Dear students of the University of Rijeka!
In this unprecedented time of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, allow me to address you this way as well. First of all, I would like to thank all students of the University of Rijeka for their understanding and patience in the new circumstances. The full implementation of distance learning is not easy for you or us, your professors. Our goal is to achieve all the planned learning outcomes and ensure the quality of teaching without any classroom instruction. Challenges related to national and university infrastructure which are not prepared for such extraordinary circumstances, access to literature, and skills needed for successful work in the virtual world of teaching and learning are being addressed quickly and with quality. After the first weeks, we will conduct surveys among students and teachers to identify possible barriers and to address them more successfully. Please respond to the surveys as our further improvement measures will depend on it.
I would also like to thank all the students who applied for volunteering and participating in other humanitarian activities organized by the Student Union and the University of Rijeka. Your task is to be available to our former and current staff members belonging to at-risk groups, as well as to the community as a whole. A great thanks go to all the students who have joined other volunteer networks organized by other institutions and civil society. We are all proud of you, hoping we too have contributed to your sensibility for community engagement.
Yesterday we were contacted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, i.e. the Directorate of Civil Protection of the Republic of Croatia, and based on their conclusions, we were instructed to mobilize all facilities of the Student Dormitory “Ivan Goran Kovačić” for the stay of persons in quarantine, to implement measures of health protection against Coronavirus. Although the preparation of the facilities in the Student Dormitory “Ivan Goran Kovačić” will proceed gradually, we have decided to immediately and without delay relocate all students who remained at the Student Dormitory “Ivan Goran Kovačić” to the Student Dormitory “Trsat”. It should be mentioned that there are a few students left in Rijeka, 170 in total – 70 in the Student Dormitory “Ivan Goran Kovačić” and 100 in the Student Dormitory “Trsat”. During the day, we expect all students who wish to remain in their student rooms to move to the Student Dormitory “Trsat”. To ensure implementation of the measures, all personal belongings of students in the Student Dormitory “Trsat” have already been adequately stored and rooms prepared for the transfer of students from the Student Dormitory “Ivan Goran Kovačić”. Competent persons will store all personal belongings at both locations, under the supervision of special groups of representatives of the Student Union and the University of Rijeka, and store them in a safe place and will be available for pick-up at any time. However, for health reasons, we do not advise students who have gone home to return due to this situation, as they will be able to retrieve all their belongings when the conditions for continuing their normal face-to-face classes are met. When that happens, each student shall return to their room.
I take this opportunity to ask all students who are beneficiaries of student accommodation of the Student Center in Rijeka, at both locations, for their understanding and patience. Rest assured that your health is our top priority, and we want to do our best to protect you and respect your rights in these extraordinary circumstances. All students who have left for their homes do not have to worry about the right to return to their rooms and their belongings. All remaining students will be provided with all the conditions for stay and work, as before. The Student Center and the University of Rijeka will do their best to provide support for students in these extraordinary circumstances, but at the same time fulfill their duty to the community and our fellow citizens to help prevent the spread of the infection and facilitate the implementation of other measures by the Directorate of Civil Protection of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Institute of Public Health.
Thank you all for your understanding and civil solidarity.
Yours sincerely,
Madam Rector, Prof. Snježana Prijić-Samaržija