Coronavirus : guidelines and situation at the IEE

[Updated on April 16, originally published on April 13] In view of the measures announced at the press conference at the end of the National Security Council and following the recommendations of the ULB, we inform you that the IEE remains open and active, but with modalities adapted to the situation.

The courses of the Interdisciplinary Master in Analysis of European Construction and of the MEUS (Executive Certificate in European Union Studies) are replaced by distance education (see below) and activities not essential to teaching and research are postponed or canceled.

The authorities of the IEE call on everyone to be cautious and follow the instructions, without falling into alarmism.

These measures come into force on Friday March 13 and relate to activities scheduled until Sunday, May 3 inclusive. They are however likely to evolve according to the evolution of the situation.

All members of the university community, students, staff members and visitors are invited to read and apply them.

Teaching: specific provisions for the IEE

For students:

• The measure to extend distance learning until the end of the term, announced on Monday 23 March, is the result of consultations between French-speaking universities and the meeting with the office of Valérie Glatigny, Belgian Minister for Higher Education. This measure was undertaken, mainly to ensure the protection of the health of all and to specify the context in which the term will continue, whatever the duration of the confinement or subsequent health measures. All the details on the ULB’s website.
• The University authorities have decided that the first-session evaluations will be taken remotely. Your teachers, who have been working on them for several weeks, are to inform you on the adapted evaluation conditions by April 27. You will also be informed of the schedule of your evaluations as soon as possible.
  Each class syllabus and its related exam content are currently being reassessed by your professors bearing, at all times, the exceptional circumstances in mind.
• The ULB is are actively working on making rooms specifically dedicated to the remote examination available to those who are unable to sit their exams at home. As the number of seats is limited, priority access will be given to those for whom this is a genuine and indispensable necessity. Should it be your case, we kindly ask you to notify your professors. All the details on the ULB’s website.
• MA theses vivas are maintained and to be held remotely.

• Trips are canceled, both abroad and on Belgian territory.
• Students who will soon be leaving or arriving for student mobility must cancel their trip;
• Incoming mobility students already at ULB are free to continue their studies there or to return to their home university;
• We kindly ask you to regularly check the ULB email addresses and the official ULB page on COVID-19.

• For members of the academic body:
  • You will find on this page and on the site “UV Teachers / Course Editors Support” in the Virtual University a “Teaching online with UV” tool sheet as well as links to a series of useful tutorials.
  • Starting Thursday 12 March, a series of “express” training workshops will be organized. You will find the dates of these sessions (and you can register for them) via the ULB training page. Other dates may be proposed depending the demand and the evolution of the situation.
  • For more experienced users of UV, we are also organizing hotlines on Thursday 12 March where you can come, without an appointment, to ask more specific questions on how to organize your online courses and on the different tools. You will find the timetables here.

• ULB professors are invited to follow the instructions of the Vice-Rector for Education in order to adapt their course material accordingly, with the support of the Education Department.

Research

• Non-essential meetings (symposia, seminars, conferences …) must be postponed or canceled ;
• Trips must be postponed or canceled;
• The hosting of foreign researchers and doctoral students must be postponed or canceled;
• Public thesis defenses must be postponed or organized in a limited committee.

Continuity of services at the IEE

• The IEE remains open and the protection of staff members remains a priority.
• In this double perspective, the continuity of its services must be ensured and teleworking will be privileged as much as possible.

Until new notice, the IEE secretariat will open only online (9:00 am to 12:00 pm). If you have questions/messages concerning the Specialised Master in EU Interdisciplinary Studies, please e-mail Françoise Vanden Broeck.

If you are trying to reach the Student Affairs Officer for our Executive Master in European Union Studies (MEUS), please e-mail Olga Minampala.

• For staff members with health problems that make them vulnerable to the virus, we invite them to contact their attending physician. In any case, telecommuting measures are strongly recommended.

Events and community services

• Student activities on campus are canceled or postponed. Student organizations are asked to apply the same instructions for their planned activities off campus;
• Cultural, sporting and festive activities are canceled or postponed;
• Institutional and faculty events (open days, Printemps des Sciences, etc.) are canceled or postponed.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) can be found on the page of the ULB website dedicated to Covid-19.

Students and staff members are also invited to apply the hygiene measures recommended by the public authorities:

• Wash your hands often with soap;
• Cough or sneeze into a disposable handkerchief or, if not, into the fold of your elbow;
• Avoid contact with people with respiratory symptoms and pay attention to the most fragile people around you, especially the elderly;
• If you are in poor health, contact your doctor to decide on any special precautions;
• In case of suspected illness, contact your doctor by phone and inform the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Community Services, Alain Levêque, who coordinates Coronavirus for the ULB;
• Stay home as soon as you show suspicious signs.

We thank you for your participation in this collective effort,

Ramona Coman, President; Emmanuelle Bribosia, Vice-President; Nicolas Verschueren, Director;
Jozefien Van Caeneghem, Research Logistic Coordinator and María Isabel Soldevila, Executive Manager & Communication Director.