Continuing University students will physically return to Msida campus on Monday 27 September as the academic year 2021-22 commences, the University of Malta confirmed in a statement.
Meanwhile, new students will enjoy the traditional Freshers’ Week organised by KSU on the quadrangle with lectures then starting on Monday 11 October. An opening ceremony to herald the new academic year will be held on Monday 4 October.
These details emerged following a Senate meeting held today Thursday 23 September 2021.
As a result of the pandemic, the last two academic years have been rather disruptive with most lectures being delivered exclusively online.
But from next week, students will return to the lecture rooms as all the necessary preparations have been made for physical teaching to take place. UM will make use of all available spaces to cater for students’ needs including the new lecture halls that have recently been built at the Campus Hub.
The University however said that some Faculties having hundreds of students enrolled in their programmes of study, will have to work with the P-R mode (Physical-Remote) which will allow large classes to be split into manageable sub-groups so that in a given week, a group will attend lectures on campus while the rest will follow proceedings remotely.
The sub-groups will alternate so that every student will have the opportunity to attend classes in person and to experience traditional student life.
"Students are receiving periodic updates from their respective Faculties, Institutes, Centres and Schools with the latest information on the new academic year including the venues that will be used for lectures. In addition, UM will publish an updated COVID-19 protocol outlining its vision to re-introduce a sense of community on campus while adhering to all health and safety regulations," the University said.
A hybrid system has also been introduced for evening courses. To facilitate matters, evening students will now be offered a blended approach and will only need to attend physical lectures once a week instead of twice as the second session will be delivered remotely.
University Rector Prof. Alfred J. Vella expressed his delight at welcoming back students to campus. He thanked academics and all members of staff at University for their efforts in ensuring that students can finally return to campus.