Anticipating the arrival of overseas students in September, Ireland’s higher education institutions initiated a ‘Back To Campus’ programme, compiling Covid-19 guidelines to assist in managing their safe return.
The project not only offered information on immunizations, testing, and quarantine, but also a ‘Greet and Transfer’ service that provided safe transportation from the airport of arrival to their student residence in compliance with current public health recommendations.
Students can get free Covid tests and immunizations when they arrive. Meanwhile, the Irish government has pledged to provide free health care to overseas students suffering from Covid-19-related illnesses.
According to the country’s minister of higher education, Simon Harris, students at all of the country’s eight institutions would have resumed their studies by the end of September.
The strategy for a safe return to campus involves the reinstatement of lectures, with some changes to total numbers and particular mitigating measures. We need to start the upcoming academic year off right by welcoming all of our students and employees back to school.
Because of their vaccination status, international student arrivals have either been permitted to proceed right to college and into their new student life, or have gone to campus to quarantine. For students from one of the six South American nations confined in a government-designated hotel.
A digital and social engagement programme is one of the procedures in place for people quarantined on campus. This was used at the University of Limerick and provided students with access to Netflix, online parties, and quizzes.
Vaccinations have to be factored into the 2021 plans in order to estimate arrival results.
While students entering the country could easily obtain vaccines (from a chemist or by registering online for an injection at a vaccination centre), if they had previously been vaccinated, they needed to be aware of whether that vaccine had been approved by the European Medicines Agency, and where they were in their vaccine journey dictated their quarantine status.
Once established, students were required to wear face masks indoors and follow national vaccination passport regulations.
With foreign students pulling in about €0.5 billion in fees on its own for Ireland each year, Ireland’s HEIs have been anxious to emphasise their significance.