Newsletter from the President of Aix-Marseille University to the entire university community.
Friday 29th May 2020,
Dearly beloved,
While the deconfinement and the latest government measures announced yesterday by the Prime Minister now allow us to move freely in France, a return to a more ordinary pace of life is taking shape.
As announced in our last communications, next week, Tuesday, June 2, we will enter phase 3 of our business resumption plan. This evolving BRP was adopted by our bodies - this week at the Board of Directors meeting - and has been widely circulated to you. As you know, our instructions remain cautious: telework remains the recommended organisation; your health and that of your family and friends remains the priority.
In order to keep the links and positive thoughts between us, let's continue our exchanges through all the means of communication we have been using for the last three months and let's adapt a brand new channel: a mobile application that is dedicated to you if necessary.
Stay safe, take care, let's get on with it.
Phase 3 of the Business Resumption Plan: volunteerism and progressiveness
From 2 June until the summer holidays (or until further notice?) a small increase in the number of staff in the classroom is authorised, always on a voluntary basis and organised by each directorate and component. The aim is to be able to carry out in the office the non-teleworkable activities listed in the PRA, or to be able to receive colleagues who wish to return temporarily, within the reasonable limits in order to be able to comply, at all times, with health security rules.
In this phase again, you must inform your superior of your wish to return so that the flow of people on site can be managed and the health instructions respected.
As a reminder, the complementary criteria of our PRA specify the following:
- The principle of voluntary service, which each staff member will have made known to his or her superior, subject to the requirements of the service, which may require a return.
- The resumption of school rhythms and the care of colleagues' children.
- Means of travel to come to work. People travelling on foot, by bicycle or in a private vehicle will be given priority to resume in person.
- The maintenance in confinement of vulnerable persons or persons whose state of health is not compatible with the health situation - according to the opinion of the health authorities or, failing that, the prevention doctor or the attending physician.
- Confinement of any person experiencing possible symptoms of COVID-19 or in direct contact with people with these symptoms.
- The respect of the measures and gestures barriers, in particular the rule of social distancing between two agents andregular hand washing requiring sufficient stocks of soap, hydro-alcoholic gel, cleaning of the premises between shifts in the same office and
Student modalities for internships :
As of June 2, the resumption of internships in companies will be possible for students who wish to do so (a volunteer form has been sent to you by your faculty or school/institute). We will have made sure beforehand with your host company that it applies the health regulations in force.
As travel abroad is still prohibited, this authorization only concerns internships in France, not abroad. It does not include health students whose internships are governed by special terms and conditions.
Field research activity
Missions will be able to resume normally if they correspond to an activity in the unit's PRA.
As from 2 June, the procedure for validation by the Vice-President seeking field missions is no longer applicable and, for staff members benefiting from a standing mission order, it is once again valid.
However, the health measures remain in force and those responsible for the structures of staff leaving on mission will have to ensure that all measures are implemented to guarantee their safety and health.
Beware, if traffic is no longer restricted in metropolitan France, outside the Ile de France, it is still not possible to leave the national territory.
You can download the complete updated PRA document here
2. Inst'AMU : AMU as a mobile app to slip into your pocket
I am particularly pleased to announce the launch in the middle of next week of a free mobile application for all members of our community: Inst'AMU. In its first version, its content is dedicated to the organizational modalities related to VIDOC-19 and is intended to help you.
Its objective: to maintain our immediate links between all members of the AMU community despite the measures that are still required of us - teleworking, e-learning students, the approaching summer period... in this context it is a matter of us being present for anyone in case of need.
Since the beginning of the crisis, keeping in touch with colleagues and students has been at the heart of our problem.
And we have, according to your numerous testimonies, kept our ties intact. We have even strengthened our solidarity thanks to regular messages sent by email, through social networks, via the web, via SMS inviting you to solicit the teams, via the telephone conversations thus initiated...
Today, while the crisis is still disrupting our rhythms and students will not be coming to campuses for several months, while for some the difficulties may persist or be revealed, we are going far by offering this application. It will be downloadable in a few days on Google Play Store (for Android) and Apple store (for IOS).
The asset we wanted to give it: to offer you targeted information on any new university modality related to the crisis and specific depending on whether you are students or staff.
Above all, it allows you to easily request help via the "ask for help" command. No geolocation, no health data, Inst'AMU has been designed and thought for your needs, if you wish.
(This application has been developed internally during the containment period by DOSI in connection with many AMU services concerned by the diffusion of information).
New functionalities will be deployed soon to make the application live and correspond to the evolution of the needs. A new version will thus propose in a few weeks many other services, to live well together at the university.
To download already and to follow, so...
3. Returning and borrowing BU documents on campus: by appointment!
As of June 4, 2020, a document "loan and return counter" service will be organized for Aix-Marseille University users in some AMU libraries.
In order to organize the flow of people on campus and to respect the sanitary instructions, this service is only possible by appointment. A big thank you to the colleagues who are mobilizing to allow this precious presence within our University Libraries.
All the simple and precise details to organize your arrival can be found here
4. New solidarity fund for students
We have put on line and will soon communicate to our partners and the general public the possibility for anyone to make a financial donation to benefit students in difficulty in the context of the crisis. These donations will supplement existing aid from the FSDIE or even reward internships.
Always take care of yourself and everyone else,
Éric Berton
President of Aix-Marseille University