Dear students and colleagues,
I look forward to resuming on-campus learning at Leibniz University Hannover with you from October. We have been waiting to return to learning, teaching and working on our campus for a long time, being able to experience personal exchange, face-to-face conversations and meeting in person. This is a cause for joy for all of us!
On-campus learning will be facilitated via the 3G rule of the State of Lower Saxony, enabling us, where necessary, to no longer enforce distancing in order to implement safe and responsible on-campus learning during the pandemic.
Ensuring the well-being of all, especially vulnerable groups at the university, remains our priority. I would therefore like to urge you: Please respect the 3G rule, the hygiene measures as well as face mask requirements and comply with the regulations; please act prudent, considerate and demonstrate solidarity. Detailed information on the 3G rule can be found in our FAQ section on the coronavirus, as well as a summarising guideline for members of teaching staff. A similar document for staff in leadership positions will be available in a timely manner.
Monitoring compliance with the 3G rule is a central element of health and safety and the “price” for the on-campus semester, which must be conducted in accordance with the regulations to prevent the infection and spread of the coronavirus issued by the State of Lower Saxony. For this reason, university management has decided to provide LUH access wristbands for vaccinated and recovered students and members of staff, similar to those used at festivals. This is optional. Naturally, all students may present proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test result in order to access LUH buildings. We aim to act pragmatically in order to lose as little time in teaching and learning as possible. Therefore, please use the digital means of authorisation for providing proof of vaccination, recovery and testing (CoronaAPP etc.). Among other things, our FAQ section on the coronavirus provides information on where and when wristbands will be available, how to provide proof of vaccination, recovery or testing and whether checks will be conducted on campus, in front of buildings or lecture halls. In addition, please refer to the upcoming email of our Vice President for Teaching and Academic Programmes.
Compliance with the 3G rule among members of staff will not be monitored at entrances to buildings. Instead, please provide proof of vaccination, recovery or testing to your supervisor or the relevant representative. Detailed information on this can be found in the FAQ section.
Please remember that this is an unfamiliar situation to all of us, which may even feel uncomfortable at times. Making this situation even more difficult for others will neither resolve this nor contribute to positive interactions. Please support each other, act in a considerate, constructive and lenient manner and enable all of us to experience a positive start into this winter semester.
Personally, I very much look forward to it!
At that point in time, anyone wishing to be vaccinated in Germany has been offered an appointment. LUH too has offered numerous vaccination appointments for members of staff and students. We intend to continue to do so in the future, especially with regard to our international students. From 4 October, a test centre located in the main university building ("Welfenschloss") will offer testing for students and members of staff who have not been vaccinated or have not recovered from a COVID-19 infection. For this purpose, members of staff will be issued two free tests via their supervisor. Additional tests are available for a fee. For detailed information on the testing regime for members of staff, students and international students, please refer to our FAQ section.
Finally, you are welcome to make use of my online office hours in order to discuss issues or provide input directly. Please use the corona hotline to address any unanswered questions, consulting our website for any updates and the present state of affairs in advance; many queries can be answered this way.
With this in mind, I wish all of us a successful winter semester in a considerate and friendly environment, with a little bit of patience and leniency as well as many positive experiences on campus! We have already come a long way in the pandemic and I am confident that we will tackle this next phase together.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Dr. Volker Epping
President
