UniSey operations under Covid restrictions |18 May 2021

Further to the announcement of the Public Health Authority on May 4, 2021 on restricted movement and enforcement of the current procedures in place, the University of Seychelles (UniSey) had to review its operations until May 24, 2021. From then, UniSey says it will review as per the updates from the PHA and inform staff and students via its various online platforms.

UniSey’s director of marketing, Dolivette Chang-ko, explained that “although UniSey is closed over this period of restriction, we are operating in a blended virtual and on-campus mode (though on-campus is minimal and controlled), with around the clock support from the IT section, as we have to ensure that all is functioning well, for both staff working from home and accessing the network, as well as for virtual meetings and classes, and for students to follow their lectures. Here at UniSey, we have adopted the Microsoft Teams 365 as our virtual platform of communication”.

Mrs Chang-Ko also explained that this year, UniSey will be undergoing re-accreditation and it is currently fully engaged in the re-accreditation process, involving all staff and students.

“Our staff are working from home; however, essential services access the campuses when necessary. Students also follow their lectures online and the ability for all (staff and students) to work remotely via Teams is key.  For the months of May and June, around 50 students are sitting for their local and international exams within their respective programmes and these are being done both online and on-campus. For the latter mode, all present on campus at specific times ensure that they fully adhere to the health regulations in place. For the other students, online lectures are ongoing and the BSc Environmental Science final year students submitted their dissertations last week, whereas the MSc in Marine Science and Sustainability will be submitting theirs on May 28, 2021.

The staff of UniSey have also been involved in various webinars/e-conferences over this time. The following are some that we organised, as well as participated in:

• The James Michel Blue Economy Research Institute participated in the NDC validation workshop and presented papers on Climate Adaptation and Gender and Youth inclusion. BERI staff was a guest lecturer on the course Ocean Governance in Africa. On June 8, 2021, it will be hosting the ‘Journée des océans 2021’.

• On March 11, 2021, for the International Mother Language Day, The Creole Language and Culture Research Institute participated in a meeting virtually via Zoom on ‘Africa in Sri Lanka: Kaffrinha and Manja Performances’. On April 23, 2021, it organised a webinar to commemorate Reading Week. On April 30, 2021, it participated in the ‘Regional online conference on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for biodiversity conservation, climate change and disaster risk reduction in Eastern Africa’.  Our presentation was a case study undertaken by Seychelles on the Creole Garden and Kitchen Pharmacy in Seychelles. These are among some of the activities that the institute has been involved in and it will also be hosting a virtual conference on May 25 for the Achilles Luc Memorial Lecture, on commemoration of Africa Day.

Additionally, Mrs Chang-ko explained the university’s global office has been very actively engaged in meetings and sessions with different embassies to develop further partnership for the benefit of the university. With this pandemic, it has to diversify ways and engage in different projects, nationally and internationally, to keep moving the institution forward.

Although with the new normal operations, UniSey is still open for applications for the September 2021 start and it is still receiving applications, both physically and virtually, but it is encouraging students to submit electronically, which so far has been working well.

Potential students can visit UniSey’s website on www.unisey.ac.sc and send their applications via marketing@unisey.ac.sc or telephone 2660988 for enquiries and advice on their choice of programme. On Thursdays, one officer is at the Anse Royale campus to accept payment and students who wish to make physical payment are encouraged to do so on that day. UniSey currently offers undergraduate degree programmes in Business Administration, with specialisation in International Business, Marketing, Human Resource Management and Financial Services, Computer Science, Education, Environmental Science, French, English, Law, Journalism, Social Work, Youth and Community. We also offer post graduate programmes in the fields of Marine Science and Sustainability, Business Administration, Public Administration and Education.

Additionally, UniSey customises short courses for various organisations and with the Covid situation, the country’s workforce needs to be re-skilled for more efficient operations, as well as for the new needs that have arisen, which it can contribute towards.

UniSey is also finalising new programmes in Law, as well as Banking and Finance and it is following the developments closely in order to develop programmes and conduct research as per the needs of the country.

Compiled by Vidya Gappy

Photos: UniSey