https://www.facebook.com/LimerickIT/videos/1526263634246666/
Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) has unveiled details of life on campus during the new academic year.
In May the Institute of Technology, which has campuses in Limerick, Tipperary and Clare, announced a roadmap for reopening its campuses to students, all of whom had been learning remotely since the beginning of the Covid-19 restrictions in March.
President of LIT Professor Vincent Cunnane outlined further details of how LIT will welcome students back this September through a process that will schedule students to be on campus every week, while also adhering to public health guidelines.
Professor Cunnane said, “We believe it is important that students have a strong connection with the institution. Being on campus regularly not only gives them the best possible experience but also optimises their learning potential. For this reason, all students will be timetabled to spend time on campus every week, as tutorials and practicals take place predominantly on campus, while lectures are delivered remotely.”
LIT students will begin this blended model of learning from September 14, 2020. First year students will begin LIT on September 28, the planned start date for first years in all IoTs.
The LIT President added, “The safety of our staff and students is of paramount importance so we have adapted our teaching and on-campus experiences to facilitate the delivery of education in a safe environment. We will also be asking students and staff to exercise personal responsibility as we all work together to keep our community as safe as possible.”
“LIT students will therefore be requested to adhere to the new LIT COVID-19 Charter for Students and the LIT COVID-19 Guidelines and Responsibilities. Together these outline a set of principles adhering to the advice from the CMO, NPHET, the HSE, the Department of Further and Higher Education and the HSA. All members of the LIT student community will be requested to comply with the principles of the COVID-19 Charter which includes the wearing of face coverings, hand-washing, hand-sanitisation, social distancing, use of the state’s Covid-19 Tracker app and other measures to keep our community safe,” said Professor Cunnane.
Although students will be on campus at least once a week, the numbers of students on campus at any one time will be greatly reduced and timetabled in pods for any on campus work.
It is expected that LIT timetables will be published by the end of this week and will be available online at lit.ie. Despite the extraordinary times, LIT timetables for first year students will also be available in advance of receiving CAO offers on September 14.
An indication of how long students from different courses will spend on campus is as follows:
Built Environment: 1-3 days p/w (1 day p/w in majority of cases)
Applied Science: 3-4 days p/w
Electrical & Electronic Engineering: 1-3 days p/w
Mechanical & Automobile Engineering: 3-4 days p/w
Information Technology: 2-3 days p/w
Marketing, Enterprise & Digital Communications:1-2 days p/w
Applied Social Science: Estimated at 1-2 days p/w
Business & Financial Services: Estimated at 1-2 days p/w
Sport, Leisure & Tourism: Estimated at 1-2 days p/w
LSAD (Clare St): Estimated at 2-3 days p/w
LSAD (Moylish/Clonmel): Estimated at 2-3 days p/w
All up-to-date information on LIT’s plans to reopen its campuses and details for the new academic year will continue to be available at https://lit.ie/oncampus