Uniarts Helsinki to resume operations gradually starting from 14 May, a team is set up to plan the reopening

Uniarts Helsinki’s facilities are closed and all contact teaching has been suspended until 13 May 2020. The university will resume its normal operations gradually, which means that for the most part, studies and work will continue remotely until 31 July 2020. The spring’s entrance examinations will be arranged mostly digitally, as has been planned.

terassi, jossa penkillä makaa ihminen
Veikko Kähkönen

The gradual reopening of campus operations will happen in a controlled manner in several phases to eliminate the risk of jeopardising the health and safety of students and personnel. The ban on gatherings of more than ten people will stay in force until the end of May, but starting from the beginning of June, gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed.

Uniarts Helsinki’s management group for services is in charge of preparing the scenarios and policies involved in the process of reopening Uniarts Helsinki’s campuses. The group’s members include the Vice Rectors, Service and Personnel Managers and heads of the service areas. It is the group’s duty to gain an understanding of the schedule and the steps that the university can take in the lifting of restrictive measures at some point after 14 May 2020.

– Our first task is to look into the possibility of permitting some of the operations that are critical for students’ academic progress. At the same time, we must take care of the safety aspect in both studies and work. We will inform the community as soon as the plans are ready, says Rector Jari Perkiömäki.

Universities Finland UNIFI has set up a team to prepare joint scenarios and recommendations that would be followed in the reopening of the universities starting from the upcoming autumn term. Occupational Health and Safety Manager and secretary of Uniarts Helsinki’s preparedness team Jyri Pulkkinen has been appointed to the team as Uniarts Helsinki’s representative. 

For the time being, students are mostly not allowed in the university facilities, whereas employees may apply for a special authorisation for one day at a time to be able to perform work duties that are critical for the university’s operations. Working in the university facilities is possible for authorised employees on weekdays between 9:00 and 16:00.

Employees may be authorised to work in the facilities for the following reasons:

  • preparing material for distance teaching, if it requires working on campus
  • work related to student admissions if it is absolutely necessary
  • performing other duties that have been deemed critical in terms of the university’s operations.

You can find online form on Artsi.

More information on the authorisation is available from the units’ Service and Personnel Managers and from Personnel Manager Mikael Vänttinen (mikael.vanttinen@uniarts.fi).

More information

Jari Perkiömäki
Rector 
050 384 3454