Archive for October, 2020
New Opening Times for Waste Management Service Center
The Waste Management Service Center (SCA) can now be contacted during the following opening times:
- Mondays and Fridays from 8 am to 12 noon
- Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8 am to 2 pm
During this time, waste can only be accepted if it has been agreed upon prior telephone consultation. SCA staff can be reached by telephone and email during usual office hours. You may only enter the building if you are wearing a mouth and nose covering. The minimum distance must be maintained at the depot and if this is not possible, you must wear a mouth and nose covering here, too.
Study Spaces Available at Medical Library
A total of 20 study spaces are now available at the Medical Library at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Mondays to Fridays, 8:30 am to 4 pm. These spaces must be reserved in advance via the booking system. The University Library has compiled a list of FAQs for questions concerning the reservation and use of study spaces.
Dining Halls to Reopen Seating Areas
As announced by Studierendenwerk Aachen, on Thursday, 15 October, the Mensa Academica and Mensa Vita will re-open their seating areas. Over the last months, both dining halls have been offering a take-out service only.
However, in view of the coronavirus situation, this can only work in the hygiene measures are being observed at all times, as Arnold Mattes, Head of the Catering Department, explains: “Of course we will be able to provide significantly fewer seats than before the crisis. Our concept is based on place cards, time slots, and routing systems. Another important aspect is that all our customers will have to provide us with their contact details to allow contact tracing.”
To ensure that the available seats in the dining hall can be properly allocated, every guest who stays for dinner is given a table number with their tray. This number, combined with a routing system, guides them to the right seat. Once the guests have finished eating, the tables are disinfected by Studierendenwerk staff, the cards are collected, and the places reallocated. A video available on the Studierendenwerk website will explain all necessary steps in detail.
Please Submit Border Commuter Notifications
The new version of the Corona Einreiseverordnung (Coronavirus Entry Ordinance) published October 7, 2020, stipulates that border commuters from risk areas must submit a one-off notification of their commuter status to the Health Department of the Städteregion Aachen. We recommend that students and employees affected by this send an email notification with the subject line “Meldung Grenzpendler” or “Meldung Grenzpendlerin” (Border Commuter Notification) to infektionsschutz@staedteregion-aachen.de in the next few days. This email notification will greatly help the Health Department, who are currently experiencing a high call volume.
Masks Required for All In-Person Meetings
Employees are required to wear a mask during all in-person meetings at all times, including any socializing in break rooms. You may, of course, continue to consume food and drinks as usual and may therefore temporarily remove your mask for this. Once again, the Crisis Management Team urges you to observe general good hygiene practice.
It would also like to point out the existing alternative options of working from home and virtual meeting formats (MS Teams and Zoom).
The mask obligations mentioned above apply with immediate effect and will probably be lifted again once the infection rate in the city of Aachen has fallen below 50 for at least one whole week. The already existing regulations on the obligation to wear masks at public events will of course continue to apply.
Masks Required for All Teaching and Exam Sessions
The increasing infection rate in the city and Städteregion Aachen have made further measures to slow down the spread of coronavirus necessary. These measures have been coordinated together with the Städteregion Aachen.
From now on, all participants must wear a mask in all in-person teaching and exam sessions, with the exception of written exams. During written exams, candidates may remove their mouth and nose covering when they are at their seat. In this context, the Crisis Management Team would like to urge you to read the handout Holding In-Person Events at RWTH, which explains which course formats can be held in person this winter semester in detail. At present, courses and events for first-semester Bachelor’s students (with up to 50 participants) as well as courses that require compulsory attendance (such as lab courses and practicals with up to 30 participants) may be held.
Free Zoom Account for Students
RWTH students have the opportunity to obtain a Zoom licence from the university free of charge. This allows them to create virtual rooms and meet with up to 300 people for an unlimited duration. The virtual rooms can be used for study groups, student clubs, or meetings with fellow students.
In order to receive your licence, please:
No Problems for Commuters from Belgium
On the weekend, the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Aachen, and the Städteregion Aachen updated various coronavirus-related regulations, which also affects the operations of the University. Individuals entering Germany from a risk area (currently, e.g., Belgium) and spending less than a full day in the country are not subject to quarantine requirements. For this reason, employees or students returning home on the same day are permitted to commute to RWTH. Please note that the Aachen Health Department is currently asking commuters to refrain from reporting their entry to Germany as is usually required by the regulations, as this would overburden them unnecessarily.
Since the 7-day rate of infections exceeded the threshold of 40 last week, the City has put in place further measures to help contain the further spread of the coronavirus (increasing the minimum distance between individuals, introducing fixed seating arrangements, etc.) Further information on the new measures is available at: City of Aachen – Coronavirus – Aktuelles.
Importantly, teaching and exam arrangements at RWTH are currently not affected by these new measures, as agreed with the Städteregion.
However, events hosted by or taking place at RWTH which are open to external guests are indeed subject to the above restrictions. The currently valid regulations for holding in-person events at RWTH are available here.
The RWTH Crisis Management Team is closely following the recent developments in the Städteregion, particularly in the City of Aachen, and in our two neighboring countries and is greatly concerned about the situation. When going about your daily activities, please keep in mind that RWTH, with more than 50,000 members and their respective social circles, makes up a considerable part of the population in Aachen and the region. By consistently adhering to the hygiene rules, both at the University and privately, we can all make a considerable contribution to containing the spread of coronavirus, thus helping to avoiding further drastic measures.
DeRegCOVID: Central Registry of Autopsies of Deceased COVID-19 Victims
A central registry of autopsies of deceased COVID-19 victims has been established at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen: DeRegCOVID. Autopsies are still highly significant when it comes to understanding the pathogenesis of diseases and this is especially true when they are caused by a previously unknown pathogen, such as SARS-CoV-2.
#RWTHhilft Fundraising Campaign for RWTH Students Continues
In March, RWTH, together with AStA Students’ Committee, and the Rectorate started the #RWTHhilft campaign. It was apparent that RWTH students would run into difficulties during the summer semester and beyond due to the new financial situation. Thanks to numerous donations, the sponsoring association proRWTH was able to award bridging scholarships amounting to a total of 50,320 euros to 86 different students. Donations came from companies, university members, alumni, residents of Aachen, members of proRWTH, and other groups.