All posts by : Joana Mineiro

In a time of higher social tension, I want to thank you once again for all your dedication and commitment in the processes of social and professional transformation we are experiencing.    

Our institutional response capability has been remarkable. This is only possible thanks to the great effort and hard work of all of you.

In the end of the first week after changing our teaching-learning model to fully e-learning we have had 881 teachers, 9768 online students and approximately 2 million online interactions in the moodle platform. And to this number we must add the other platforms and strategies also used in the e-learning process. Thank you very much to all of you!

I must thank all the services of the Polytechnic of Leiria, once again and without exception, for all the hard work and commitment that have been fundamental to maintain our activity and to honor our mission as a public higher education institution.

In this particularly difficult context, we have been accompanying our students in international mobility on a daily basis. With a remarkable assistance of our mobility and international cooperation services and in close collaboration with our ministry and the secretariat of state of the Portuguese Communities, 78 students have already returned. We still have 67 students outside the country that we are monitoring, with whom we are in permanent contact.

With the effort, dedication and commitment of all, we managed, in a very short period, to create the conditions that allowed teachers, investigators and technical staff to telework.  

I also want to let you know that our student residencies in Peniche, Caldas da Rainha and Leiria are open. We have 120 students in our facilities. The canteens are open with take-away services in Leiria, Caldas da Rainha and Peniche. We are focused in a quality service and social responsibility, towards our community but also toward other needs that may emerge, namely considering the health professionals. To our “giant” professionals of the social services, that allow us to maintain this response, thank you, thank you so much! We will never forget your generosity and professionalism!

To finish, I want to share with you that the Polytechnic of Leiria has delivered to the Hospital of Leiria (Centro Hospitalar de Leiria) and to the Hospital of the West (Centro Hospitalar do Oeste) 5000 pairs of protective gloves, 100 pairs of surgical gloves and 600 face protection masks.  

Within this challenging context, the assurance of normal institutional functioning depends on each and every one.

I would like to thank you all once again for your institutional commitment and resilience, urging everyone to rigorously comply with the recommendations of the health authorities.

At the moment , we don’t have notice of any case of COVID-19 in the community of the Polytechnic of Leiria. Protect yourself and your families!

Rui Pedrosa
President of the Polytechnic of Leiria

In a time of higher social tension, insecurity and vulnerability, I want, once again, to thank you for all your efforts, resilience and dedication, namely in our transition to e-learning.

Your commitment and your ability to positively address the current challenges have been remarkable. Our Deans, our Degree Coordinators and our Academic Staff are responding in a dedicated and competent manner. Our students are showing high maturity and tolerance, namely in the understanding that this is a very fast transition and that the improvement must be continuous.

Yesterday, on our first day of full e-learning teaching activities, only in the moodle platform we had online 698 teachers, 7173 online students and 275000 online interactions in 1994 different subjects, in addition to the use of many other platforms and methods for distance learning which are currently being adopted. Thank you very much to all of you!

I would also like to thank all the services from Polytechnic of Leiria, without exception, for all the hard work and commitment, which has been paramount to maintain our activity and honor our mission as a public higher education institution. In this context, I would particularly like to thank all the work of the Distance Learning Unit, the Social Services, the Communication offices, International Mobility Offices, the IT Services and the agile response of the Human Resources and Financial services.

In two days we were able to prepare more than 130 computers to allow teleworking as well as to substantially increase our response capability to online and telephone contacts.

Within this challenging context, the assurance of normal institutional functioning depends on each and every one, so I would like to thank you all once again for your institutional commitment and dedication, urging everyone to rigorously comply with the recommendations of the health authorities.

Rui Pedrosa
President of the Polytechnic of Leiria

To all children, young people and adults returning from an area with active community transmission of

the new coronavirus, such as Northern Italy, China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan or Iran, the

Portuguese Directorate-General for Health reports that to this date, following guidelines from the

World Health Organization (OMS), there are no restrictions on your stay in our country.

However, you are advised to, during the next 14 days:

• Be aware of the appearance of fever, cough or difficulty breathing;

• Measure body temperature twice a day and record the values;

• Check if any of the people you live with closely develop symptoms (fever, cough or difficulty

breathing);

• If any of the referred symptoms appear (in yourself or the ones near you), do not go immediatly to

Health services;

• Call the SNS24 (800 24 24 24);

• Follow the guidelines of the SNS24.

It is also recommended:

• Wash your hands frequently, with soap and water, rubbing them well for at least least 20 seconds;

• Reinforce hand washing before and after preparing food or meals, after using the bathroom and

whenever your hands are dirty;

• Alternatively, use an alcohol-based solution for hand hygiene;

• Use tissue paper (single use) to blow;

• Throw used tissues in a waste bin and wash your hands immediately;

• Cough or sneeze into your arm with your elbow flexed, not your hands;

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with dirty or contaminated hands. respiratory secretions;

• Avoid staying in closed and crowded places within 14 days after the return;

• Avoid physical contact with other people for 14 days after returning.

The evolution of the situation can be followed at www.dgs.pt.

These measures are part of the International Public Health Emergency declared by OMS, following the

epidemic of a new coronavirus. Countries have increased their vigilance to quickly diagnose possible

new cases of COVID-19.

Thank you for helping us to help you!

We inform that at this moment there are no cases of COVID-19 infection among students, teachers and technicians from the Polytechnic of Leiria.

Students with a weak physical condition or with a chronic illness who choose to stay at home, must inform their course coordinator and the respective school director.

We are in contact with students, teachers and technicians who have been in an area with active social transmission so that they remain at home, in responsible social isolation, and do not attend the school’s public spaces.

Whenever necessary, we will send updated information to all the academic community.

The Polytechnic of Leiria monitors the situation concerning COVID-19 in permanent contact with the competent authorities. We must adopt an attitude of social responsibility, maintaining a culture of mutual tolerance and respect for others.

Therefore, we reiterate our call on everyone to comply with the recommendations and measures advised by the Health Authorities, in particular with regard to control and prevention measures. Thus, it is recommended:

  Wash your hands frequently;

  Adopt respiratory etiquette measures: cover your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing (with a tissue or arm, never with your hands; throw the tissue in the trash);

  Wash your hands whenever you blow, sneeze or cough;

  In the 14 days after the return of affected areas (here), maintain a responsible social distance, stay at home and contact the Health Line 24 (808 24 24 24);

If you have signs and symptoms of severe respiratory infection such as fever, cough and difficulty breathing, you should stay at home and contact the Health Line 24 (808 24 24 24).

In case of need for responsible social isolation as a precautionary measure, you should contact the Polytechnic of Leiria (ipleiria@ipleiria.pt). Students who do not attend their school activities for such reasons will not be affected by it.

The Polytechnic of Leiria has already completed its Contingency Plan, which will be activated in case of need. For permanent updating of the information, you can consult the DGS (Health Authorities) page, available at https://www.dgs.pt/ or DGS social networks 

The Polytechnic of Leiria calls for the serenity and responsibility of all.