Four places where you can attend lectures this academic year
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De Vereeniging. Photo: Roger Veringmeier (Wikimedia Commons)
Attending a lecture in a theatre hall, a sports hall, or a former Jesuit college? Thanks to the ‘new normal’, students will not only be taught on campus, but also in other places in the city.
The coronavirus will continue to have major consequences for education at Radboud University in the upcoming academic year. Rector Magnificus Han van Krieken previously told Vox that the intention is for all students to receive at least one day a week of physical education, but that this cannot be done exclusively on campus. For example, only 48 students are able to use the largest lecture hall (in the Grotius building) at one time, even though there are 482 seats available.
To resolve this issue, the university started looking for other locations in the city where lectures, examinations, and potentially even graduation ceremonies could be held.
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De Vereeniging
The Vereeniging concert hall on the Keizer Karelplein normally hosts classical concerts, ballet and theatre productions, and other performances. The Vereeniging has a seating capacity of 1,450. With the coronavirus measures in place, 250 students are permitted to sit in these cosy, red chairs.
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De Stadsschouwburg
The Stadsschouwburg, located on the other side of the Keizer Karelplein, also has considerable capacity at 943 seats. 200 students are able to occupy this space at the moment. With the Vereeniging and Stadsschouwburg capacity combined, 1000 students can attend lectures every day.
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Jan Massinkhal
The Jan Massinkhal is a large sports hall near the Goffertpark, where sports competitions and flea markets as well as large fairs and conferences are organised. In the past, there were also exams here for large groups of students from Radboud University, such as the Psychology and Law programmes.
Radboud University will be renting Jan Massinkhal for examinations during the coronavirus pandemic as well. ‘Under normal circumstances, a maximum of 750 students can participate in the examinations here,’ says spokesman Martijn Gerritsen. ‘Taking the 1.5-metre distance measure into account, there is room for 360 students.’
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Canisius College
Finally, in the coming semester the Faculty of Arts will rent five classrooms from Canisius College, in the building of the former Mater Dei Girl’s Lyceum. ‘The Faculty of Arts is renting some smaller, regular classrooms here, which will mainly be used for mentoring,’ says Gerritsen.
Online Lectures
Even those who are quarantined at home should be able to attend lectures. That is why Radboud University wants to make all lectures available online as well. ‘A lot of work has been and is being done to take all the technical measures required for this,’ says spokesperson Martijn Gerritsen.
