The incoming relaxation of maximum restrictions at UGM, faculties began to prepare work patterns towards a New Normal and prepare facilities and infrastructure to support implementing health protocols.
One of them is an action coming from the Faculty of Dentistry (FKG). The Dean of FKG UGM, Dr. drg. Ahmad Syaify, Sp.Perio (K)., said that he has provided health protocol support facilities since Covid-19 have spread in the country. Such as building handwashing places in various places, providing hand sanitizers, masks, face shields, spraying disinfection in the campus environment, as well as making a New Normal regulation surrounds FKG UGM.
"We also put on a glass partition in the administrative services section as a place in which people mostly assembled," he explained.
Towards the New Normal, employees, students, and lecturers would carry out various activities on campus based on health protocols issued by the government and universities. For example, maintaining a social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands with soap, avoiding the crowd, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
This was also applied before new normal regulation has released at UGM. Syaify said that UGM FKG proceeded to open campuses when UGM undergoes limited maximum activities on campus. Even so, the activities are only for research activities undertaken by final-level students in the laboratory.
He said that it is only for final year students whose studies have almost finished, they could visit the campus with some health protocol implementation. If the final research project which is currently undergoing is stopped, it will sacrifice the study period.
"With the university’s consent, there will be strict protocols at research activities in the lab. We do this to save students whose studies are almost over,” he said.
While for common class activities, FKG will continue to run online in this next new academic year. The virtual system also applied to preclinical activities. However, there are problems with the implementation of dentistry or co-professional education. Under normal conditions before an outbreak occurs, co-operative activity usually fully carried out in the hospital and dealing directly with patients. Meanwhile, in the current condition, it will no longer be applied. Aside from having to adhere strictly to health protocols, co-operation activities are also encountered with limited patient availability because there are worries of visiting the hospital.
This condition led FKG to make a breakthrough in the implementation of dental professional education, it is called as diverting most of the co-us activities using a model (dental phantom). There will be a maximum supervision and health protocol implementation.
"Some of it is done at Phantom, but with high supervision by the co-supervisor. Even though they use phantom, during practice students remain to use equipment like working in a hospital using PPE because this included in the learning process,” he explained.
He further said that research activities in the laboratory would be opened gradually for the final year new students while still adhering to the health protocol. The research was also directed not to use samples from bodily fluids such as saliva or blood to prevent the risk of Covid-19 transmission. If there are studies that are already running using these samples, they are directed to be stopped. Research-based research is transferred to a narrative review using secondary data.
Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) also implemented a similar preparation. The Dean of FIB UGM, Dr. Wening Udasmoro, S.S., M.Hum., said that since the beginning of the outbreak of Covid-19, she has prepared facilities and infrastructure to prevent Covid-19 transmission. Starting from the static sink that is spread over 12 points in the campus FIB campus, the spaced-out the arrangement in the park, as well as the provision of masks, face shields, and hand sanitizers for employees.
"For officers in the forefront we are also equipped with face shield," she said.
Meanwhile, the implementation of future lecture activities will be still undertaken online until the end of the year. All study programs will have teaching and learning activities online, except French Literature study programs.
"Learning at FIB is 100 percent online except for new students in the French Literature study program. They will have offline lectures around the end of the semester," she said.
Wening also said for some study programs that have lectures or field practices such as archeology and anthropology, she issued a plan to replace these activities. For example, excavation activities that are usually outdoor classes are diverted in the study program laboratory. As for the final research activities that use research subjects in the form of a community-directed to divert to the study of text or media.
"Our research subjects and methods are directed to replace those that indirectly associated with the community," she explained.
To support online lectures, FIB also gives lecturers facility in making lecture material in the form of audiovisual in recording studios located in the faculties. Furthermore, the material later uploaded on the FIB education channel that can be downloaded by students. Not only that, but the faculty also provides training for lecturers who are constrained in the use of applications during online lectures.
Author: Ika
Translator: Natasa A