Dear colleagues,
This week marked a significant return to normality in Scotland following a steady reduction in COVID-19 cases. On Monday, most of the remaining Omicron measures introduced before Christmas were lifted, and we are now seeing a return to indoor public events, contact sports and the easing of rules for hospitality.
On Tuesday, the First Minister announced that cases have fallen by just over a quarter in the past week, while the number of people being admitted to hospital with the virus has also fallen.
This is extremely welcome news for our entire University community, and I know that many of you are looking forward to family reunions, meeting up with larger groups of friends than was previously possible and attending in-person events.
You will also be aware that the First Minister announced that businesses can prepare for a return to phased and flexible hybrid working from Monday 31 January. The Executive Team had a wide-ranging discussion on campus on Tuesday to consider Strathclyde’s plans for the coming weeks and months. We agreed that now is the right time to review the additional voluntary measures we have had in place across the University since last August and we have now begun consultation with our internal stakeholders. The Scottish Government is updating the Strategic Framework, which, once published, will inform our plans.
As before, the health, safety and wellbeing of our University community is at the heart of our discussions and decision making, and we are examining in detail how students and staff can benefit from a hybrid working approach with increased time on-campus. As part of our planning, we will also be discussing with our students and campus unions how we will move forward.
In this planning period, colleagues may want to revisit the agile working toolkit we issued last year to support discussions about a phased and flexible approach to hybrid working, and the benefits this can bring for your area. We are also running another series of courses on agile working, which you can book online. It is important to remember that requests to return to campus should be made through the Executive Dean or Professional Services Chief Officer for your area.
Finally, I would like to thank you once again for your continued support by looking after yourselves, each other and our wider community. While it is great to see infection rates on a downwards trajectory, we need to sustain this progress while we go about our business. The best ways to do this are to get fully vaccinated, wear a face covering indoors, exercise care and caution when meeting with others, and take lateral flow tests each day you plan to see someone outside your household.
Care for others has been the hallmark of our University community’s response to coronavirus, and I know it will be at the heart of our response to this next stage of the pandemic.
Have a safe and enjoyable weekend when it comes.
Best wishes,
Jim