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Professor Ivan Parkin, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, welcomes staff back to campus and provides updates.
Welcome back to the new academic year! All MAPS departments are now open, staff and students are returning, and the campus is starting to feel a bit more like its old self.
There is a genuine excitement especially from students in doing more face-to-face activities, meeting and making friends and being able to experience the extra curricula life that UCL has to offer including clubs and societies. We have a very large and diverse intake this year in the faculty - including the highest number of widening participation students. Several new staff appointments have been made to help cope with the increased student numbers.
The last few years have been challenging with COVID and have meant huge changes in the ways we do research, work and deliver education. This academic year will still have changes compared to a regular year, but we are starting to emerge; society has opened up, but the virus is still a concern. The UK now has quite widespread vaccinations, a better understanding of the virus and how it spreads, and some treatments.
UCL has taken a safety-first approach to opening more fully, probably one of the most cautious in the sector but getting the balance right is difficult. Wearing masks at UCL is expected at all times in the buildings (unless you are exempt). The policy will be looked at again by the University on 22 October and a number of you have written to me with suggestions (both to keep mask wearing and enhance use through to removing masks altogether).
I have been coming in more regularly over the last few weeks and it has been great to meet with staff and students; that personal interaction is hard to replicate on Teams and Zoom. I look forward to seeing you all in person throughout 2021-2022 but in the meantime, I wish you all a safe and enjoyable new academic year.
Ivan