Dear All, Employees and Students of Lublin University of Technology,

as the whole country, our University also faces the coronavirus pandemic. The rules of functioning of LUT in the state of epidemiological risk result from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education regulation from the 11^th of March 2020 in the case of temporary restriction of the functioning of certain entities of the higher education system and science regarding the prevention, counteraction and combating COVID-19.  They are formulated in detail in the regulation No. R-19/2020 of  the Rector of Lublin University of Technology made on the same day. (The content of this regulation is presented in the attachment, though it was published on the day of its signing)

Generally, in  the near future, LUT will function according to the following rules:

• all forms of education connected with the presence of the students and PhDs on the territory of the University are suspended;
• university teachers do their job in the place of residence by realising their own scientific research and by realising remote learning resulting from their timetable of didactic duties;
• activities stated above are realised with the agreement of supervisors and include the limits resulting from the fact of staying outside the University and limited IT possibilities of particular people;
• if the circumstances connected with the necessity of the punctual realisation of the research projects require the presence of research and didactic workers at the University, it is possible providing that the rules of epidemiological security are kept;
• employees who are not university teachers, these are: technical, service, dean, supply, accounting workers and other people working at administration departments provide the reliable functioning of LUT infrastructure, preserve its sanitary status on required level, buy and distribute necessary materials, assure that the University fulfils its financial, social and legal obligations towards its employees, students and third parties;
• remote working, decreasing of the number of people employed at certain positions, reducing the number of work hours are introduced, if it is possible for the stated above group of employees, in each case, employees’ propositions have to be accepted by the supervisors and unit managers and require the approval of University authorities.

You probably know that among people suffering from COVID-19 there is also a LUT student. She is staying on the isolation ward, her health state is good. She has been infected by the patient zero from Lubelski region, a citizen of one of the localities near Lublin, after his return from Milan. Thanks to quick actions of University authorities and native faculty of the student, along with extremely valuable support of student government, all people having the contact with infected student had been identified and their data have been passed to the epidemiological services. Currently, these people are in the quarantine under the services supervision.

      The last employees who travelled abroad have come back to the country. Even though the countries they were to hadn’t been at risk, all employees are in the in-home quarantine.

      More than two thirds of residents of dorms came back to their places of residence. This fact favours the epidemiological safety. Nevertheless, we need to remember that before re-establishing the classes their return will not be possible. It is particularly crucial for foreign students who have the Card of Pole. It is highly probable that the University receives the instruction (under relevant laws) to make at least one dorm accessible for the Lublin voivod disposition. It will be a logistically complicated action to which University services have started to prepare. 

      During the weekend an unknown artist has painted the writing ‘CORONAVIRUS’ on the building of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering. It must have taken a lot of time to paint and the action will be taken against the employees responsible for the building. who did not react to this. The writing will remain there as a commemoration of these difficult days we experience.

      Dear all, thank you for understanding the seriousness of the situation that our community experiences. Thank you for the responsible and full of commitment performance of duties despite the atmosphere sometimes full of panicking and lacking in good sense. I would like to remind that we are a public university and the functioning is determined (even in the state of epidemiological risk) by the resolutions like the Law of higher education, Labour Law, Law on public finance, Lublin University of Technology Statutes and other resolutions. Due to them, the rector is the person who heads the functioning of the University. That is why, with the understanding of the complexity of current life situations of many of you, I declare that I do not find a justification for the complete close-down of the University, complete paralysation of its work and directing all of you to paid epidemiological leaves which seems to be suggested by some people. The University is our second home and we have to defend it efficiently.

With my compliments,

Prof. Piotr Kacejko