The dean: Returning to our shared campus university
The holiday is just around the corner. When staff and students at Aarhus BSS return, we can look forward to working as we did before the pandemic – and yet. The dean talks about what the reopening and our COVID-19 experiences will mean for our campus university after the summer holiday.
The reopening agreement has relaxed the restrictions that Aarhus BSS has been living with for several months. 50 per cent of staff is now permitted to work at their office. The requirement to wear a face mask and keep distance has been lifted. Events are beginning to accept in-person attendance. And the AU test sites had their final day on 30 June.
Many members of staff at the school have already replaced a number of days working from home with ordinary days at the office. When all staff is permitted to return 1 August, campus will once again become the primary workplace for our tasks, collaboration and collegial fellowship.
“That is good news,” says dean Thomas Pallesen and stresses:
“A good working life is not just about the content of your tasks. It is also about good and productive human relations . Aarhus BSS is a campus university, and I look forward to seeing the working communities return to our locations in Aarhus and Herning.”
Moving forward with what COVID-19 has taught us
In classrooms and lecture theatres, the temporary streaming equipment is already being taken down. Instead, up-to-date Panopto equipment will be ready for use in selected lecture theatres after the summer holiday.
With functionality for interacting with the students, this equipment will make experimentation with recording and streaming content both easier and better, when on-campus teaching is once again the default form of instruction.
"We have also initiated a process with the aim of gathering all our experiences from this last year. Here, the best practices concerning online teaching will be compiled with the focus based on the students ' own experiences, "says Thomas Pallesen, and continues:
“On this basis, the lecturers will be able to continue developing their own teaching and use forms of instruction that combine physical and digital elements, improve the learning outcomes and utilisation of resources on the degree programmes, and support the well-being of our students.”
Student well-being will also be a focus area in general. Thomas Pallesen adds:
"In order to improve student well-being after a long period of lockdown, there has been earmarked a pool of funds to restart student life in 2021. We have already accepted a number of applications from the student organisations and we look forward to seeing even more good ideas and exciting proposals"
Have a great summer, and see you on campus after the holiday!