Dear Strathclyde student,
I hope this message finds you well and you are beginning to enjoy the first weeks of Spring at Strathclyde.
This month, it has been a real pleasure to see so many of our graduates from 2020 and 2021 return to our campus and celebrate their achievements in the Barony, in front of their family, friends and former classmates in a way that they could not during the peak of the pandemic; over 4,000 have returned to formally mark their degree awards.
It has been heartening to experience the buzz and excitement around campus and it feels as though we are moving into a new and more optimistic phase of living with COVID.
As the situation continues to improve, the University is working hard on planning for the return to campus-based teaching and assessment in the next academic year 2022/2023.
It will be a welcome return to the campus for us all. If you are due to return to Strathclyde in Autumn 2022, we are intending that you will once again be able to benefit from in-person learning and teaching and the full campus experience that you want and expect as one of our students.
I know that some of you will be cautious about returning to regular campus experience in the new academic year. However, I would like to reassure you that the health, safety and wellbeing of the entire Strathclyde community remain our priority and we will plan our campus-based activities accordingly.
Your department/school will be in touch with you over the coming weeks and months with more detail of what this means for you as our plans for the next academic year progress and develop.
As the country recovers from the pandemic and we continue to aim to live safely with COVID, the First Minister has confirmed that people without COVID-19 symptoms will no longer be asked to take regular lateral flow tests from 18th April.
Consequently, the University will close its Lateral Flow Test Collection Points on Thursday 14th April, in advance of the Easter Weekend.
We will continue to have a supply of lateral flow tests until this date, and I would like to encourage you to access these test kits while stocks last. For more information on testing, please check the latest information on NHS Inform’s website.
We know that many of the Strathclyde community have dealt with challenges over the last 24 months and we continue to offer and provide support to our community through our Disability & Wellbeing Service. Please make use of this excellent service if you need support and advice.
While this message is intended to signal our planned resumption of campus-based learning and teaching, experience has shown us all that the future can be difficult to predict.
Should the external environment become more challenging, or the Scottish and UK Governments reintroduce restrictions, we shall adapt our delivery in response to those changes.
Finally, I would like to thank all of you who continue to observe the safety measures that we have had to put in place throughout the period of the pandemic. It is not always easy, but each and every one of you is playing a crucial role in helping to keep the Strathclyde family and those around us safe.
Best wishes,
Jim
Professor Sir Jim McDonald
Principal and Vice-Chancellor