Almost exactly three years ago, the Corona crisis team at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (h_da) met for the first time. The committee met for the last time for the time being this Monday, February 6th. The current good pandemic situation makes it possible. Should the situation unexpectedly deteriorate again, the crisis management team can be reactivated quickly. The energy crisis management team, on the other hand, will continue. What preliminary corona balance sheet does h_da draw? A look back at 3 exceptional years.
By Simon Colin, University Communications Editor
85,000 masks issued to university members, 28,000 self-tests provided, 533 CO2 traffic lights purchased and still usable to control indoor air quality. In addition, 2,627 vaccinations on the university campus for students, teachers and employees, carried out by h_da company doctor Dr. Rainer Müller and his team: Exemplary numbers from 6 pandemic semesters, 4 of which have to be hybrid and initially without attendance. 3 years full of challenges and opportunities.
It all starts at the beginning of March 2020: the h_da corona crisis team meets for the first time. It quickly becomes clear in the committee: Historical things are happening here from now on, every measure is a blueprint. And so the staff headed by the h_da presidency is preparing something that has never existed in the history of the university: closing the h_da and tackling the next semester digitally. That’s how it happens, at the h_da and nationwide.
From now on, the Corona crisis management team will steer h_da through the pandemic waves in a closely timed and strongly networked manner. In addition to the executive committee, it includes the human resources department, the staff council, the legal department and university communications. In addition, the Safety and Environment department, which operationally manages the Corona regulations with immense effort. Department head Dr. Andreas Seeberg in 3 years of pandemic, on 15,000 hours together with his team. The strategic measures decided by the Corona crisis management team are then passed on to a broader operational circle in the Corona coordination team in order to promote the flow of information.
“We all managed to switch h_da to digital operation within weeks. In normal times, this would have been a year’s project, so we managed the actually unthinkable in a very short time,” recalls h_da President Prof. Dr. Arnd Steinmetz. “It was an advantage that we were already well positioned digitally. The university was once again in top form during the crisis, everyone at h_da pulled together. From the very beginning, our most important goal was to enable the students to progress.”
From now on, teachers and employees in departments and administration work tirelessly to maintain teaching and research activities and to be accessible to students, even if the campus seems deserted for a long time. An interdisciplinary teaching task force is looking at how digital teaching, including examinations, can function as smoothly as possible. It is made up of a committed group of specialist departments and administration.
“Of course, the Corona years were an immense burden for our students and for all university members. But we also saw the many opportunities,” says President Steinmetz. “One example is the digital conferencing tool Big Blue Button. Our computer science department developed its own version in a very short time, which is so good that it is now also used by other universities and ministries. Our teachers have developed digital teaching and learning formats that can also be used in the future. This agility got us through the pandemic well.”
But at the h_da it is also quickly clear that it is going back to being present as far as this is justifiable. Ways are already being sought in the hybrid semesters 2021 to make campus studies possible. In 2022, analogous to the pandemic situation, studying will feel almost normal again. Since January 2023, the mask requirement in the courses has now expired. We recommend wearing masks on your own responsibility and keeping your distance.
For the time being, the energy crisis management team, which was convened for the first time a good year ago, is also continuing. Also headed by the Executive Committee of h_da, it takes a look at the energy supply and energy consumption of the university. Although universities and schools are among the protected facilities that are supplied even in the event of an energy shortage, h_da would like and must do its part to save energy. This was successful, as planned, the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences will remain open.
