Action Plan for Enabling Teaching Activities During the Covid-19 Pandemic under the Conditions of Scenario II

As a result of the issuance by the MEC and the Order of the Ministry of Health no. 5487/1494/2020, the "Grigore T. Popa" UMPh Iași establishes the following measures to be applied so as to ensure the good development of teaching activities, in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic.

A. THE DIDACTIC ACTIVITY

The didactic activities will be carried out in the classrooms provided by the “Grigore T. Popa" UMPh Iași and those available in the clinical hospitals that work in partnership with UMPh Iași, during the entire period of risk infection with SARS-CoV2, in a hybrid system, combining online and onsite activities, in accordance with the rules of epidemiological safety provided by current legislation and adapted to the local situation.

Consequently, there will be adopted a series of general measures that are not to affect the quality of didactic activity, and that are meant to offer a high degree of safety to the students and the university employees.

a. The e-learning infrastructure

1) The “Grigore T. Popa" UMPh Iași will use the already existent Microsoft Teams platform, through information transfer, where possible. The students' instruction will be provided by the IT Department in October 2020, and by each discipline, at the beginning of the didactic activity. The students will sign, as proof they have been informed, a minute that will be issued once the instruction has taken place. The minute will also present the provisions that are specific to work protection specific customized according to the profile of the discipline and information specific to the prevention of the SARS CoV-2 infection. The coordinators of the didactic activity will ensure that this activity is fulfilled, and the heads of the departments will collect the minutes sent by the disciplines within maximum 10 days from the beginning of the academic year.
2) All teaching activities that involve online communication with students will use only the official email accounts of the university, which will be the basis for reporting the teaching activity carried out by both teachers and students.
3) The entire teaching activity will be stored in the cloud system.
4) First year students from all study programs conducted at the "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi will receive a username and a password, a professional e-mail account and a training material on the use of this platform.

b. Lectures

1) Lectures will be delivered online using the Microsoft Teams platform.

c. The lab activities, the practical courses / project assignments

1) Practical activities will be carried out onsite for those disciplines where the development of skills, the acquisition of a practice / method is absolutely necessary and mandatory. Their establishment is the duty of the dean in collaboration with the vice-rectors responsible for the didactic activity.
2) The circumstances in which practical activities can be caught up of, those exclusively related to medical cases, will be approved by the dean, individually.
3) The lab activities/practical courses will be carried out as follows:

I. If the size of a laboratory and the size of a group allow the activities to be carried out with a whole group, in conditions of respecting the physical distance, these activities are reorganized accordingly (this is the case of laboratories that were carried out with 2-3 groups, simultaneously).
II. Each discipline has the obligation to distribute the classes of the teachers according to the schedule established by the faculty, so that all the didactic activity is to be carried out in optimal parameters; the coordinators of the didactic activity have the obligation to announce the Dean's office about the distribution of the classes to the teachers of the discipline
III. For each didactic space, a time interval of at least 20 minutes will be ensured between the didactic activities in order to allow the disinfection and ventilation of the laboratory and of the didactic materials used after each group.
IV. The provision of protective masks and gowns is the responsibility of the students. The "Grigore T. Popa" UMPh Iași provides the necessary disinfectants for all practical activities.
V. The activities can take place in laboratories and, depending on the availability of the auditoriums, they could also take the form of presentations / demonstrations in auditoriums; the priority for sitting in auditoriums will belong to clinical disciplines.

d. The seminars will be carried out:

1) online exclusively;
2) the project assignments and the other materials used in seminars will be exchanged electronically (via Microsoft Teams and the professional e-mail) between students and professors;
3) physical education classes for all study programs will be conducted both outdoors and online, with demonstration / tutorial materials, and, when needed, with all groups at once.

e. Clinical activities

1) Clinical activities involve the following: the clinical activity as such (STG); Case based learning sessions (CBL) and Problem based learning (PBL); clinical presentations and demonstrations (DC).
2) The clinical activities will be carried out in a hybrid way according to the following rules:
a. The clinical activity as such (STG) and clinical demonstrations (DC):

I. The duration of a clinical class will be in conformity with the academic curricula, though the number of the students present onsite will be diminished.
II. The number of students present simultaneously at the hospital / clinic within a clinical course will be reduced to a maximum of 1/3 of the total number of students in that course.
III. In the hospital / clinic / outpatient clinic, only the students in the scheduled group will have access in the scheduled time, having appropriate equipment, having the obligation of wearing the mask and standard protective equipment. The provision of protective masks and gowns is the responsibility of the students.
IV The students will be equipped in the locker rooms, and the group / year leaders have the obligation to make a minimum daily epidemiological triage in which to check the existence / absence of respiratory symptoms and fever.
VI during the pandemic period, the clinical courses in COVID-19 hospitals will take place in the form of CBL, PBL and DC type presentations.
VII. Within each clinic it will be possible to carry out the practical activity on site, i.e. in the auditorium / classroom of the DC clinic. Students will thus be able to attend the clinical cases and practical demonstrations on patients selected by their teachers.

3). Case based learning Sessions (CBL) and Problem based learning (PBL)

I. They will be performed alternately with the other types of activities (STG and DC). These will be attended by students from that series who do not participate in direct activities at the patient's bedside.
II. They will take place in the same time slot, in parallel with the clinical courses.
III. They will take place in auditoriums and demonstration rooms, observing the safe distances.
IV. The distribution in classrooms will be made at the level of the study direction, being the responsibility of the coordinator of the didactic activity, taking into account the size of each study group.
V. The teachers will carry out their didactic activity of CBL and PBL type, in turn.
VI. The topic will be prepared at the level of each discipline and will be reported accordingly to the Dean's office.
VII. It is the students' responsibility to provide their own protective masks. "Grigore T. Popa" UMPh Iași will provide the necessary disinfectants, according to the Cleaning and Disinfection Plan (Chapter IV).

f. Carrying out the tutoring activity

g. Carrying out the research activity
The research activity within the internal plan of the faculties, research projects or individual studies carried out by the teachers and / or students will respect the measures imposed for the face-to-face interaction of the students of all years and the levels of studies.
Students in their final years will have access to laboratories for activities in order to prepare the bachelor's thesis or dissertation, according to a schedule made in agreement with the tutor.

i. Supervising students' access in the building
Both students and teachers will follow the one-way circuits in the faculty and in the clinical hospitals with which the University is in partnership (where possible, the access to the building should be different from the exit of the building) and special markings for directing to the practice rooms or lounges. Students will use the elevators only in exceptional situations (people with disabilities with / without a companion).

B. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR EACH FACULTY

1. Faculty of Medicine

1.Didactic activity
At the Faculty of Medicine the didactic activity will be carried out in a hybrid form (both online and on site) as follows:

1. Courses will be stored in a cloud system, giving thus the possibility to the students to go back to them when needed. Courses will be carried out online using the Microsoft-Teams Platform and will take place daily from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Students will be able to participate in the course activity by using the user-name and password generated by the NOC Department of the University. The courses will be stored in the cloud system offering the possibility of subsequent consultation by students.
Optional courses will be carried out online; the lecturer must create in the course team the students who have enrolled in the respective course.

2. Practical courses will take place on-site ("face to face") in the disciplines where the development of skills and the acquisition of practices / methods is mandatory and necessary for vocational training (Annex 1). For the subjects in the curriculum that involve seminar activities, projects, etc. (Annex 2) the teaching activity will be carried out online, with the obligatory participation of students.
- The practical activities will take place between 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM. The distribution of students in laboratories is done in accordance with the capacity of the rooms related to each discipline, respecting the physical distance of 1 meter, this being the responsibility of the coordinator of teaching activity and the Dean's Office of the Faculty. It is forbidden to place students face to face. Also, the practical demonstration activities can be carried out in auditoriums, but the priority for the admission in the auditoriums will belong to the clinical disciplines.
- Students have the obligation to attend the practical courses wearing a gown and a protective mask; the classrooms will be provided with hand antiseptic solutions provided by the University.
Teachers will demonstrate the technique / experiment and then 1-2 students will resume the exposed technique thus limiting to a minimum the direct activity of the students for the re-taking of the technique. The teaching materials will be disinfected by the technical laboratory staff after each use.
- The duration of a practical work will be 100 minutes for the practical works assigned with 2 hours in the curriculum and 150 minutes for practical work assigned with 3 hours in the curriculum ,. The didactic activity will take place uninterruptedly (without a break) during the 100 and 150 minutes, respectively. Between the practical works there will be allocated a time of 20 minutes for ventilation, disinfection of the classroom and teaching materials after each group of students.
- Students' attendance both in practical activities carried out on-site and in the online seminars is mandatory; the manner of attendance recovery will be approved by the Dean of the Faculty.
- With specific reference to the Physical Education classes, they will take place outdoors as long as weather conditions allow. When the weather conditions are unfavorable, the classes will take place in the gyms and will be limited to activities that do not involve medium / intense physical effort, keeping a distance of 1.5 meters between students.

2.Seminar activities
For the subjects included in Annex 2, the didactic activity will be done using the Microsoft Teams Platform through discussions, reports, projects etc. in which the students will actively participate. Teachers will use explicit teaching materials, stored in the cloud; students' homework or essays will be sent to the teacher by electronic means (M-Teams, stored in the cloud).

3.Clinical activities
- Depending on the specifics and capacity of the clinic where the internship is performed, the series of students will usually be divided into 3. In the same time slot, the number of students present simultaneously in the clinic will be reduced. Part of the respective students will participate in the medical activity in salons, outpatient, etc., with the related teacher, and the other part will participate in presentations of clinical cases of problem-based learning, case-based learning, simulations (depending on the specifics of the clinical discipline). For example, for a 3-hour internship, a fraction of the students in the series will work in the salon, while the other students in the same series participate in case presentations in the auditorium, and after 1 hour and 15 minutes the allocation of the students for the two modalities of clinical study is reversed. Until the entry of the other fraction of students into the auditorium, the surfaces will be disinfected. The clinical internships will take place between 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
- Equipping students in clinical internships involves a protective mask, gown and clogs; students must have a bottle of hydro-alcoholic solution for sanitizing hands, which will be purchased by students. Students will also make sure that they have 1-2 spare protective masks in case of damage to the mask they are wearing. Students will be equipped in the existing locker rooms in hospitals;
- Every day, at the entrance to the hospital ward, the epidemiological triage will be performed by the teacher of the group; students with respiratory symptoms may not participate in the internship.
- The problem-based learning and case-based learning session during an internship is performed in the auditoriums of hospitals or of the University in the case of hospitals located in the vicinity of the University buildings. The topics of this session are in accordance with the case studies of the clinic and with the subjects from the course description, being the responsibility of the didactic activity coordinator.
Only students from scheduled groups can participate in the clinical activity (according to the schedule).

4.On-call shifts

• The participation of the students in the On-call Shifts is done according to the programming made by the Dean of the Faculty. It is mandatory to follow the schedule and distribution to avoid congestion in hospital wards. Student scheduling and distribution involves 3-4 students / clinic.
• Upon entering the hospital, students will complete the epidemiological questionnaire and will be screened by the doctor on duty; students with respiratory symptoms may not participate in on-call training
• Equipping students in on-call shifts involves a protective mask, gown and clogs, students must have a bottle of hydro-alcoholic solution for sanitizing hands, which will be purchased by students. Students will also make sure that they have 1-2 spare protective masks in case of damage to the mask they are wearing. Students will be equipped in the existing locker rooms in hospitals.
• In the event that a student cannot participate, for objective reasons, in the on-call shift according to the appointment, he/she will request a rescheduling in writing to the Dean of the Faculty.
  

5.Other activities

• Clinical Evening, Scientific Circles activities will be performed online. Student participation is allowed in unlimited numbers.
  

The activity "Consultations" included in the chapter Other activities in the List of Didactic Positions will be performed online according to the schedule proposed by each teacher at the beginning of the academic year.

ANNEX 1
Disciplines whose practical courses are carried out on-site (face to face)

ANNEX 2
Disciplines whose practical courses are carried out online

2. Faculty of Dental Medicine
   

The didactic activity within the Faculty of Dental Medicine is carried out in a hybrid system (on-line and on-site) as follows:

1. The courses will be conducted online using the Microsoft-Teams Platform and will run daily from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Students will participate at the course by using the user-name and password generated by the NOC Department of the University. The courses will be stored in the cloud system offering the possibility of their subsequent consultation by students.
Optional courses will be conducted online; the holder of the optional course has the obligation to introduce in the course team the students who have enrolled in the respective course.

2. Practical courses will be carried out through the on-site system (“face to face") in the case of disciplines where the development of skills and the acquisition of practices / methods are mandatory and necessary for professional training (Annex 1). For the curriculum subjects that involve seminar activities, projects, etc. (Annex 2) the teaching activity will be carried out online, with the students' obligatory participation.
- Minimum 1/3 and maximum ½ of the time allocated to a clinical discipline in the curriculum will be spent in the clinic or treatment rooms.
- The rest of the classes allocated to the clinical internship will take place in auditoriums or classrooms in the university, in the form of CBL / PBL sessions.
-The distribution of these activities that make up the clinical stage is established by both the coordinator of teaching activity and the dean.
- Practical activities will take place between 7:30 and 19:30. The distribution of students in laboratories is made in accordance with the capacity of the rooms related to each discipline respecting the physical distance of 1 meter and is the responsibility of the coordinator of teaching activity and the Dean's Office of the Faculty. It is forbidden to place students face to face. Also, practical demonstrative activities can be carried out in auditoriums, but clinical disciplines will have the priority to occupy them.
- Students have the obligation to show up at the practical activity with gown and protective mask; in the practical course rooms there are solutions for hand disinfection provided by the University.
- Teaching materials will be disinfected after each use by the technical laboratory staff.
- The duration of a practical course will be 100 minutes for practical courses provided with 2 hours in the curriculum, 150 minutes for the practical courses provided with 3 hours in the curriculum and 200 minutes for the practical courses provided with 4 hours in the curriculum, the teaching activity taking place without a break so as to allow ventilation, disinfection of the classroom and teaching materials after each group of students.
- The participation of students in the practical activities carried out on-site as well as in the seminar activities carried out on-line is mandatory; the manner of recovering the absences will be approved by the Dean of the Faculty.
- In particular, the activity at the Physical Education Discipline will be carried out in the open air, as long as the meteorological conditions allow this. When the weather conditions are unfavorable, the classes will take place in the gyms and will be limited to activities that do not involve medium / intense physical effort while maintaining the distance of 1.5 meters between students.

3. Seminars
For the subjects included in Annex 2, the didactic activity will be carried out using the Microsoft-Teams Platform through discussions, essays, projects, etc. in which the students will actively participate. Teachers will use explicit teaching materials, stored in the cloud; students' homework or essays will be sent to the teacher by electronic means (M-Teams, stored in the cloud).

4. Clinical activities
Depending on the specifics and capacity of the clinic where the internship is performed, the number of students will be divided into 3. In the same time slot, the number of students present simultaneously in the clinic will be reduced. A group of the respective students will participate in the medical activity in wards, storage rooms, dental offices, etc., with their teacher, and the other part will participate in presentations of clinical cases of problem-based learning, case-based learning, simulations (depending on the specifics of the clinical discipline). For example, for an internship lasting 3 hours, a fraction of the series of students will work in the clinic, while the other students in the same series will participate in the auditorium at case presentations, and after 1 hour and 15 minutes everything is reversed, allocating students for the two modalities of clinical study. Until the other fraction of students goes into the auditorium, the surfaces will be disinfected. Clinical internships will run from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM.
Equipping students in clinical internships involves a protective mask, gown, visor, gloves, clogs and a bottle of hydro-alcoholic solution for hand disinfection that will be purchased by students. Students will also make sure that they wear 1-2 spare protective masks in case of damage to the mask they are wearing. The students will be equipped in the existing locker rooms in hospitals, the basis of the educational clinic.
The problem-based learning and case-based learning session during an internship is performed in the auditorums of hospitals or universities in the case of hospitals located in the proximity of the University buildings. The topics of this session are in accordance with the case studies of the clinic and with the subjects from the discipline sheet, that being the responsibility of the didactic activity coordinator.
Only students from the scheduled groups can participate in the clinical activity (according to the timetable).

Other activities
Activities such as Clinical Evening, Scientific Circles will be carried out online. Student participation is allowed in unlimited numbers.
The activity "Consultations" included in the chapter Other activities in the List of didactic positions will be carried out online depending on the schedule proposed by each teacher at the beginning of the academic year.

ANNEX 1
Disciplines whose practical courses are carried out onsite (“face to face")

ANNEX 2
Disciplines whose practical courses are carried out online

3. Faculty of Pharmacy

The didactic activity within the Faculty of Pharmacy is carried out in a hybrid system (on-line and on-site) as follows:

1. The courses will be conducted online using the Microsoft-Teams Platform and will run daily from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Students will participate at the course by using the user-name and password generated by the NOC Department of the University. The courses will be stored in the cloud system offering the possibility of their subsequent consultation.
Optional courses will be conducted online; the holder of the optional course has the obligation to introduce in the course team the students who have enrolled in the respective course.

2. Practical courses
2.1. In the case of curriculum subjects where the development of skills and the acquisition of laboratory methods / techniques are mandatory and necessary for professional training (Annex 1) the practical work will be carried out on-site ("face to face"). In the case of curriculum subjects that involve clinical activities (clinical internship) the group of students will be divided into 2 subgroups, one subgroup will participate in the clinical activity in wards, the outpatient clinic, etc., with the nominated teacher, according to schedule, and the other subgroup will participate at presentations of clinical cases of problem-based learning, case-based learning, simulations, reversing the allocation of students for the two modalities, during the clinical internship.
2.2. For the curriculum subjects that involve seminar activities, projects, case studies, problem-based learning, case-based learning, etc., the teaching activity will take place in a hybrid system (online and on-site), alternatively (1 week online, 1 week on-site) (Annex 2) and respectively exclusively online (Annex 3), with students' obligatory participation. The attendance of students who have logged in to the online program will be recorded on the platform.

- Practical activities will take place between 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM. The distribution of students in laboratories is made in accordance with the capacity of the rooms related to each discipline respecting the physical distance of 1 meter and is the responsibility of the coordinator of teaching activity and the Dean's Office of the Faculty. It is forbidden to place students face to face.
- Students have the obligation to show up at the practical activity with gown and protective mask; in the practical course rooms, antiseptic solutions for hands provided by the University can be found.
- Teachers will demonstrate the technique / method / experiment and then the students, in turn, will resume the exposed technique / method / experiment. The teaching materials will be disinfected after each use by the technical laboratory staff.
- The duration of a practical course will be 50 min / hour, the teaching activity taking place without a break so as to allow ventilation, disinfection of the classroom and teaching materials after each group of students.
- The participation of students at the practical activities carried out on-site as well as in the seminar activities carried out on-line is mandatory; the manner of recovering the absences will be approved by the Dean of the Faculty.
- In particular, the activity of the Discipline of Physical Education will be carried out in the open air, as long as the meteorological conditions allow it. When the weather conditions are unfavorable, the classes will take place in the gyms and will be limited to activities that do not require medium / intense physical effort, keeping the distance of 1.5 meters between students and applying all measures to prevent the transmission of infection (hand-washing, disinfection of hands and shared equipment, etc.).

3. Professional practice will be carried out according to the curriculum, in units with pharmaceutical profile, in accordance with the measures to combat and prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Other activities
The activity "Consultations" included in the chapter Other activities in the List of didactic positions will be taking place online depending on the schedule proposed by each teacher at the beginning of the academic year.

4. Faculty of Medical Bioengineering

Carrying out the didactic activity within the Faculty of Medical Bioengineering

The Faculty of Medical Bioengineering continues its mission of an educational and research institution that ensures the training of specialists in the field of Biomedical Sciences, through undergraduate and master's degree studies. The didactic activity will be designed in such a way as to ensure, in its entirety, the presentation of the theoretical notions by providing basic and specialized knowledge, as well as the acquisition of practical skills corresponding to the competencies specified in the Discipline Sheets.
At the level of the Dean's Office of the faculty, the list of teachers to be assigned for each discipline, respectively the groups with the students of each year of studies, will be drawn up, so as to set up the formations for carrying out the online activity.

The design of the schedule
The schedule will be designed to reduce student travel between university buildings, hospitals, laboratory rooms, auditoriums. In this sense, the following will be observed:
- The scheduling of practical applications, internships, seminars, projects that take place with a work team, face to face, will be achieved by allocating at least 4 hours of continuous interaction between students and teachers.
- The distribution of practical applications, internships, seminars, projects that take place with more than one work team, face to face, will be done in auditoriums or halls where the physical distance of at least 1 m between students can be observed. Also, at least 4 hours of continuous interaction will be allocated between a group of students and the teacher.
- The scheduling of the didactic activities is done staggered. Thus, they will start, at the earliest, at 7.30 and 8.00 AM, respectively, and will end, at the latest, at 7.20 PM, respectively 7.50 PM.
- The breaks corresponding to a module of 4 hours of practical applications, internships, seminars, project will be granted, by the teacher, at the end of it.

1.Conducting courses
The courses will take place online, through the Microsoft Teams platform, for all study programs, at all years of study and study levels. The materials related to each discipline are uploaded on the e-learning platform of UMF Iaşi, the responsibility for them falling on each teacher. The creation and maintenance of online bridges in order to develop the student-teacher relationship, the generation of clear instructions, by posting on the platform, the adaptation and diversification of teaching methods are considered.

2.Conducting practical applications, internships, seminars, projects
Students will be present at the faculty for laboratory activities in a modular regime (by specializations and years / levels of study).
At the level of each discipline, the combination of direct interaction with students with online teaching is considered. Laboratory activities / practical work will be carried out in hybrid format, onsite and online, by rotation.
The didactic load of the disciplines is fully respected, covering the topics of practical applications, internships, seminars, projects. Learning autonomy is developed, homework is given and the pace of learning is monitored. Teaching methods based on interactive learning, cooperative learning, active clarification and debate, discovery and critical thinking are emphasized. Periodic evaluations (including online ones) will be used during the semester to monitor the assimilation of knowledge.
Students will respect the physical distance and will not be allowed to recover the hours not performed except in exceptional situations and only if the space of the room allows.
At the beginning of the activity within each discipline, the training on labor protection rules will be carried out, in order to customize the aspects imposed by the discipline profile, as well as the application of the rules for protection against SARS-CoV2 virus infection. Each laboratory / didactic space will display, in a visible place, the plan of the room with the traffic routes within it.
For each didactic space, a time interval of at least 20 minutes will be ensured between the didactic activities in order to allow the ventilation of the laboratory and the disinfection of the equipment, surfaces and didactic materials, after each group.

3.Carrying out the tutoring activity

- The Dean's Office appoints at least 2 tutors, from among the teachers, for each year of study from the bachelor's programs and at least one tutor for each year of study for the master's programs.
- The Dean's Office, in collaboration with the Bioengineering Students Association, appoints at least 2 mentors, from among the students, in each year of study for the undergraduate programs, respecting the pyramid system (students from the final years will guide the activity of students from years I, II).
The aim will be to accommodate first year students with the working atmosphere of the faculty, maintain a positive and constructive relationship with students, maintain permanent communication, identify vulnerable students and provide training and support services (eg digital skills, access to technology , counseling needs), encouraging student activities, support and guidance, direct, useful and constructive feedback.

4.Conducting communication
- Continuous and active monitoring of the e-mail address, of the platform used and of the mobile phone by all teachers in order to ensure an efficient, optimal and supportive communication with the students.
- The transmission of all the students' requests to the faculty secretariat is done by using the e-mail address [email protected]. The response to requests is sent using the students' e-mail addresses.