AMU INFO - Special COVID19 - n°14

Friday 12 June 2020,

Dearly beloved,

The evolution of health in France is reassuring, as the deconfinement is accompanied by a decreasing number of contaminations with the coronavirus COVID-19. Economic and social activities are resuming, while health protocols are moving towards lightening. In this context, phase 3 of our PRA is still in force with the application, again, of barrier measures. Family and health criteria remain the most important for us. If the sanitary evolution is confirmed as positive in the coming days as it is today, we will consider a possible evolution of our PRA, in close collaboration with the consultation bodies, notably the members of the CHSCT.

We have managed to get through this crisis without a hitch. The solidarity, caring and unfailing investment of many of you has been remarkable, and I thank you all once again.
From this historic period, we will have to learn some lessons: we are capable of adapting our processes, mobilizing our energies, maintaining our sense of community, and we know how to be agile in order to innovate and transmit. This crisis must also be an opportunity to be seized in order to influence new modes of internal collaboration and to promote the values of our university.

In this perspective, the reflections on telework already initiated several months ago within AMU will continue and develop. These reflections will, I hope, lead to concrete and concerted solutions for new organisational modes that preserve efficiency, quality of life at work and the sense of relationships that is so important.
In parallel with this mission, we are going to work on the lessons to be learned from the crisis, both on our organisation in a degraded mode - taking into account the positive points and those that can be improved - and on the fundamental issues that the university is bringing to society.

Always take care of yourself and everyone else.

1. Stay connected

- I recently announced the launch of our mobile application: Inst'AMU. You can download it today on the Apple store if you have an IOS mobile phone and early next week on Google Play if you have an Android mobile phone.
In its first version, Inst'AMU is dedicated to COVID-19, including the organizational modalities and the possibility for anyone to ask for help to the AMU teams. This link remains fundamental as the summer season approaches.
Very soon, we will make the application's codes available in Open source in order to share it freely to the entire university community.

- The crisis we've been through has made it even more apparent that we need to be connected to keep us connected. I have therefore expressed the wish that, as from this week and until further notice, all our recycled and available IT equipment should be offered to colleagues, whatever their status and income, at the rate of one fixed PC per member of staff and within the limit, of course, of the available stocks.
Since this information was first circulated, more than 500 requests for equipment have already been registered. However, requests are still possible and will be met, as far as possible, in the coming months.

To do so, the procedure is simple: https://www.univ-amu.fr/fr/intramu/cessions-de-pc.
The material will be picked up at the campus SCASCs.

2. Cultural and social activities for children

More than 160 stays and summer courses for the children of staff were booked as part of the SCASC offer before the crisis. Today, I am pleased to inform you that the satisfactory sanitary evolution and the resumption of activities in France allow us to maintain this leisure offer for your children, if you wish.
Of course, we are making sure with the childcare facilities that all the sanitary measures in force are and will be respected.

3. Resumption of international mobility for students

- International internships - in the European area alone, however - are authorised for the second half of 2019/2020. They will be possible as soon as the borders concerned reopen (the date is imminent and has been announced by the governments). Beforehand, the student must have clearly expressed his or her willingness to leave.

In order to supervise this resumption, the component managers have the following at their disposal:

• an attestation by which the student must declare to his Dean or Director that he wishes to do his internship abroad in an identified host organisation.
• a model letter addressed to these host organizations, asking them to include the reception of our trainees in their business resumption plan and to guarantee that these internships will take place in full compliance with the health regulations in force.
• In order to follow the international mobility, we finally ask the trainee students to register via the Moveon link: https://moveon.univ-amu.fr/form/5cbf2e342e7e0244328fb354/fra.

- Outgoing mobility, for study or internship purposes, is once again authorised within the European area*. On the other hand, they remain suspended outside the European area* for semester 1.
We will inform students already selected for a mobility outside Europe* of the alternatives that we propose to them to redefine their project.

- Concerning incoming mobility, we will welcome on our campuses all foreign students coming for studies or internships, in supervised or free mobility, as long as the reopening of the borders will have allowed them to come to France. Of course, they will be subject to the same educational measures in force at the time of their arrival as our national students.

* Mobilities are authorized towards the countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

4. Resumption of student internships in research units

The unit directors are responsible and free to welcome or not to welcome students of any level in their unit from July onwards, as long as the barrier measures in force are not applied, including the respect of 4m2 of available space per person.
For thesis defences, access to the jury room for the student's families will be possible from 22 June, subject to confirmation by the Government of the authorisation to meet with more than 10 people on that date.

As you can see from these measures, our rhythms of life within AMU are normalizing and opening up to the outside world. I am delighted about this. I am currently organising my agenda so that I can, as much as possible, visit our sites in an informal and friendly way in order to renew, at last, our real contacts.
Take great care of yourself. See you soon,

Éric Berton

President of Aix-Marseille University