning the use of facilities and the number of people in the facilities, however. It is important that all users of the facilities follow the common safety guidelines. The most essential thing to remember is that you cannot come to the university facilities if you have any potential coronavirus-related symptoms.
The reopening of the university will take place in accordance with the national, field-specific and university-specific safety guidelines. The purpose of the general guidelines is to slow down and prevent the spread of coronavirus in Finland, to safeguard the capacity of the healthcare system and to protect people who are most at risk.
We will follow the development of the coronavirus epidemic and, if necessary, make updates on the instructions during the summer. We will also prepare for possible sudden changes in the situation during the academic year, in which case we will have to react quickly and update our coronavirus guidelines.
Uniarts Helsinki’s coronavirus-related guidelines as of 10 August
Use of facilities
Starting from 10 August, the university will begin reopening its facilities for studies, teaching and other work in accordance with jointly agreed-upon principles.
The number of students and staff using the facilities is monitored, and if necessary, there will be some restrictions.
Nobody is allowed to come to the university when sick. If you have a fever, symptoms of a flu, stomach symptoms or other coronavirus-related symptoms, you cannot come to the university.
When it comes to all operations, the university will prepare for possible sudden changes in the coronavirus situation during the academic year. If changes occur, we will have to adapt to the situation on short notice and update our coronavirus guidelines.
Studies
Students can study in the university facilities as of 10 August as long as they follow the safety guidelines.
The aim is to offer students who belong to high-risk groups the possibility to complete studies remotely if it is possible. The decision on these kinds of arrangements is made by the head of the unit in charge of organising teaching (dean or the academic director of the Open Campus) or a person authorised by the head of the unit.
The orientation period that is offered for new students is arranged partially through face-to-face meetings in small groups.
When it comes to studies, the university will prepare for possible sudden changes in the coronavirus situation during the academic year, which may cause updates to the coronavirus guidelines.
Teaching
Teaching will be offered partially remotely starting from 10 August. Remote teaching will occur mostly on courses or parts of courses where remote arrangements do not considerably jeopardise students’ possibilities to achieve the learning objectives. Teaching that is impossible or unreasonably difficult to organise remotely with the learning objectives in mind will be arranged on campus.
Teachers will be ensured the possibility to teach remotely in situations where this is possible when considering the proper management of the job duties in question. Supervisors consider the learning objectives, nature of the job and safety guidelines and decide whether remote teaching is possible.
Contact teaching must be arranged in accordance with the safety guidelines. Keeping a 1 to 2-metre distance is not required in contact teaching, if it is not possible to achieve the learning outcomes when maintaining the distance and if the teaching cannot be delayed until a later date. The decision on deviating from the safety guidelines is made by the head of the unit in charge of organising teaching or a person authorised by the head of the unit.
The more detailed instructions for teaching arrangements are made by the units in charge of organising teaching (academies, Open Campus). The heads of the units in charge of organising teaching (deans, academic director of the Open Campus) or persons authorised by the heads of the units are responsible for making sure that the instructions are followed.
The unit in charge of organising teaching must have information on all people who use the campus facilities for teaching.
When it comes to teaching, the university will prepare for possible sudden changes in the coronavirus situation during the academic year, which may cause updates to the coronavirus guidelines.
Other work
Other work will continue partially remotely starting from 10 August. The recommendation is that personnel working in the University Services has the possibility to work remotely some days of the week when this is possible considering the proper management of job duties.
If an employee is not able to work in the university facilities, the work is performed completely remotely. Supervisors consider the nature of the job and the university’s guidelines and decide whether remote work is possible. Teams are encouraged to discuss work arrangements, duties and objectives regarding remote work so that a smooth and well-planned management of job duties could be possible also if the coronavirus situation changes.
When an employee works remotely, their duties may temporarily differ from their usual job duties. Employees discuss changes to the job duties with their supervisors. If it is not possible to perform the work remotely, and there are no alternative work duties that can be assigned, the HR team should be contacted concerning the matter.
Additional decisions concerning support for remote work (including ergonomics-related matters) will be made in August based on the feedback given to the university.
Artistic activities
Artistic activities are allowed in the university facilities starting from 10 August. When it comes to artistic activities, the university follows all regulations, policies and instructions issued by the authorities. Rules on keeping a safe distance to others are followed in all artistic events. The size of the space and the number of everyone in the space are taken into consideration when evaluating the safety of the event.
Research
Research will be carried out partially remotely starting from 10 August. Research personnel will be ensured the possibility to work in the university facilities in situations where this is necessary when considering the proper management of the job duties in question. Supervisors consider the nature of the job and the university’s guidelines when making decisions on remote work.
It is recommended that research conferences and symposiums are organised remotely. Public defences of doctoral dissertations and other thesis examinations can be arranged remotely or on campus, as long as the safety regulations are followed.
Libraries
The library will be open between 10 and 30 August 2020 in Helsinki and between 13 and 30 August 2020 in Kuopio. The self-service hours will be in use during the opening hours of the facilities, and customer service will be available Monday through Friday between noon and 15:00 in all library locations.
Visits, exchanges and travels
We follow the instructions issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and encourage everyone to avoid trips abroad. We ask employees to discuss whether a trip abroad is necessary with their supervisor. A 14-day self-isolation is recommended for all employees and students who come to Finland from countries that are subject to internal or external border control. Read more about travelling on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
When inviting international guests to the university and planning visits to other countries, it is important to evaluate whether the visit is necessary and organise only visits that are critical for the university’s operations. Those who invite international guests must inform their guests on the national travel policies.
Uniarts Helsinki will welcome and send out exchange students from and to other universities starting from 10 August. The exchange agreements are conditional, and applicants are informed on possible restrictions concerning travel and start of studies due to the coronavirus situation. The decisions on exchanges are made by the academy that is either sending out or receiving students.
Preparedness for changes
Uniarts Helsinki prepares for possible changes in the coronavirus situation by maintaining its preparedness to switch over to exclusively remote studies and work during the academic year. If necessary, the rector may call upon the university’s preparedness team to support decision-making in related matters.
Answer a questionnaire and share your experiences on remote teaching, learning and working
In March, all staff members and students at Uniarts Helsinki had to switch over to remote teaching and work on an incredibly short notice, and we’d be interested in hearing what kinds of experiences and thoughts you had about this during the spring term; what worked, what did not work, and what you would like to share or improve.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect feedback on remote teaching and other remote activities from all teachers, students, researchers and service personnel of Uniarts Helsinki. The answers provided will be useful material as we continue to develop our remote teaching and other work in the autumn of 2020. Answering the questionnaire will take about 15-20 minutes.
All answers are collected anonymously, and respondents cannot be identified at any stage of the questionnaire process.
More information
Jari Perkiömäki
Rector
050 384 3454