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A letter from the Dean
27 April 2020
A message from Christoph Lindner, Dean of The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
Dear Bartlett community,
I hope you are keeping well. As we begin a new term working and studying remotely, I want to take a moment to recognise some of the important and inspirational work that has been taking place across the Faculty in response to Covid-19, and to let you know about future planning.
It has been truly heartening to see how our community has come together to meet the very real challenges presented by Covid-19, not only through the support you extend to each other, but also in the global effort to combat coronavirus. Some examples include:
New research from The Bartlett School of Architecture and The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis shows two thirds of pavements in London are not wide enough for people to observe the government’s advice to stay two metres apart.
Read more
The Conversation
Dr Jung Won Sonn, The Bartlett School of Planning
Read more
The Guardian
Government has the upper hand for the first time in a generation. It must seize the moment, says Professor Mariana Mazzucato
Read more
These are just a few of the many examples of resourceful, collaborative, generous, and impactful activity happening across The Bartlett, and I want you to know that your efforts are being felt in many ways by many people here in London and around the world.
The Bartlett has always pursued radical thinking. Looking ahead, we need to continue prioritising the quality and innovation of our programmes, while pushing ourselves to experiment, take risks, and tackle difficult problems. This is critical to our ongoing success through the current crisis and beyond.
One important step we have taken to support this is establishing a Faculty Education Delivery Team tasked with scoping teaching and learning requirements and capabilities across The Bartlett for the current and coming academic years. Supplementing the vital work of our existing teaching and learning committees, the Faculty Education Delivery Team will enable us to adapt to changing circumstances and make sound, informed decisions about ongoing provision and support. Academic value, quality, experience, and innovation are at the heart of this group’s work.
It is also important to highlight how fortunate The Bartlett is to be part of the wider UCL community, which has come together to take a leading role in advancing public knowledge about Covid-19 through our research and outreach activities, ability to advise government, and expert commentary in the media. You can read more on this at UCL’s Covid-19 research page. In addition, colleagues across the Faculty, including myself, are actively involved in UCL’s crisis management groups, enabling the institution and the Faculty to respond swiftly to the challenges students and staff face in education, research, and wellbeing.
Finally, on a personal note, I want to share that I miss seeing you in person and I am keen to connect with students and staff during this time of campus closure. For this reason, I have decided to host a series of informal virtual “coffee” sessions during which we can talk about whatever is on your mind. Sessions will be held via Teams, and to facilitate conversation we will be keeping the group size below 20. If you’d like to join me for coffee and a chat, please use the following links for details of the first sessions coming up over the next week.
Coffee with staff
6 May 2020
10.30-11.30 BST
Register
Coffee with students
7 May 2020
15.00-16.00 BST
Register
Thank you all for your continued resilience and commitment. As always, please stay safe and do reach out if you need support.
Yours,
Christoph
Christoph Lindner
Dean of The Bartlett