Sep’20 Course commencement update from Cork Institute of Technology (CIT)

We hope that you and yours are keeping safe and well during this time.

 

The Irish Government announced that Ireland is safe to move into Phase 2 of the roadmap to reopening the country.  Not only are we moving into Phase 2 of reopening, the government also announced an acceleration of the implementation of the actions set out in the roadmap due to the success of the country in suppressing the virus.  Full details of our Taoiseach’s (Prime Minister’s) speech concerning this acceleration of reopening actions in Ireland can be found here.

 

As of June 4, 2020, the Irish National Public Emergency Team confirmed that the COVID-19 reproductive number in the Republic of Ireland is now estimated to be between 0.4 and 0.7.   This low rate of reproduction is one of the major factors that has influenced the Irish Government to accelerate the reopening process. Please click here for further information.

 

We note that a number of countries around the world have also decided to allow students travel to avail of study abroad opportunities and we hope that this is the case in your home countries.

 

The CIT community, both staff and students, have traditionally thrived through on-campus interaction. With the unprecedented challenges we have faced during recent months, we have discovered that we, as a community, have continued to succeed because we are as strong working virtually together as we are working physically together.

 

CIT has been investing great effort into planning on how best to offer our students the best study experience for the upcoming year, while adhering to Government and public health advice. Following from the Irish Government’s announcement, CIT is now in a position to announce plans for Semester 1 of the 2020 academic year. 

 

The new term will commence on Monday, 21 September 2020.  CIT is currently working towards delivering teaching and learning activities in a blended manner. In general, lectures will be delivered through remote learning for semester 1. Laboratory and tutorials for disciplines such as Computer Science and Data Science & Analytics will most likely be delivered remotely while, for very practical and hands-on disciplines such as Engineering and Science, these learning activities will be delivered to small groups on-campus in line with social distancing and relevant health & safety protocols. As the year progresses, we expect to be in a position to move more teaching and learning activities back on-campus, assuming that national health & safety advice indicates that it is safe to proceed in this manner.

 

While you will not experience the full traditional on-campus teaching aspect of studying abroad, we are planning to offer an alternative set of extensive on-campus experiences through industry engagement and social & cultural events, while adhering to public health advice in all situations, that will provide you with a valuable and memorable international learning experience. We promise to continue with the high-quality delivery of education and, as circumstances allow, will endeavor to expand on-campus teaching and learning activities for you with faculty, classmates and friends with a view to maximising your student experience and engagement with society and the world of work during these challenging times.

 

Through online classes, we will make every effort to accommodate the needs of students who are not in a position to travel to Ireland in time for the 21 September 2020 commencement of classes but it is important to note that you will need to spend at least one semester living in Ireland to qualify for the stay-back work visa for international students.

 

Should you wish to accept your place and travel to Ireland for in time for the commencement of classes, we ask that you travel at least two weeks in advance of the start date in order to adhere to self-isolation requirements on arrival. 

 

We are liaising with our accommodation providers to help you with your on-arrival logistics, needs such as groceries etc. during this short period.  We will communicate and engage with you through online activities over this two-week period.

 

You now have the following list of options to choose from: