The Polytechnic of Leiria, with the support and the enormous effort and transversal collaboration of all members of its academic community, managed to ensure a high quality activity throughout the 1st semester, maintaining the teaching activities and the learning contexts, essentially, supported by classroom teaching and in safe conditions. However, the evolution of the pandemic, in the country and in the regions in which we operate, shows alarming numbers associated with positive cases, outbreaks, hospitalizations and deaths, so it is important to adopt additional measures to strengthen security and contain the pandemic, collaborating actively with political and health authorities, protecting everyone.
It is also important to ensure fairness among students, in terms of learning and assessment, ensuring access to all those who will have travel limitations in this pandemic context, within the framework of the state of emergency declared by Decree of the President of the Republic No. 6- B / 2021, of January 13th, and of the measures approved by the Council of Ministers, of January 13th.
Thus, after hearing the School Deans, the Polytechnic of Leiria adopts the following measures:
1. The classroom activities of the 1st semester, for classes that have not yet completed their activities, are replaced by online teaching activities. The School Board and Course Coordinators articulate this transition by keeping the academic community informed, through the School’s website and the usual communication channels;
2. Internships, pedagogical practices and clinical teaching may remain in person, in compliance with the rules in force for the sector of activity in which they operate;
3. Conducting online assessments of the exams period as a rule. The School Board may, exceptionally, authorize the face-to-face assessment, namely in matters of practical/laboratory scope;
4. The face-to-face service of the Services is provided by prior appointment, with the provision of services through digital means that will be maintained and reinforced;
5. The provision of services by employees, safeguarding the support services essential to the activity and functioning of the Polytechnic of Leiria, will be carried out with a focus on operating strategies such as teleworking and team rotation. The rule of having only one employee in the same workspace must be respected. In open space services must comply with the rule of 0.05 people per square meter. The organization of the teleworking and team rotation regime will be articulated by the hierarchical superiors;
6. In-person research and community service activities should be reduced, significantly limiting the number of people present in each laboratory or workshop, as a rule 0.05 people per square meter, favoring the use of telework to optimize operation, tasks that must be articulated by those responsible for them;
7. Meetings should start to be held exclusively by telematics means (video or teleconference), including the provision of public defenses, namely, defense of dissertation, project work or report, juries of tender procedures within the scope of the teaching career in higher education, of research, of the technical staff and also in meetings of government and management bodies;
8. Continuity of functioning of student residences;
9. Canteens must reinforce the take-away service and the capacity for normal operation will be reduced to 25% of its capacity. Some food units and / or spaces may be closed;
10. Maintenance of the Libraries’ face-to-face functioning, as an integrated support structure to support and prepare evaluation moments, with the introduction of more restrictive rules regarding the allocation and management of spaces and access flows and adaptation of schedules;
11. Medical Services remain in operation;
12. The COVID-19 Diagnostic Center of the Polytechnic of Leiria and its work team are fully operational.
Technical and digital conditions will be guaranteed on all campuses, as well as scientific infrastructures and transversal support services to guarantee the functioning of the Polytechnic of Leiria.
These measures are adopted from January 18, and can be implemented before that date whenever the conditions are met, for a period of 5 weeks, with the objective of resuming teaching activities and learning contexts, essentially, supported by classroom teaching and in safe conditions, to take place from the beginning of the 2nd semester.
The measures will continue to be monitored and evaluated permanently, and new guidelines can be communicated, in view of the evolution of the pandemic, the guidelines of the health authorities and exceptional situations that may require it.
Let the academic community know and publish it on the website of the Polytechnic of Leiria.
Order No. 19/2021
Update measures – COVID-19
Leiria, January 13th, 2021
Rui Pedrosa
President of the Polytechnic of Leiria
