Message from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan - 15/03/2020

As concern deepens around Coronavirus this is an update to reassure all of you that we have been working hard over the weekend and anticipate confirming tomorrow a planned move to support remote learning and teaching where possible.

We recognise that schools will need time to adjust, and we are extremely grateful for all the work done to date.

We will be finalising our expectations tomorrow but are planning to phase out face to face teaching as fast as possible, with almost all content covered remotely from Monday 23 March.

Any colleague or student concerned about face to face meetings or close contact with people should discuss working remotely with their line manager/supervisor.

Our approach is precautionary at the moment. As of writing we have no confirmed cases of Coronavirus and we have no plans to close in the sense of a full shut down, nor have we been told to close.

The University will remain open but we will work in a different way.

We are no longer in a ‘business as usual’ mode. Instead we are seeking to meet our teaching and research goals in new ways. I am more than happy for you to pass this message on to staff and students as suits your particular circumstances.

I would personally like to thank everyone for the extraordinary hard work going into our contingency plans.

I am deeply concerned for students and all staff at the University and we will be in touch again tomorrow morning.