UNIVERSITY-OF-BOLTON

The University of Bolton will introduce a range of innovative measures to ensure it can reopen its campus safely for students and staff in September.

It has released an animated video starring cartoon character ‘LearnEd the Owl’ which outlines in detail how the campus will be made Covid-19 secure in time for the new academic year.

Measures will include:

• Installing sophisticated airport style walk through temperature scanners at every building entry.
• Making bicycles available for loan by students, enabling them to avoid crowded public transport.
• Providing on-campus bike parks as well as car parks.
• Providing regular socially distanced face-to-face tutorials, laboratory experience, access to arts studios and specialist facilities, etc.
• Implementing an effective scheduling system, limiting significantly the number of students on campus at any one time to keep everyone secure.
• Dividing sessions for access on campus into set times per day, for example, possibly between 8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm.
• Strictly observing recommended social distancing guidelines at all times.
• Ensuring there are adequate additional sanitiser stations.
• Making the wearing of face coverings on campus compulsory for the foreseeable future to safeguard everyone’s safety. In exceptional circumstances, such as misplacing or forgetting face coverings, students and staff will be issued with replacements.
• Carefully managed walking routes including one-way navigation.
• Multiple ‘learning zones’ being created across the campus, by identifying and transforming large spaces into areas featuring tables with plastic dividing screens to allow communication between people facing one another. (E.g. The ground floor of the National Centre for Motorsport Engineering will be cleared to become such a zone and other areas will also be repurposed).
• Additional self-service, café-style takeaway food and drink stations to minimise queues.
• Instigating a rigorous cleansing programme throughout all university buildings.

Work is now underway on the adaptations, which are being carried out with the involvement of key academic and support staff.

Professor George E Holmes, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton, said: “From September we will provide a COVID Secure working and learning environment for students and staff.

“Students will have access to a fully operational University campus and be able to study and engage in person with other students and staff.

“This will mean widespread changes to create a ‘new normal’ on campus and enable all students to physically attend the University campus safely at specified sessions.

“During those sessions they will be able to work in laboratories, studios and workshops, attend tutorials, meet other students or converse with their tutor, on top of continuing their learning online.”

Prof Holmes said: “I am determined that the University of Bolton is ahead of the game in transforming its campus to create a place where our students feel safe and happy and can make the most of their experience of Higher Education.

“The University student experience is not just about learning. Students want to see their friends in person, they want to engage with their tutors.

“Under our plans we can ensure they will be able to do this safely in September.”
The animated video outlining the University of Bolton safety measures under the ‘new normal’ can be watched at: https://youtu.be/yJKuGwVls7M

Ends

Notes to Editors:

Images (via We Transfer): Professor George E Holmes, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton; plus still images from the video and stock images of the UoB campus.
Link: https://we.tl/t-qcZUtcNwEw

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200522005146/en/

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