Students are allowed to go back to campus

Students are allowed to go back to campus 

Students at TU Delft will be able to attend lectures at the campus two or three days a week in the coming academic year. The university writes this in a news release after the Dutch cabinet announced Friday that higher education and vocational education (mbo) is allowed reopen.

A number of conditions are attached to the opening. For example, the maximum group size is 75 students per lecture hall, mouth masks are mandatory outside lecture halls and the government advises the use of self-tests.

What education will look like in practice differs per faculty and per course. Faculties have not yet announced any details. “I haven’t heard anything from my study programme yet,” says second-year industrial design student Mees, for example. For lecturers, the maximum group size means that they will have to give part of their lectures both online and in person.

A number of lecturers have reservations about the reopening of higher education. Professor of biotechnology Jack Pronk, for instance, wonders how safe it is to have students return to the campus.

National interest groups – such as the Interstedelijk Studentenoverleg (ISO), the Landelijke Studentenvakbond (LSVB) and the Vereniging van Universiteiten (VSNU) – have reacted positively, although they would have preferred that the maximum group size did not apply. The VSNU has started a campaign to make sure students follow Dutch covid regulations.