Abroad

The Executive Board has decided that in the first semester of 2020-2021 there will be no exchanges and no internships abroad. This has been decided because of the great uncertainty that currently exists about the possibilities of being able to travel safely from September onwards, and the consequences this will have for careful preparation of the trip.

Only students who were already physically abroad in March 2020 and who could do an internship there on the spot - and therefore did not have to travel to do so - have been granted permission to fulfil this requirement of their study programme abroad, provided that they also meet all the other requirements for an internship abroad. 

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences started recalling all students from abroad who depend on air travel to return. These students have been contacted to this end. If they want to stay abroad after our repeated requests, the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences will respect that decision. However, this means that the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences can no longer be held to the duty of care for these students, should their situation abroad worsen unexpectedly. Of course, we will offer help where possible.

 

In case of (imminent) calamities abroad, a student, or staff member must always call this number:
0031 - 10 794 99 99.

At this number, you can reach someone to offer primary support 365 days of the year, 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. The officer is either employed by the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (when you call during regular office hours), or is an employee of ISP (International Security Partners). The number must not be used for other questions such as internships, deadlines, or other business that is not urgent. Students and staff can call this emergency number direct, or request to be transferred via a local telephone office by means of a collect call or reverse charge call. Students abroad who have questions about less urgent matters such as grants, can contact CoIA Exchange: coia-exchange@hr.nl.

In case of annulled travel, the responsibility to offer adequate educational alternatives lies with the institute, in consultation with the student and the Exam Board.

 

 If a student has incurred costs in this respect (travel costs, visa costs, accommodation costs) that cannot be refunded in any other way, the leniency scheme becomes effective. Students who have incurred costs in this respect will be further informed by their own institute. Since all trips for the academic year, 2019-2020 have already been cancelled and the students who wanted to return to the Netherlands have returned, it was decided to attach an end date to the leniency scheme. The deadline for submitting a complete application to your institute's dean is 15 July 2020.

 

Keep an eye out on your health. In case of minor respiratory complaints, RIVM recommends staying at home. If the symptoms worsen, contact your General Practitioner or GGD by telephone. Contact your GP or the GGD immediately by telephone in case of a fever with respiratory symptoms (e.g. coughing or shortness of breath) and agree with the doctor whether you can go to work / to school. If this is not the case, report this immediately to your Study Career Coach (SCC), your Course Director or direct supervisor by e-mail. Report the following: name, student number, date, telephone number that you can be reached at (home/ hospital), if you were tested for Corona, contact person GGD. Please consult the specific Flowchart for reporting illness.

As Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, we cannot determine where our students and employees go on vacation. Keep in mind that the coronavirus is experiencing a peak in some parts of the world and that the virus is emerging for the second time in some countries. The government previously announced that it will no longer bring back Dutch people if they run into problems due to the corona virus. It is now about personal responsibility. So even as a university of applied sciences we can only give advice: use your common sense.