51Âþ»­

A message from Interim Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andy Collop

Dear students, 

In a couple of weeks, our academic year will begin and your courses will start. You will meet new friends or you’ll see again those friends you’ve missed. You might be seeing our beautiful campus for the first time or going back to familiar spots. Either way, we cannot wait to see you. 

One thing is for sure – you will all have stories to tell about your year so far. No one has been untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic and almost every business, organisation and individual has had to make changes and get used to a new way of doing things. 

Collop

At 51Âþ»­, we’re no different. The most remarkable thing about people is their ability to adapt and we have a lot of remarkable people here at 51Âþ»­. We have completely adapted and created a new kind of university experience, one which puts your health and safety first while keeping the same creative, personal and social experience that our university is famous for. 

While rolling out any new system is a little nerve-wracking – and while there may be things which need a tweak here and there as we progress – we are confident we have created a really exciting and safe way for you to enjoy your studies. There are three main new pieces of work we have introduced this year you need to know about: 

Your 51Âþ»­ Future 

Here you will find all the advice and support on how your university life will work this year. We have FAQs and pages on teaching, learning, life in Leicester, sport, mentors, trips and more. 

This brings together all of 51Âþ»­’s COVID-19 related health and safety information and guidelines into a single microsite. The health and safety of our students and staff is of paramount importance to us – please follow the guidance and instructions available on this site so you can enjoy our campus in a safe and secure way.  

Your 51Âþ»­ Safety includes guidance on social distancing and other health and safety principles to follow, information on how your accommodation will work under restrictions and what precautions you need to take. That’s not all, you can find out what measures the university has put in place to make campus as secure as it can be, what to do if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and how you’ll be supported by 51Âþ»­. 

51Âþ»­ Safe Trace  

51Âþ»­ Safe Trace is a location registration service using QR codes and/or a webform to help protect the health and safety of our students, staff and visitors while on campus. It is designed to support Public Health England (PHE) and the local and national health bodies to trace members of our community in the event there are cases of COVID-19 on campus. It is also a mechanism to report positive cases to the university so we can support students and staff and respond quickly to close off/deep clean affected areas if there are confirmed cases on campus. 

Staff and students will be asked to scan into designated university rooms and spaces using unique QR codes (via the My51Âþ»­ app) which will be displayed prominently on an A3 poster, so you can scan the code at a safe social distance. Community-used spaces and facilities (such as the QEII Leisure Centre and food outlets) will use the NHS COVID-19 app and QR codes instead. To find out more about how both systems work and how you can download/use the apps and webforms click here.   

All that said, for this to work, we need you to do your bit. We are still in the middle of a global pandemic so this is serious – you need to follow these simple rules: 

• Please use the QR codes where prompted in teaching, learning or social spaces on campus 
• Once you have your timetable, you must follow it 
• You must only attend the face-to-face teaching for which you are specifically timetabled 
• You have to abide by the frequently-updating government (and local) guidance on social distancing, in particular, means you must not engage in social gatherings of more than six people both indoors and outdoors (the only exception is if your student household exceeds six people). 

We have also created a ‘shared commitment’, which outlines the behaviour and approach we need you to adopt to be safe while at 51Âþ»­. Because as much as we can put systems and advice in place, it is up to you as individuals to play your part in keeping each other safe by sticking to the rules and avoid the spreading of infection. 

The full commitment is here and I ask you to give it a read and follow the advice – it is for our collective good. 

Ours is a community that holds itself to high standards and expects everyone to demonstrate personal responsibility to abide by UK government laws and our university code of conduct. If students do not observe these standards, or if you break the law or breach required COVID-19 behaviours, we reserve the right to invoke relevant disciplinary procedures, including exclusion from the university.   

This year has so far been about change for almost everybody in the world. We are living in times we could never have predicted. 

And what change means more than anything, is opportunity. It is our job, this year, to put that opportunity firmly into both of your hands, and give you the experience of a lifetime while you’re here.  

Best Wishes 

Andy 

Professor Andy Collop
Interim Vice-Chancellor