Coronavirus: urgent measures for the University of Milano - Bicocca community

We are facing an exceptional situation with the COVID-19 emergency which requires adequate responses. The University guarantees remote lessons, exams and degree sessions to all students. This is an important change, but the University is technologically equipped with classrooms and high-tech IT services.
 
The University organizes remote teaching for all 70 degree courses on online digital platforms. The student can access the materials, video lessons, streaming or digital content, through the specific course page normally used on the University's e-learning platform. The teachers will record the lessons in order to make them available online for those who are unable to attend the University even when the frontal teaching starts again.
 
Furthermore, with the Rectoral Decree of 4 March 2020, the possibility of taking exams and discussing the thesis at a distance was made available, not only for students of study courses, but also for Phd's, professional masters, specialisation schools. Everything will take place in public form: through virtual access, relatives and friends will be able to attend the discussions of the degree theses.

► Q&A Live with Vice Rector for Education Professor Maurizio Casiraghi about online lessons and graduation exams  

We are experiencing an exceptional situation with the COVID-19 emergency which requires adequate responses. The University is ready to provide distance learning for all 70 degree courses on online digital platforms. It’s an important change for our community, however the University is technologically equipped with classrooms and highly computerized services and can immediately cope with this situation.

The student will have access to the materials:

• video lessons 
• streaming 
• digital content

through the specific course page normally used: University e-learning.

From Monday 2 March, educational activities will be gradually activated for a total of 2,300 lessons on digital platforms until the system is fully operational in a few days.

The teachers will record the lessons in order to make them available online for further student’s needs even when the frontal teaching will start again.

The University of Milan-Bicocca is closely following the events related to coronavirus cases 2019 (2019-nCoV) in the Lombardy Region. 

We assured Bicocca Community that all the precautionary measures as indicated by the local and national authorities have been taken.
A Crisis Management Committee chaired by the Rector has been established in order to constantly monitor the evolution of the situation through institutional channels in connection with civil and health authorities.
In accordance with the Ordinance issued on 23rd February 2020 by Lombardy Region, all seminars, events and meetings scheduled for this week have been cancelled. The events will be rescheduled in future available dates. 

Suspension of teaching activities and front office services

All educational activities have been suspended from Monday 24th to Saturday 29th February 2020.
Classes, graduation sessions and exams will be rescheduled and new dates will be scheduled by each course of study and communicated soon.
The University of Milano - Bicocca is constantly in close contact with the civil and health authorities and will promptly share all useful updates with students, staff and citizens.
Student services including guidance, secretary and library are also closed from 24th to 29th February 2020.

The evolution of the situation relating to the spread of the novel Coronavirus that originated in China requires the adoption of preventive actions to protect public health and the proper working of the institutional activities of all universities in the region of Lombardy, given the massive mobility of students, both from Lombardy and other regions, within the regional territory.

For these reasons all teaching and classroom activities (lessons, theses stages, exams, final degree examinations) will be discontinued from Monday February 24 to Saturday February 29, 2020.

We believe that, in the absence of different indications from the Authorities, all activities will be resumed on Monday March 2nd. Graduation sessions and exams will be postponed according to calendars that will be prepared by the individual committees and councils.

Our action takes place and will continue in close contact with the civil and health Authorities.

We will inform students, staff and citizens in a timely manner about any useful updates. 

It is a new coronavirus strain which causes a respiratory disease. The outbreak of coronavirus was identified in Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei. Chinese health authorities reported thousands of cases across the country. Coronaviruses can infect a number of pets and wild animals.  Coronaviruses can be transmitted from animals to humans and then from humans to humans. This had happened, for example, with the viruses causing MERS and SARS. Data about the coronavirus genomic characterization show that 2019-nCoV is a betacoronavirus and, like MERS and SARs, it may have its origin in bats. 

For more information, visit the following international website: 

CDC web site

WHO Coronavirus advice for public

Please follow the virus outbreak through the official channel of the Ministry of Health: this webpage provides useful and updated information about the contagion and aims at protecting our community's health.

For more information please visit our news page about the virus.

Coronaviruses cause upper-respiratory tract illnesses and the current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Currently Chinese authorities have already reported thousands of case of infection from different part of the country.
Coronaviruses are able to infect pets and other animals. Animal coronaviruses have emerged to infect people and can spread between people. This is suspected to have occurred for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), two other examples of coronaviruses. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a betacoronaviruses genetically related to MERSV and SARsV, with their possible origins in bats (CDC source).

UPDATE 27/02/2020 08.15

No, it is not necessary to use the mask inside the University. The World Health Organization recommends wearing the mask only in case of symptoms such as coughing or sneezing and, therefore, if you are afraid of infecting other people and not to protect yourself.
To prevent the risk of infection with a new coronavirus, it is, however, a priority to take care of the hygiene of the hands and respiratory secretions.

UPDATE 10h March, 2020  

Starting on Wednesday 11 March all the University buildings and parking are open until 18.00

UPDATE 6^th March, 2020 14:09

All the Student Services and Orientation desk are closed. For any needs, you can write an e-mail to the reference mail box:

Student Services
Orientation

To find out more about Library go to the website: https://www.biblio.unimib.it/it

UPDATE 28th February, 2020 16:25

From Monday 2 March the lessons will start only in E-LEARNING mode.
Students will have access to materials, video lessons, streaming or digital content, through the specific course page normally used on the University's e-learning platform.

Yes, all the curricular internships are suspended.

The Ministry of Health’s ordinance doesn’t mention the extracurricular traineeships.

Therefore, during the emergency phase, the host companies and the promoters regulate the relationship with the trainee in accordance with the provisions adopted for their work environments.
 
Currently there are no prohibitions regarding the activation of new extracurricular internships or their possible extension which, therefore, must take into account the specific situation relating to the individual host entity.

At present, university administration does not interrupt the activities of the resident students and staff in the medical area. We recommend that all staff and residents working in hospitals to follow the operating instructions issued by the General Manager and Medical Directions of the hospital attended.

UPDATE March, 8^th 2020

Yes. The professional activity carried out by the master's degree courses in the health area and by the single-cycle degree courses in Medicine and Surgery and Dentistry are suspended.

According to the host structure, we suggest to carry out part of the traineeship at the trainee's home, by assigning specific tasks relating to the traineeship (for example and non-exhaustive: analysis of clinical cases, videos, individual study, in-depth analysis of the literature). The corresponding hours and days can be assessed and certified in order to respect the constraints for the internship itself.

However, it is guaranteed:

- the possibility of carrying out the internship in structures subject to restrictive measures (universities, hospitals, ...) or in structures where they are eventually decided on a discretionary basis;

- the need to allow students currently enrolled to proceed their internships;

- the opportunity to keep the start and end dates of the internship and the possible effects of a possible suspension of the internship period stable in the various universities, also in the following semesters and to a different extent between trainees of the same semester;

- the possibility of identifying smartworking / agile work situations, as suggested by the Lombardy Region.

UPDATE 05^th March, 2020 12:25

Graduation sessions and exams can be carried out remotely, starting from 16^th on March, according to the operating instructions of the Rectoral Decree

UPDATE 05^th March, 2020 12:25

The final graduation test sessions scheduled for March 2020 may exceptionally be scheduled again until April 30, 2020 and will, in any case, refer to the academic year 2018/2019

The medical profession certification exam (esame di stato di abilitazione alla professione medica) has been scheduled for April 7, 2020.

Canteens open:

• U6 building
• CNR, Building U9

The service of the U18 building in Vedano al Lambro (for the Monza Campus) is suspended from 12 March to 3 April

UPDATE March, 9^th 2020

The Bicocca Fitness gym of the U12 and Bicocca Stadium are closed and all the activities are suspended.

For more information: 

www.cusmilano.it

[email protected]

The shuttle bus service operates with reductions and suspensions; click here for details on the various routes.

UPDATE 10^th March, 2020 

All badge appointments set between 16/03/2020 and 03/04/2020 have been canceled automatically.

You can already set a new date with effect from 06/04/2020 through the link received in the convocation email or wait later.

Badges will be available for many months without penalty: 

• notification email in 2019: until 30/06/2020;
• notification email in 2020: until 31/12/2020.

If the career was blocked due to the failure to collect the badge, a solution can be found with the operators of the University by writing to the e-mail address of the student services of the reference study course.

UPDATE 09^th March, 2020 

All events scheduled for March 2020 are canceled or postponed to a later date.

UPDATE March 8^th , 2020 

International mobility for outgoing students - departures 2nd semester A.Y. 2019/2020
Advice for students eligible for mobility programs Erasmus+, Erasmus+ Traineeship and Exchange EXTRA UE:

all activities are currently suspended.