To all students

of the University of Bergamo 

on Campus and not, Italian or foreign
 

Bergamo, April 29th 2021

Dear students,

I’m writing to you regarding the “changes” which Lombardy’s passage into ‘yellow zone’ allows us to apply to our University’s activities.

The Academic Senate and Board of Directors, in sessions held on 28 and 29 April, have approved a new organization plan for didactic and curricular activities (classroom lessons, regular exams, final and graduation exams and proclamations, orientation and tutoring activities, lab activities) held foremost and progressively on site, in full respect of the guide lines previously adopted by the Ministry for University and Research.

As long time anticipated, particular effort will be dedicated to allow the onsite attendance of first year students in the final part of this academic year. This is now our priority: to welcome into the university community the first year students who have not yet had the opportunity to “breathe” the University air and finally feel they belong.

This is exactly what I wish the most for each of you: a sense of belonging to the University. Belonging to its spaces, its rituals, with your schoolmates and partners in this journey, who don’t yet have a face and a name. Finally belonging to a group which studies, talks and takes a break together in the open spaces of one of our University sites! But, we will still be offering the possibility to follow the classroom lessons remotely, paying particular attention to the educational needs of students with disabilities or specific learning disorders.

It’s important you should know that all University activities will start back gradually, following the indications given by regional and national authorities in the following weeks.

In detail, starting from 29 April 2021 until 31 July 2021 the following measures apply:

1) the university’s didactic and curricular activities are carried out foremost in presence, according to the following regulations:

a) first year lessons of three-year bachelor and Master single cycle courses are held on site, limited by classroom capacity and in due respect of safety measures, including the necessary shifts to allow students the maximum attendance possible, and asking everyone to respect indications of group subdivision. Based on classroom availability, other courses will also be held on site;

b) all lessons will anyway be offered in dual mode and recordings will also be made available;

c) students will still have to book their seat in the classroom through the app and register their presence on entrance, to allow access monitoring and tracing;

d) for any lesson which registers a classroom attendance below 10 units for one week, the Department may consider holding the course entirely online;

2) all University buildings will be open from Monday to Friday, from 7.30 am to 7 pm, Saturday openings will be arranged to allow programmed activities, concentrating them, if possible, in one building only, preferably the one in via dei Caniana;

3) regular oral exams will be carried out, usually, in remote mode; regular written exams will be carried out, usually, on site, in full respect of the necessary prevention measures, except for the following cases, to be assessed by Department Directors:

- high number of students enrolled for the exam session;

- actual impossibility for the student or teacher to be present at examination, due to circulation limitations

- exams with particular requirements (i.e. Blended mode).

To allow written exams to be held on site, the exam calendar itself needs to be partially modified. Thus, reservations will not open on 30th April, as expected, but a few days later.

4) Masters’ Degree and single cycle graduation exams will be held on site; students will be called in very small groups; access will be limited to the graduating student accompanied by only two people, and tracing of all those accessing the university buildings will be ensured; if ever the rules should not be respected and crowding should occur even outside the university buildings, presentations would be promptly interrupted; in case of proven impossibility to attend, a video-conference presentation will be allowed;

5) proclamations for three year graduations will be held, for the time being, in remote mode;

6) Master classes and training courses, and Ph.D. activities, will be held on site, unless there are no classrooms available;

7) Tutor-Student Meetings can be held on site or remotely through the use of video-conference tools which allow interaction between tutors and students;

8) Training, orientation and tutoring activities, and workshop activities can be held on site, always in full compliance with safety measures; libraries, study rooms and the canteen are open; they can be accessed by reservation using the appropriate Apps and in full respect of distancing and individual protection regulations;

As usual, I invite you to check the University website and each graduation course site, to keep constantly updated on the adopted procedures and the classrooms assigned to each group of students.

Back to class for first year students will be organized as follows:

- Departments of: Foreign Language, Literature and Culture, Letters, Philosophy, Communication and Human and Social Sciences from 3rd May 2021

- Departments of: Law, Business Sciences, Economics, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Management, Information and Production Engineering from 10th May 2021.

These are the regulations put in place, up till now, based on the latest decisions by the relevant Authorities: it is understood that, as weeks progress, we will step by step adapt the precautionary measures, always keeping in line with national and regional indications. Personally, I like to believe that this is the first step towards the “normalization” that we are all hoping for.

I also want to add one recommendation: if you book yourself in for an exam call, and then decide not to take the exam, please cancel your reservation in good time; if too many students carry on not turning up for exam calls, we will have to take measures, as for example skipping the following call.

I have often repeated that the virus has deeply changed us: we will not go back, we won’t recreate conditions, actions and thoughts of the past, because we have all undergone a metamorphosis – physical, mental, relational – which it would be pointless to ignore. What we need to do now is “roll up our sleeves” and reconstruct, with passion and determination (the common image of Bergamo people as builders appears, in this case, appropriate more than ever), a new way of living together, with dialogue and exchange. Our sites await us and, as anticipated, classrooms have been modified and implemented under different aspects: thus, they are now better than before. Now, it’s up to us to turn up at the University improved, i.e. more aware and eager to do well. We are well equipped to do this.

I expect you all. And I expect your enthusiasm and energy.

A warm hug, gradually getting closer

Your “Rettore”

Prof. Remo Morzenti Pellegrini