Hybrid course design for university students
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted some important changes in how the universities' activity is organized.
Eugen Coroianu, 28.09.2020, 13:50
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, most Romanian universities have decided to hold classes in keeping with a hybrid model, that is a blend of face-to-face and online classes, that apply to all students except for the ones studying medicine. Each university or faculty is free to choose how courses are held, depending on their particularity, the available space to hold classes and the evolution of the epidemic in their region.
Accomodation in student campuses has also been reduced, which makes things even more difficult, given that the demand for accomodation had been bigger than the offer long before the coronavirus outbreak. Some universities have even organised special rooms for students who test positive to the virus, to allow them to spend the quarantine period there. This is the case of the Bucharest University where 8,900 students will start courses on October 1. Also in Bucharest, the Academy of Economic Studies began its activity on Monday, with a ceremony broadcast live on the internet. Courses here, except for five programs, will be held online in the first semester. The Babes Bolyai University in Cluj, the Lucia Blaga University and the Nicolae Balcescu Land Forces Academy in Sibiu as well as the West University of Timisoara, have also started the academic year on Monday.
The Politechnic University in Timisoara will only hold online classes in the first five weeks of the academic year while the Politechnic University of Bucharest, the largest technical university in Romania, will adopt the hybrid system starting October 5. In the city of Iasi, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University will start the academic year online, with students present in class or with a mix of the two, depending on the decision of each faculty. In Ploiesti, the Petrol and Gas University will go for the online system for half a year, while labs, seminaries and workshops will require the students’ physical presence. (Translated by Elena Enache)
