Following ongoing recommendations by the Department of Health, UniSey has decided that it is now MANDATORY to wear a face mask when entering the Reception area and KONPA Office on all of our campuses.

Furthermore, in the instance that social distancing measures are difficult to maintain and should there be fifteen or more people present for any classes, events, meetings or training sessions held at the University of Seychelles, it is MANDATORY to wear a face mask.

All these measures will be effective from Monday 28^th September 2020.

Thank you for your cooperation.

"When small might be beautiful"

Published in the ORF on 29th March 2020 by Malshini Senaratne

If community transmission can be mitigated or avoided altogether in the small population through extraordinary human-centred measures, the Seychelles may continue to report some of the lowest numbers of confirmed cases in the Indian Ocean.

Stay Informed, Stay Safe!

For all press updates, travel and health advisories; and all other official communications from the Department of Health Seychelles:

COVID-19 NATIONAL HOTLINE: 141

Please be patient if the hotline number is busy. Once an operator is available, your call will be attended to.

Notices

Speeches

Information for Students

We believe that you are taking all measures to stay safe and protected against the COVID-19 virus, whilst at the same time, maintaining a good study regime. UniSey is doing its utmost to ensure that you progress with your studies. Staff members are going the extra mile to ensure that you are virtually supported as much as possible. Subject to the national authority’s order, UniSey will remain closed and keep operating virtually until further notice.

Please stay in contact with your lecturers through WhatsApp and UniSey email. We would also like to know how you are getting on. Should you wish to discuss individual issues, please send an email to Miss Melina Josephine, the Student Support Services Manager, on Melina.Josephine@unisey.ac.sc

We are going through this challenging moment together so we need to support each other.

Bon courage and please stay safe and follow the advice of the health authorities!

To our international students’ community

We UniSey Management, feel you would have probably felt better being home with, or, around close family members during such a challenging moment. However, we also understand that it may be more convenient for you to stay over in Seychelles as we are not yet severely affected by the Corona virus. We trust that you have had the chance to contact home and your family and friends over there are safe. We hope all will continue to be well for them. Please keep listening to advice from the local Health Authority and refer to our website for all relevant updates. The Student Support Services may be contacted via mail on Melina.Josephine@unisey.ac.sc should you wish to have someone to talk to about personal issues or any other matter related to your stay or studies here.

UniSey Management

Mock examinations March/April 2020

Please note that Mock Examinations scheduled for the period of March/April 2020 are not cancelled but the mode of examinations has changed. It will be computer-based, that is:

Examination Papers will be sent via your UniSey email address by the Assessment Services, as per timetable below.
Examination Papers will be sent at 8.30am for morning exams and 12.30pm for afternoon exams on the date of your scheduled examination.

Library access before campus closure

Students wishing to borrow library materials from the Anse Royale Library can do so on Thursday 26^th, Friday 27^th and Saturday 28^th March 2020, from 9am to 1pm. Social distancing will be observed at all times. Please note that on these three days, library access will be restricted to resource borrowing and not for study purposes. From Saturday 1pm, the Library will be closed until further notice.

UniSey Management thanks its students and staff for their understanding during these challenging times. We remain available virtually.

Please stay safe!

Who can I contact at UniSey?

Students who want to meet or talk to a staff for assistance with accessing their lecturers or anything related to their studies can contact any of the following numbers:

Mrs. Melina Josephine	2723088
Mrs. Maria Fanchette	2517122
Mrs. Betina Servina	2824040

Information for Staff

Virtual Labour Day Team Building Activity

As is customary annually, UniSey organizes a physical team building activity for its staff. Given the current situation, this year’s team building activity will be done through WhatsApp, where we will also be able to observe social distancing regulation.

Staff are being asked to “Save the Date & Time” and be available on Thursday 30th April 2020, from 10am to 12 noon. The HR Manager, Mrs. Elvina Amelie, will create a new group for the event. In case you are not part of the UniSey Staff WhatsApp group, please forward your number to Elvina at the earliest possible.

We need you to keep the team together.

Thank you

Stay safe!

Easter Message from the VC

9th April 2020

Dear colleagues,

I am confident that in whatever context you may be, you are following what is happening at UniSey while at the same time you are keeping safe. It is our responsibility to break the chain of transmission of COVID 19 and according to the health authority this can be achieved through social distancing – a practice which may not be fully applied especially at home.

On March 15th, UniSey took a bold step to stop all contact (face to face) teaching and to move online. Moreover, we triggered the work from home mode and we invited everybody where applicable, to move into that mode of operation. Most people could transfer their office from the campus to their home. Some however, due to the nature of their work could not. I fully understand when some people claimed that they cannot work from home. Now with this “pseudo lockdown” in force, we have practically no choice but to stay at home.

I must at this stage thank you for keeping UniSey open and active from a distance. I have not recorded any complaint that UniSey cannot be reached. Student learning is progressing very well and our day to day transactions are moving as expected. The COVID 19 Management team is with it. We are meeting on a weekly basis through TEAMS and in touch on whatsapp to ensure that we maintain the activities of the university. Colleagues, do keep the hard work. UniSey is winning!!!

I have to admit however, that we have not had time to train all our staff to get them to embrace the work from home modality. Things have happened to soon and too fast. This is something that we should take up as soon as we resume.

My dear colleagues, I am drawing massive lessons from this present situation that we are in. As part of your reflection, I am now inviting you to start reflecting on the following points:

a) UniSey as a centre for Online and Distance Learning (ODL). Many Universities across the world will embark on this mode of learning so we should be able to compete as well.
b) UniSey as the main local training institution in the post COVID-19 aftermath. The country will look upon us for tertiary and higher education. We need to be ready. I will later on in a different platform, engage all our academics into this conversation. We need to start looking for more programmes.
Now let me turn on to Easter time. As we normally do, let us break virtually for Holy Thursday. Easter Monday is public Holiday. We shall resume full duty on my birthday (Easter Tuesday).

My I take this opportunity to wish each one of you a peaceful Paschal Triduum and A Happy Easter with your family.

Update on email outage

The email server is experiencing some issues and the ITS team is working on it. Only internal email traffic is going through. It is anticipated that full services will be restored by tomorrow morning. This issue only occurred last night, due to what may have stemmed from repeated power fluctuations.

The initial problem of firewall hardware failure was resolved at 4.15pm today after 48 hours of intense work. This involved moving equipment from Mont Fleuri to Anse Royale and significant configuration.

ITS does not recommend that staff members create any email addresses with UniSey in the prefix.

We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Special message to our staff with relatives and friends in countries affected by the COVID-19

UniSey empathizes with all its expatriate staff presently in the country, whose family and friends in their respective home countries may have been or right now, are being affected by the COVID-19.

We cannot even attempt to imagine what they may be going through and we know words alone will never be enough, to fully alleviate your worries. However, we can assure you all, of our empathy in your fears over what may happen, what may have happened or what will happen to any of them. We also assure you of our prayers for their safety and well-being until you get to see them again.

Your emotions are important during this time and should you need to speak to someone to help you cope, we will do the needful to find suitably qualified professionals locally to assist you, so, do not hesitate to contact us.

Do remain strong, positive and trust that the present situation will eventually improve.

UniSey Management

Emergency Preparedness & Response Plan

Following closure of the University, the Vice-Chancellor summoned a core team which met on Monday 16^th March 2020 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm to work on an Emergency Response & Preparedness Plan (ERPP) specific to the current situation.

Read the summary of the outcomes of the meeting and some specific decisions taken to facilitate business of the University.

Microsoft Office 365

The IT Services is making Microsoft Office 365 available as an alternative platform to facilitate teaching and learning.

For more information and technical assistance, contact ITS@unisey.ac.sc.

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms include (but are not limited to): fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, sore throat and runny nose.

Who to contact?

If you are showing any signs and symptoms of COVID-19, seek medical attention by calling 141. A representative from the Department of Health (Seychelles) will assist you.

Health Advice

Read more about how to protect yourself and prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Travel Advice

Read more about the overview and situation analysis from the Department of Health (Seychelles) as at 16th March 2020.

Latest News and Updates

from the Department of Health (Seychelles) and World Health Organization.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak

Learn More

For more information about the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), visit the COVID-19 section on the World Health Organization; or the website for the Department of Health (Seychelles).

COVID-19