Announcement from the Rector 16 March 2020

An announcement from the Rector to University students and staff 16 March 2020:

"Dear students and staff,

The University of Iceland Emergency Response Board met this morning (16 March 2020) to discuss matters relating to COVID-19. 

The Emergency Response Board would like to thank students and staff for responding calmly and resolutely to the measures that have been announced so far. None of us have faced measures like this before and good organisation, cooperation and flexibility make all the difference. In these circumstances, it is vital that we all respect the government's assembly ban in order to reduce the risk of infection.

Assembly ban

• The assembly ban which began at midnight and will last 4 weeks prohibits organised gatherings of more than 100 people. For all smaller gatherings, care must be taken to ensure that people remain 2 metres away from one another and that hand washing facilities and hand sanitiser are available.
• The assembly ban has imposed significant restrictions on the education system and the University of Iceland has been closed. This means that the University is closed to students, but staff and PhD students may attend work as long as they comply with the Minister of Health's rules restricting gatherings.

Learning, assessment and exams

• At the University of Iceland, we are doing our utmost to ensure that students are able to complete their studies and exams for the current spring semester and a great deal of hard work is going into replacing on-campus learning with distance learning.
• Students are encouraged to stay up to date with announcements from teaching staff.

• This week, emphasis will be placed on uploading lectures and course material that was not previously available online. This is a huge challenge that the University is well prepared to face.

• Many aspects of teaching at the University are already digital, e.g. lectures, communication between students and teachers, discussions, assignment submission, assessment and more. Teachers and other University staff will endeavour to introduce you to digital solutions over the next days and weeks and implement new solutions where necessary, not least concerning assessment and final examinations.
• No practical teaching will take place at the University of Iceland, irrespective of class size. Students in practical studies are encouraged to seek further information from their schools and teachers.

People in quarantine

• Students and staff in quarantine are kindly asked to report the situation to a teacher / their manager. Teachers/managers will then pass the information on to the Emergency Response Board at neydarstjorn@hi.is. This is so that people can be offered assistance, for example.

Mental and physical wellbeing

• It is important to remember to exercise and spend time outside, since these things are key to mental and physical wellbeing. Look out for one another and keep in touch over the internet.

Online services

• Students are encouraged to use the web chat services which have been activated on the University website for all schools and most service units. The web chats can also be used to send messages outside standard office hours.
• Support services from the Division of Information Technology are available, but only over the phone or through digital channels. A web chat for the Division of Information Technology is available on the University website and their telephone number is 525-4222. It is also possible to email help@hi.is

I urge you all to look out for one another in these unusual circumstances. There is every reason to believe that the difficulties we are now dealing with are both manageable and temporary.

Together we will prevail.

Best regards,
Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector"