The News Attachment 18 of the Director’s Decree regarding the Scuola Normale's anti-Covid measures on the basis of the latest national regulations (Decree of 22nd April 2021), aimed at a gradual and cautious resumption of activities in the presence. The changes compared to the previous decree of the director are in bold.

 

A) TEACHING ACTIVITIES

1. From 26th April  2021 until the end of the national health emergency, for now fixed for  31st July 2021, in yellow and orange zones teaching and curricular activities will normally be carried out face to face with the lecturer and in any case in mixed mode, in full compliance with the anti-contagion rules and considering the maximum capacity of the lecture room, subject to booking through the following system: planning.sns.it/AgendaWeb/. During this period, in red zones the only activities carried out in person will be educational  activities of the  courses relating to the first year of the study courses, i.e.  training activities intended for classes with a reduced number of students.

2. The practical and/or experimental activities such as laboratory activities will normally be carried out face to face, in compliance with anti-contagion rules, as will the following:

• curricular exams;
• student web link-ups from a lecture room of the Scuola for the university degree and/or doctorate sessions;
• orientation and mentoring activities;
• curricular internships of study courses, when these cannot be carried out  remotely (subject to certification by the lecturers of reference);
• other teaching and experimental activities that are difficult to carry out remotely, subject to the certification of the lecturers of reference (e.g. didactic laboratories and laboratories aimed at working on undergraduate and postgraduate theses), and with a reduced number of students, in strict observance of the maximum capacity as determined by the  Prevention and Protection office in the system: planning.sns.it/AgendaWeb/;
• access to the library services for lecturers, researchers, students, temporary research assistants, doctorate and PhD students,  contract holders  (see also paragraph “D – Library”);
• access to study rooms (see also paragraph "N - Use of common areas").

3. The teaching staff undertakes to supervise all the students to avoid slowdowns in their courses of study.

4. Students with disabilities can arrange tailored methods of study through the offices of the Teaching and Student Service

B) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES - Laboratories

1. Research activities can continue, when in person,  compatibly with the current health emergency situation and in absolute compliance with the health provisions in force and with the protocols in place at the laboratories and research centres of the Scuola.

2. Research activities in the laboratories can continue only in compliance with the provisions set forth by the managers of the laboratories themselves, provided that the rules on personal distancing are respected and in any case for research that cannot be postponed. Access to the laboratories is allowed only and exclusively to personnel that has been authorized by the managers of the laboratories. However, access to the laboratories is barred to all those who show symptoms of respiratory infection or a temperature greater than 37.5 °C as well as to those who have been in contact with the latter.

3. Any experimental activity is in any case regulated by a specific attachment to the risk assessment document (DVR) which takes into account the risks related to COVID-19, as indicated by the SNS’s Prevention and Protection Service (SPP).

C) CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

1. Until 30th June 2021, all Third Mission activities and cultural events, including meetings and training courses for externals, will be carried out online and through the main social channels.  Public ceremonies may only be conducted in full compliance with the prevailing protocols and  guide lines and without an audience.

From 1st July 2021, if we are in a yellow zone it will be possible to hold meetings and congresses in person (or in mixed mode, depending on the number of participants expected) in full compliance with the protocols and  guide lines adopted in accordance with article 1, paragraph 14 of Decree No. 33 of 2020.

2. Teaching visits to the Scuola are suspended.

3. Teaching visits to other organisations and /or institutions are permitted within the limits of the regulations regarding the containment of Covid-19, subject to assessment by the Servizio Prevenzione e Protezione (the Prevention and Protection Service ((spp@sns.it).

D) LIBRARY

1. The Library carries out its activities in conformity with its own guide lines. The library's consultation and lending services for lecturers, researchers, students, temporary research assistants, doctorate and PhD students,  contract holders, scholarship holders and those writing theses, as well as for the public in general, are active and accessible upon reservation through spazi.sns.it.

E) ARCHIVAL CENTRE

1. The Archival Centre can carry out its activities in accordance with its guidelines established by the specific risk assessment document (see attachment no. 11 to Director's Decree No. 612/2020).

 F) COLLEGES                                     

1. In addition to the provisions of the current disciplinary regulations (see https://www.sns.it/it/regolamenti-allievi; https://normalenews.sns.it/allievi-vitacollegiale), the Scuola will presume that anyone not staying overnight in their lodging has left their College and will leave instructions at the porter's lodge to lock their room.

 Hence, students intending to leave the College must first ask the Director of the Scuola for an authorisation, stating their justification, using the form available at the following link: https://forms.gle/w6w9YEVJ2pyUmyki7; failure to do so will result in the student's not being permitted to return to the College before September 2021.

2. Those who are not members of a College are not allowed access to it even if they are students of the Scuola.

3. The common areas of the Colleges can only be accessed by resident students, always taking care both to wear a protective mask and to maintain the recommended interpersonal distance of 1.80 metres, with a minimum distance of 1 metre.

4. Specific regulations define the rules of conduct that students residing in the Colleges of the SNS must follow during the current period of health emergency, with particular focus on the use of communal areas.

5. Please bear in mind the obligation to wear protective masks in every communal area of the Colleges according to the indications contained in the Appendix to the Regulations of Conduct for students residing in the Colleges of the SNS, respecting in any case the advised interpersonal distance of 1.80 m where possible (in any case no less than 1 metre).

6. Please remember that any student violating the regulations regarding conduct contained in this document, in the “Regulations of Conduct for students residing in the Colleges of the SNS”  and in any other orders issued by the authorities of the Scuola will not only be punished in accordance with the prevailing national laws but will also face disciplinary action.

 G) CANTEEN

1. The canteen service in Pisa is provided according to the specific procedures set out in the document called “Guidelines for the containment of Covid-19 - Canteen”. In particular, priority is given to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

2. You must use the meal reservation system by accessing the web page spazi.sns.it.

3. Meals are delivered directly to the rooms of students residing in the Colleges who are confined to their rooms because of their state of health (illness, quarantine or precautionary self-isolation ...).

H) MEDICAL ADVICE FOR STUDENTS

1. In addition to compliance with the procedures established by the health authorities in relation to the management of  the ongoing health emergency ( communications and useful numbers are available on https://normalenews.sns.it/nuovo-coronavirus-informazioni-per-la-comunita-sns and on https://normalenews.sns.it/new-coronavirus-information-for-the-sns-community ), students residing in Pisa and Florence can contact, by phone or by email, a doctor specifically appointed by the SNS, to ask for health information.

In order to manage the latter in a coordinated manner, an online request form has been prepared for the students. The form is available at the following link: https://forms.gle/EUgS3znVvR4TjwWm6

2. The SNS delivers protective masks in the quantities available to the students residing in the Colleges (of Pisa and Florence). The masks must be used according to the current regulations, summarized below:

a) it is mandatory to always have protective masks with you;

b) protective masks must be worn in indoor public and private areas open to the public, in the presence of other people;

c) Protective masks must also be worn in outdoor areas, public or open to the public, in the presence of other people, where it is mandatory to maintain social distancing.

3. All students are urged to choose a general practitioner (a so-called family doctor) operating in the town where they are studying.

I) PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING

The psychological counselling service for students continues online to the extent that this is deemed possible by the professionals appointed by the SNS.

L) INTERNSHIPS AND MOBILITY IN ITALY AND ABROAD

1. A gradual restart of student mobility in Italy and abroad is envisaged. In any case, in consideration of the situation regarding the ongoing pandemic, the diffusion of the  new  variants of the coronavirus COVID-19 and the necessity to ensure maximum compliance with the regulations for the safeguarding of public health, including within the Scuola, all non-essential journeys are discouraged at least until the end of the academic year 2020/2021.

In any case, such journeys can only be undertaken upon  certification by the lecturer of reference that the individual research activity is indispensable and cannot be postponed, and on condition that they comply with national and regional regulations as well as the varying provisions regarding the circulation between states. At any rate, the Scuola will not reimburse travel expenses and/or receptive services paid for and not used; those involved are therefore advised to take out specific insurance policies covering the risk of cancellation and to check whether individual countries have imposed any travel bans for departure or return.

In the case of doubts regarding the protection measures to be adopted in relation to the specificities of the individual activity, you should ask for the support of the Prevention and Protection Service and of the Medical officer.

2. Applications can be made to the Mobility Commissions for participation in meetings and in summer and winter schools online that do not involve transfer expenses but require only an enrolment fee for which a request for a contribution is intended.

3. Curricular internships can continue to be carried out in person if the tutor  confirms that the online mode cannot be adopted.

4. For the academic year 2020/2021, mobility and internship programmes abroad, already authorized with reserve, within specific international mobility programmes, can only be carried out after verification by the SNS’s Internationalization Service regarding the conditions relating to international mobility.

The verification will be carried out taking into account the restrictions set forth by arts. 49, 50 and 51 of the Prime Minister’s Decree of 2nd March, 2021,  those ordered by the competent authorities (Italian and foreign) as well as the willingness to welcome students on the part of the universities or institutions of destination.

5. Where appropriate, and on the basis of specific agreements with the institutions of reference of the Internationalization Service,  the mobility and internships programmes can be carried out by agreement totally or partially online.

6. For the mobility programmes activated within the Erasmus + Programme (study and internship), in addition to the measures described in the previous paragraphs, the provisions issued from time to time by the Erasmus Indire National Agency are applied; the Internationalization Service will give prompt information regarding the latter to those who are interested.

7. Students who arrive at the SNS in the academic year 2020/21 as part of specific mobility programmes, national and international, will not have access to the Colleges, while access to the canteen service will be allowed. The offices of the Services Area (Servizio Patrimonio e Ospitalità e Servizio Ristorazione, or the Heritage and Hospitality Service and the Catering Service) and those of  the Teaching Area (Servizio Attività Didattiche   e   Segreteria Allievi, or the Teaching Activity Service and the Students' Office),     in collaboration with the Internationalisation Service of the SNS, will arrange alternative forms of hospitality, where board and lodging is included in the inter-university agreements, and will assist students to facilitate their attendance to online or mixed mode courses.

8. Further information and indications for students abroad are published on the SNS website at https://normalenews.sns.it/nuovo-coronavirus-informazioni-perallievi-allestero, which is periodically updated.

M) AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS

1. The meetings of the authorities (including those envisaged in the Statute of the SNS), the commissions and the working groups can be  held in blended mode.

N) USE OF COMMUNAL AREAS

1. The lecture rooms, study rooms and other communal spaces can be accessed only upon reservation using the App MySNS or by accessing the web page spazi.sns.it and in any case only if strictly necessary for study, teaching or research.

 2. Access of workers to the premises of the SNS is subject to compliance with the indications provided in the document called "Anti-contagion protocol of the SNS".

  3. All those who access the premises of the SNS must check their body temperature at the specific stations located at the entrances: access will be denied to anyone with a temperature above 37.5 ° C or symptoms of COVID-19.

4. All those who enter the premises of the SNS must be equipped with a protective mask and must always respect the minimum interpersonal distance of 1 metre or, where possible, at least 1.80 metres (unless otherwise specified). Everyone must also observe the rules related to hand hygiene and adopt correct  hygiene habits.

O) MISSIONS

1. Missions in Italy and abroad, including those for research purposes, can be carried out in compliance with the provisions of current legislation and, in particular, of arts.  49, 50 and 51 of the Prime Minister’s Decree of 2 March 2021. 

2. The Deans, the scientific managers of the research projects and the managers of the structures of the SNS must adopt alternative online solutions to those involving the movement of several people (by way of example and not limited to: examinations, commissions and other meetings).

P)  COMPETITIONS

1. The procedures for competitions are carried out in compliance with the prevailing national regulations.