The effect of coronavirus on teaching - Q&A
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Updated on 15 January at 15.20.
On this page, questions and answers concerning the COVID-19 disease will be collected especially from the perspective of teaching and teachers’ work. Students' frequently asked questions and answers are available on the Instructions for Students website. Please select your degree programme above to see if your faculty has provided further instructions.
In the first place, the University always complies with instructions provided by the authorities. You can keep yourself up to date with developments on the University website Helsinki.fi: Coronavirus situation at the University of Helsinki.
Current situation
Decisions by the coronavirus management team, 5 January 2021
The validity of the decisions made by the coronavirus management group has been extended from 10 January to 31 January 2021.
- The University’s premises will be closed. The electronic access rights of staff will remain operational. A building where porter services will be available will be specified for each campus. Wearing a protective face mask is required on University premises, unless there are no other people present. Self-access facilities, Think Corner and computer rooms will be closed. Support for digital teaching is available (UniTube studios).
- Necessary teaching and examination sessions will be held with permission by response centres until 31 January 2021.
- No events or gatherings will be held on University premises. This does not apply to necessary teaching and examination sessions permitted by response centres, or other absolutely necessary meetings of no more than 10 individuals (e.g., statutory company meetings). Small-group instruction and any necessary examinations will be made possible by opening facilities as requested by the relevant response centre.
- Whenever possible, all work (including research) must be completed by telecommuting. If full-time telecommuting is impossible, the employee must discuss with their supervisor the possibility of part-time telecommuting. In laboratory work, a registration procedure is to be used, in addition to which work must be planned in observance of safety and security guidelines. Response centres can issue further instructions and provisions pertaining to the safety of laboratory work.
- Public examinations cannot be held on site. In conjunction with online public examinations, only the doctoral candidate, the opponent, the custos and other members of the grading committee, if any, an IT support specialist and the immediate family of the doctoral candidate are permitted to be present on site. The maximum occupancy of individual rooms is 10 people.
- With the exception of the Kaisa House library, Helsinki University Library locations will be closed. Collection-based lending and returning services will be organised at Kaisa House and the National Library of Finland. In other respects, the National Library will be closed as well.
- With the exception of the outdoor area of the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, the University Museum and the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus will be closed to the public until 31 January 2021. All of UniSport’s exercise and customer service facilities will be closed until 31 January 2021.
Observing common rules remains the top priority in preventing the spread of the coronavirus:
- Do not come to the campuses when ill or when experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus disease Assess your need for testing here: Omaolo service.
- Be sure to practise extremely careful hand and coughing hygiene.
- Leave room for others, and always keep a distance of one to two metres from others, whenever possible.
- Do not shake hands or hug people.
- Avoid unnecessary contact. In other words, meet in person only when necessary. (Meetings, development days etc. are primarily to be organised remotely.)
- Please remember to clean any equipment in joint use after using it. Overall, cleaning activities at the University have been intensified.
- The use of protective face masks is strongly recommended for members of the University community, visitors and customers (e.g., in cafeterias, museums, libraries and sports facilities) visiting public University premises. Mask use is recommended in contact teaching as well as guidance and supervision situations. In laboratory teaching, mask use is required. The University is obtaining protective face masks for students and teachers involved in contact teaching. Please check the up-to-date recommendations on face masks on the University’s website.