Update from Dean and Vice President for Research to staff
24 March 2020
Dear Colleagues,
It will probably come as no surprise that we now need to move to a stricter access policy for campus beyond the March 12th instructions. I realise that this creates further stress and disruption for many, but it is important that we do our part in the national effort to stem the tide of Covid-19, and that we protect each other. This is an extraordinary situation that requires extraordinary measures.
Starting from 5pm today, March 24th, we need to move to a situation in which only essential personnel are on College premises for research purposes. Please note that this may change again based on updated advice from the Government. Through working with colleagues across College, the following list of essential research activities has been agreed:
- Critical support for all animal, organism and plant facilities
- Continued operation of critical infrastructure for the support of remote research practices
- Preservation of resources that are critical to the research process and not easily reproducible (e.g. biobanks, frozen cell and tissue cultures, etc.)
- Hazardous waste management
- Equipment oversight for critical safety purposes and checking of facilities for any operational issues including floods, power outages and temperature fluctuations
- Safety walk throughs by technical staff to ensure compliance
- Emergency response
- Covid-19 related research
Each School and Trinity Research Institute should, if they have not already done so, generate a list of critical personnel that are involved in the above activities, and only people on these lists should be permitted to access College premises for research purposes. In addition, Schools and Research Institutes should work to ensure the continuity of these essential research activities by compiling written operating procedures and organising replacement personnel.
For those of you who are on these lists, we remind you of the absolute necessity to work safely, to follow hand washing guidelines, and to observe social distancing protocols.
No doubt this tightening of rules will have further impacts on the research of many people. As per my previous mail of March 20th, I would like to remind you that you can continue to flag any issues by working through your representative on the Research Committee, or you can register issues as they arise using the online form here. Having a full sense of these issues as they happen is vital as we make plans for the future, and also informs the sectorial engagement with Government and funding agencies.
Please stay well, and continue to follow all of the advice from the HSE, and get in touch about any issues.
Kind regards,
Professor Linda Doyle
Dean and Vice President for Research
Professor of Engineering and the Arts