Regulations for university operations in the winter semester 2020/21

We want to create framework conditions to keep the risk of infection at the "Angewandte" as low as possible and at the same time to ensure that the university can operate on-site as comprehensively as possible––especially where on-site cooperation is of utmost importance: in the art departments as a home base for students as well as in the workshops. This means that when the traffic light status is "green" and "yellow" we want to enable presence operation, from "orange" on we gradually switch to distance operation.

Therefore: In the corridors, when in contact with administrative departments, at events and wherever we meet each other across classes/departments, higher precautions apply than in the art departments. In analogy to the rules laid down for school classes, these departments should be able to act as independently and undisturbed as possible within their own premises.

This ensures that any possible infections within the Angewandte do not spread widely. A suspected case of Covid or a Covid disease can lead to the temporary closure of a department or a course, but does not affect the rest of the university.

An essential prerequisite for the success of this access is the well-known hygiene measures, which must be followed, in particular with consideration and attentiveness towards other university members. Thorough hand hygiene, deliberate spacing and wearing the mouth and nose protection are just as much a part of this as regular airing and regular surface disinfection.

In order to make this type of operation - with considerably more presence elements than at scientific universities - possible, we have worked out the following concrete measures for the winter semester 2020/21, which are also formulated in an ordinance (Verordnung) of the Rectorate that will be announced next week:

Angewandte Corona-Ampel (traffic light system)
Based on the "Corona traffic light" developed by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, four operating scenarios are defined for the Angewandte. The traffic light status for Vienna published by the authorities on Fridays has a direct effect on the Angewandte. The regulations in detail can be found here - in the interest of good preparation, we ask you to not only take a look at the current regulations but also to monitor the regulations for the following traffic light status. (A translation will be provided by next week)

Online registration for all courses
From winter semester 2020/21 onwards, online registration via base Angewandte is a prerequisite for attending a course, so that in case of suspicion the health authorities can see the maximum number of people who may be affected (non-registered persons will not be granted access). Detailed information will be provided by the Vice-Rector for Teaching and Development.

Room allocations based on actual occupancy
In order to enable as much face-to-face teaching as possible within the existing centrally bookable rooms (Zentral buchbare Räume) while maintaining the required safety distance, a room rebooking will be made centrally on the basis of the actual occupancy according to the online registration both in case of shortage of space and in case of non-utilization due to the registration status as of September 30, 2020. Due to the short time available at the beginning of the semester and the large number of courses, the necessary rebookings cannot be made in consultation with the responsible lecturers. Detailed information on this procedure will be provided by the Vice Rector for Infrastructure.

Finally, two more notes:
•    The University Library at Vordere Zollamtsstraße 7 has been back in on-site-operation since September 1. Details on the access conditions can be found here.
•    If you should observe Covid symptoms on yourself, please stay at home, contact the health hotline 1450 and do not come back until the symptoms have been clarified. For instructions on how to treat Covid suspicion/illness, please click here.  

Each one of us contributes significantly to the success of this balance between maximum openness and necessary safety. We therefore ask you to act responsibly and prudently within this framework. At the same time, we invite you to send us any suggestions for improvement.  The coming semester will also not be predictable in all details, although we can start with much better preparation than in March of this year.

We would like to thank you in advance for supporting the measures and wish you and all of us an exciting and at the same time smooth and healthy winter semester!

With best regards
Gerald Bast, Bernhard Kernegger, Barbara Putz-Plecko, Eva Maria Stadler und Maria Zettler