Experts assume that the next few weeks will determine what effects the corona virus will have in Germany and what restrictions in public life will still be necessary. RWTH sees the Easter holidays in particular as an opportunity to reduce its activities even more than before and has called on all employees to take a two-week Easter holiday if possible. This would further reduce the number of possible contacts among each other, which is seen as a further contribution to the containment of the virus.
During this time, RWTH will maintain operations in all relevant areas of the administration and ensure that all essential or urgent work in research and teaching can be carried out.
It is the express goal of the university to offer more digital services in the area of teaching and examinations in the coming weeks. Despite the existing restrictions on normal operation, this should enable courses to be offered by the beginning of the summer semester on 20 April 2020 at the latest and in some areas as early as 6 April 2020. The state of NRW grants this possibility to the universities: face-to-face lectures may only start on April 20, but online offers may already start on April 6. As a pioneer in the digitalization of teaching, RWTH also wants to use this opportunity for the benefit of its students.
RWTH therefore asks employees who are directly or indirectly involved in ensuring the operation as well as the creation of digital courses to understand that they cannot take any or only limited leave.
For all employees who do not take Easter vacation, it is of course still permitted to work at home as far as possible.