Covid-19: One Year On
Wednesday 17 March 2020, 12pm. The French government followed the example of Italy and introduced a strict national lockdown to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Within days much of Europe was in the same position. What was originally planned for 2 weeks ended up lasting almost 2 months, even more in some other European countries. Life as we knew it was turned upside down.
This of course had major consequences for higher education and CIFE too. Universities were forced to close and classes were held exclusively online. For our 2019/20 students, CIFE made travel arrangements to return home for those who wished. They would never come back to CIFE in person during that academic year, as the third trimester, final exams and graduation ceremonies were all held online. The pandemic also led to the cancellation of the annual study trip to the European and international organisations.
Yet, thanks to CIFE’s experience of online teaching with the Executive Master in EU Studies, we were able to adapt quickly to classes via Zoom. Although nothing can replace the motto of learning and living Europe, we were able to continue providing high-quality teaching online.