Summer term started Last week, our summer term module Design of Structures and Foundations 1 started again. This course for all first year students of Civil Engineering includes a design practical, and the Dutch government has decided that this type of education is among the first to be allowed to be taught in-person again. Luckily, this decision allowed me to return back to campus to meet the students and prepare some small in-class experiments. On the image left, you can see our cable-stayed bridge model, which is a nice puzzle to assemble. I prefer to not do this in front of students without some practice in advance... Logistics and social distancing Our freshers cohort consists of over 300 students, so social distancing rules required the practical to be split over two days, and on each day over five different lecture rooms. My colleague and I have a support team of ten student-assistants (TAs) that take care of tutoring and marking of the weekly design assignments. It was great to see the students, some colleagues and the TAs on campus again, and it felt quite safe the way the classrooms were set up. Each student was given a single and individual table, a bit like an exam room set-up. Occasionally, we had to warn students not to approach each other to closely, but overall, rules were kept well. The lecture rooms are quite are quite large and well-ventilated, so that also added to the safety. From next week on, also (voluntary) self-tests will be provided by the university, to allow students and staff to detect infections timely. Remote teaching is not gone yet The theory lectures are still given online and from home, so the working week will consist of two days on campus and three days from home. The ability to visit the university again, though, is something we all appreciate like never before! |
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AuthorRoel Schipper, lecturer/ researcher at TU Delft Archives
July 2023
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