Letter of the vice-dean - year 2021/22

Dear colleagues, dear students,

welcome to the academic year 2021/22. I especially welcome the new students - this year this means not only freshmen but also sophomores, who have my respect for how successfully they managed to enter university life despite the distance teaching for the whole year. After a year and a half, we are all looking forward to in-person teaching and the full operation of the new IMPAKT pavilion in Troja. This is certainly connected with some uncertainty concerning how teaching will look like now - and whether we still know how to learn/teach in class.

Due to full-time teaching, more people will be present in our buildings and thus it is necessary to follow valid hygienic measures, see https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/coronavirus for current information. Further information in Czech is also available in the letter of the vice-dean for student affairs https://www.mff.cuni.cz/cs/koronavirus/vyuka-mff-zs-2021-09.pdf and in the "Covid FAQ" at https://www2.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~rokyta/covidfaq.html .

It is still obligatory to wear respirators in the university buildings, except for your office, exempt are also teachers during classes and students during classes, if it is possible to maintain the necessary spacing. In individual cases, the final decision on the use of respirators in the lecture rooms is up to the teachers; they will take into account the number of people present but they will also consider whether they or any of the students belong to high-risk groups and other circumstances. In addition, adequate ventilation should be ensured where possible.

It is no longer necessary to present certificates of vaccination or testing to enter buildings, but entry is still prohibited for people with symptoms of respiratory diseases. In the case of illness of teachers or students, it is possible and appropriate to use elements of distance teaching, which may include anything between records of lectures from the previous year and possible hybrid teaching; the specific decision is up to the teacher.

We believe that following these hygienic measures will help to maintain full-time teaching as long as possible, ideally throughout the semester.

Last year, students appreciated the helpfulness of our teachers. Also this year, in case of any study problems, you can approach your mentors, the department of student affairs, guarantors/coordinators of programs and courses, heads of departments, and me and other members of faculty management. I hope we can continue to rely on good teamwork.

I wish you all to enjoy the personal meetings in classes and wish you a good start of the winter semester.

Jiří Sgall
Vice-Dean for Computer Science

September 28, 2021