The University of Montpellier remains committed to the fight against COVID-19
For several months now, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced institutions to adapt their operations to new constraints.
Ensuring educational continuity and strengthening support for students facing difficulties, maintaining remote work across departments and protecting essential on-site staff, continuing research and supporting partner companies… The University of Montpellier successfully adapted during the lockdown and is now moving forward with its plan to resume operations.
Since March 16, the University, like the rest of society, has had to adapt to unprecedented rules. There were many urgent priorities, starting with ensuring educational continuity for the 49,000 students enrolled at UM. Students with disabilities have not been forgotten; the Handiversité service and the Joint Service for Preventive Medicine and Health Promotion (SCMPPS) remain available to answer everyone’s questions.
Thanks to the efforts of all teaching staff and the Directorate of Information Systems and Digital Technology (DSIN), distance learning was rolled out across the board in record time via the Moodle platform andthe University’sdigital workspace (ENT). Numerous books, journals, and databases that are normally available for consultation have been made accessible by the Joint Documentation Service. By-appointment loan and return services have been set up at the university libraries.
Exams, meanwhile, have already begun in many departments. We have devoted our full attention to the issues of internships, study abroad programs, and course registration, and solutions have been found thanks to the crucial commitment of faculty members and the deans of the faculties, schools, and institutes. Our efforts are now focused on organizing the start of the new academic year in September.
Supporting students in need
Business continuity has, of course, depended on digital access for everyone. Nearly 350 computers provided by the Occitanie region have been distributed since April 16 by the university’s Logistics Department and Campus Life Department. €6,000 in digital connectivity assistance has already been allocated to the most vulnerable students to help them sign up for a data plan, upgrade their current plan, or purchase a 4G dongle. Amendments to internship agreements and support for students participating in international exchange programs were quickly put in place.
To go a step further and support those hardest hit by the crisis, the University of Marseille’s Solidarity and Student Initiative Development Fund (FSDIE social) has already allocated more than €150,000 in financial aid and streamlined the application process to ensure funds are disbursed within 24 hours. This measure is in addition to the one-time €200 aid offered by the government to students in financial distress who have lost an internship or job, as well as to students from overseas territories who have remained in mainland France.
The SCMPPS continues to provide medical and psychological consultations by phone, as does the University Health Center (CSU), which offers its services both in person and remotely. Measures to combat isolation have also been implemented; students have been able to adapt their exercise routines thanks to the “On continue de bouger” website set up by SUAPS, or explore cultural content offered via the Art & Culture Department’s Facebook page.
Supporting staff
From the start of the lockdown, a steering committee was formed under the leadership of the university president, Philippe Augé, to ensure the institution’s administrative and institutional operations, in consultation with the Health and Safety Committee. Remote work was encouraged whenever circumstances permitted, and here again, the DSIN played a decisive role in establishing a secure and functional digital environment.
For staff members whose on-site presence is essential, all recommended preventive measures have been implemented by department heads. Masks, face shields, and hand sanitizer have been provided as needed. A daily check-in to compile a detailed list of staff members present on site continues to be conducted. During this difficult time, the Human Resources Department and the UM’s support staff (occupational physicians and psychologists, clinical psychologists, coaches, social service assistants, and disability liaisons) remain more attentive than ever to the needs of staff members.
Since May 11, the plan to resume in-person activities has been implemented. Employees who were unable to work remotely have been able to gradually return to the office in accordance with the specific guidelines established by the institution: limiting the number of people working simultaneously in the same department, regulating meetings and gatherings while continuing to prioritize electronic communication, and restricting public access to only essential services. To date, approximately 15% of the workforce has returned to in-person work.
Continue research activities
Now more than ever, research is at the forefront of everyone’s concerns, and Montpellier’s scientific community has lived up to its reputation for excellence since the start of this crisis. At this time, the urgent priority is, of course, to find an effective treatment. Examples include the coordination of randomized trials on the effects of hydroxychloroquine by Professor Jacques Reynes at the Montpellier University Hospital (CHU) and the antibody research conducted bythe Montpellier Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IRIM). Screening is another essential area where innovation plays a key role, as demonstrated by the work on automated reading of rapid saliva tests in the Montpellier-based sportech project Vogo, which brings together the CNRS, the Montpellier University Hospital, the Sys2Diag laboratory, and the biotechnology company SkillCell.
Numerous studies conducted in our laboratories are also helping us better understand the origin and nature of the virus we are facing. One example is phylogenetic tracing using the PhyML software developed by Stéphane Guindon at the Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics (LIRMM). Others focus on improving global health surveillance, such as the European Mood project, which involves researchers from 25 institutions, including the University of Montpellier and CIRAD. Furthermore, a key initiative on COVID-like infectious diseases could be launched soon, with the goal of exploring ways to prevent such epidemics by taking a broad approach to the issue—from the source (animal reservoirs) to human diseases, including the pathways viruses use to evolve from one environment to another.
More broadly, it is the entire research community that, in record time, has managed to refocus their ongoing research projects to gain new insights into COVID-19. I-SITE MUSE is providing these teams with comprehensive financial support totaling €250,000.
In sectors less directly involved in pandemic response efforts, restrictions on in-person work and the expansion of remote work have also been implemented to ensure staff safety. Only operations whose interruption would have resulted in the loss of essential research were maintained. For the 24 startups on campus, the university decided to waive fees to support them during this particularly difficult time for young companies. As with administrative and technical staff, since May 11, the plan to resume activities has allowed researchers to gradually return to their laboratories.
Solidarity with healthcare workers
Beyond its own walls, the University of Montpellier has also directed its efforts toward healthcare workers by organizing a drive to collect medical supplies. Research teams from the CNRS, Inserm, CIRAD, INRAE, IRD, ENCSM, and the University of Montpellier—which make up the 120 institutions of the MUSE consortium ( )—mobilized en masse in Montpellier and Nîmes, alongside other teams in the region (notably in Perpignan and Banyuls-sur-Mer). Gloves, masks, and gowns were thus collected and delivered to staff at the Montpellier University Hospital under the leadership of Research Mercier, Vice President of the University of Montpellier in charge of Research .
Meanwhile, the FabLabs at the Montpellier-Sète and Béziers University Institutes of Technology (IUTs) and the Pro3D platform (Polytech) are making a valuable contribution by manufacturing protective face shields for healthcare workers and, more recently, for staff at the University Hospital.