A message from Professor Alessandro Antonietti, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, to students

Previous communications

July 15, 2021

Dear students,

As the summer session of exams comes to an end, I would like to greet you before the summer holiday and give you a few previews of the academic activities in the upcoming months.

The fall exam session will take place according to the indications valid for the summer session, with one difference concerning written tests.
Oral exams will continue to be held remotely.
Written tests, where scheduled, will be held in presence. For the latter, the possibility to take them remotely will be granted only for health reasons specifically related to Covid-19 (having tested positive to the virus, being in prescribed preventive quarantine, living with people in a fragile physical state; reasons related to other health issues are not allowed), to be documented by uploading the reason and justification in the exam call registration system; unlike what was granted for the summer session, logistical reasons will no longer be accepted (being off-site, having to make a longer or shorter journey to reach the campus, etc.). Professors/lecturers will be able to consider the reasons given and deny the possibility of taking the written test remotely if they do not meet the above criteria.

As regards the fall graduation sessions, both the proclamations of the undergraduate degree programmes and the dissertation discussions of the graduate degree programmes will take place in presence. Unlike in the summer session, there will no longer be a choice between in presence and remote mode: the established mode is in presence; the remote mode will be granted under the same conditions under which the remote written tests are granted, i.e. only for health reasons specifically related to Covid-19 (to be documented).

Looking further ahead, I can tell you that courses in the academic year 2021-22 will be held in presence, with a possible rotation (regulated by the app) of students in the classroom if the capacity of the same will not allow to accommodate everyone.
In light of this possibility, the lessons will be held in dual mode: the professor/lecturer will be in the classroom with the students admitted to the classroom for that day, while the students who cannot access it that day will attend the lesson remotely. The lecture will be video recorded, and the video recording will remain available for one week. As was the case prior to Covid-19, an alternative option will be provided for all courses for those who are unable to attend "live" lectures (in the classroom or remotely) for proven reasons (work, chronic health problems, long hospital stays, etc.). However, it is not up to the student to choose whether to follow the lessons in presence or remotely: the courses will be in presence and on the basis of this format the professor/lecturer will prepare the lessons.
Some laboratory-experiential training devices (GA, EPG, EP, etc.) may provide the option between an all in-presence course and an all-distance course, since in this case the alternation of face-to-face and remote meetings is dysfunctional.

The guidelines described above may obviously be subject to change if national, regional and/or University regulations impose, due to the health situation or people’s gathering and mobility restrictions.
The changing conditions in which we have worked in the past months have led the teaching staff to be equipped to deal with rapid changes in the way they organise teaching activities that may be imposed by the circumstances, and therefore we are sure that whatever the scenario in which we find ourselves, the teaching action will still be effective. Some of the training activities experimented during the forced distance teaching period will be proposed again, within the overall in-presence setting of the courses, precisely because of the excellent learning results achieved. Similarly, some of the tools and initiatives that have proven to be functional for communication within the Faculty and to support the relational dimension will be maintained or reproposed.

In providing you with these anticipations, which I think will be useful not only to mentally foreshadow university life in the coming months but also to make some practical decisions, I hope you will have the opportunity to rest and reflect on what you have learned during this academic year (which has been troubled like the second part of the previous one), especially for your personal growth.

Enjoy your summer break and see you in September.

Alessandro Antonietti

May 13, 2021

Dear students of the Faculty of Psychology,

This brief message integrates the one you have already received from the University in relation to the next summer exam session.

As established by the Rectoral Decree no.7467

examinations that only include an oral test will continue to be held remotely for all students according to the procedures already applied in the past sessions;
where the exam includes (also) a written test, this will be held in presence.

If the exam includes a written test and an oral test, the oral test can be held either in person (since the students are already present for the written test) or remotely (giving students the opportunity to reach a workstation from which to connect), according to what the professor/lecturer considers most efficient.

In accordance with what is stated in the aforementioned decree, if there are justified reasons specifically related to the pandemic period (students who are in quarantine because they have contracted Covid and are still contagious; students who are in precautionary quarantine because they have come into contact with people affected by Covid; unvaccinated students who live with fragile unvaccinated persons), the student may request, following the instructions provided by the University, to take the written test remotely. In any case, the equivalence of tests taken in person and remotely is guaranteed.

Since there are still limitations to the access to classrooms, it is possible that in some cases the written tests cannot be held in presence (for example, due to lack of sufficient computer rooms, or necessary sanitation procedures). In this case the test will be held remotely for all students.
The professors/lecturers are currently verifying whether the conditions for carrying out the written tests in presence are met. In some cases, the feasibility/non-feasibility can be determined in advance and then the mode of conduct of the written test can be communicated beforehand; in other cases, the feasibility/non-feasibility can be ascertained only after the closing of the enrollment of the calls because it will be necessary to know the actual number of students who will be present. In any case, the structure of the written test will not change and whether the exam will be in presence or remotely does not change the preparation routine.

Wishing you a peaceful and successful period of study,

My best regards,

Alessandro Antonietti

Milan, 9 April 2021

Dear Students,

As you probably have already heard, in compliance withcurrentCovid-19 guidance, the Lombardy region has now moved into the orange zone. Consequently, wecan now officially resume the teaching timetable as scheduled at the beginning of the semester.

Bearing in mind that the inauguration of the 2020/2021A.Y. will be held on Tuesday morning (all lessons will be postponed) and that our University intends to restart in-presence lectures immediately after this event, the Faculty of Psychology has decided that switching to dual mode (where originally foreseen) halfway through the academicweek may not beviable and that it would be more beneficial to have a few extra days to adjust to this new method.Therefore, the resumption of dual mode teaching - for courses and daystimetabled at the beginning of the semester – willstart from 19 April (with one exception, which will be communicated to the students concerned). At the same time, the booking APP function will be reactivated for access to lectures andfor re-reservation of unconfirmed places.

If endorsed in the upcoming weeks, Lombardy’s new move into the orange zone will also enable implementation of what the Faculty had previously timetabled, i.e., that the final part of the academic term,which was only originally foreseen in remote mode, can now be held in dual mode. If an appropriate number of students wish to participate in this method the professor may deem it functional for the completion of the course.I have also requestedall professors, in the absence of valid reasons to the contrary, to hold at least the last lesson (or last week of lessons) in the classroom to get to know the students who wish to attend.

Always subject to the current provisions,candidates for the next graduation sessions can opt for in-presence mode (comprising the presence of a limited number of accompanying persons); for all other candidates the thesis discussion will take place remotely. The undergraduate degreeceremony is envisaged online for all students since the high number of candidates (and guests) would create gatherings of persons above the permitted limit.

Last, but certainly not least, we are reviewing an initiative that will enable students to meet up on their campus before the summer break and to actively take part in in-presenceactivities where they will be free to express their points of view on recent experiences and where they will be presentedwith future developments.

Wishing you a great restart tothe semester,

Alessandro Antonietti

Milan, February 2021

My dear Students,

As we approach the start of lessons for the second semester, I’m writing to inform you about the Faculty of Psychology procedures for the upcoming weeks.

Basically, we have decided to comply with the measures that the University has already put in place, namely:

the firstyear courses will be taught in dual mode (the professor/lecturers and all students who wish to attend will be present in class; the other students will participate in realtime learning online, the lesson will be recorded and made available for those who, for whatsoever reasons, were not able to join the live stream), with the exception of lessons for which the professor/lecturer is exempt from on-campus attendance due to health and/or safety concerns, along with supplementary/practical activities, usually deployed throughout the entire a.y., for which previous structural planning has already been put in place;
the second and third-year courses will be held remotely in the (synchronousasynchronous) formats as in the didactic timetable pre-arranged by each professor/lecturer.

However, if we can continue to offer teaching provision in dual mode, the second- and third-year professors/lecturers can opt for this format if they deem it functional. In agreement with the programme coordinator, they can decide how to evaluate if this option fits into the relevant timetables and modes.

For in-person attendance, students may use the appropriate app to book access to the classrooms.

All lessons will be video-recorded and made available to students, under the conditions stipulated by each professor/lecturer as part of their course.

At the beginning of the semester, as part of the introductory lesson, a professor (the coordinator or a delegated colleague) from each course of study for each course year, will explain in detail how the forthcoming semester will ensue, specifying the reasons for the choices made and the working methods envisaged.

I can, nevertheless, summarise the thinking behind the aforementioned choices.

First and foremost, it is evident that the on-going health situation and the extent of the consequent public restrictions are still uncertain, due somewhat to the way in which the regions are being intermittently switched to different colour bands. So, if the uncertainty of holding in-presence teaching sessions was already a viable external risk factor, it was decided preferable not to add to this with internal factors, in the belief that having some certainties is of benefit to everyone. Secondly, the vaccination rollout has not yet been extended to professors and students, so we cannot count on an already-attained consistent immunity rate in our working environment. Thirdly, we want to avoid initially offering students the possibility of attending in class to then, due to circumstances, have to backtrack and return to restrictions or cancel the in-class option. The feedback from the first semester - starting (for 1st year courses) in person, switching to online plenary sessions and then switching back to dual mode in the last week - suggests that it would be better to avoid this fluctuating dynamic. Last but certainly not least, based on the aforementioned suggestions, the professors have planned their courses as outlined above and it would be counterproductive to reorganise them at such short notice. The result of the first semester’s teaching data feedback (which was essentially online for everyone for most of the time) - both compiled at University and Faculty level through institutional surveys, and those based on professors’ perceptions during the courses and exams-indicate that, if wisely managed, the training objectives can also be adequately achieved with the distant learning teaching. The professors/lecturers are committed to fostering collaboration with you through the methods offered to ensure you feel linked up to them and your classmates, furthermore we guarantee that, despite the critical issues in this period, the university experience will be positive for you, also for this semester.

As regards the conclusion of the university course, the graduation ceremonies at the end of the undergraduate degrees, scheduled between now and May, will take place with the commission in-presence and the students connected remotely, whilst the dates and formalities for the graduate degrees thesis sessions will be evaluated nearer the time.

Wishing you all the best for a great semester,

Alessandro Antonietti

22 December

Dear Students,

All classes for the first semester of this academic year have now concluded and the Christmas break is upon us, with the winter exam session in sight. Once again, for this semester, we were obliged to implement distance learning methods with the initial idea that, although access was limited, in-presence lectures could be held, thus, adding an element of disorientation.

We were certainly not unprepared for this outcome since the experience of the last academic year’s second semester had given us hands-on knowledge of the distance learning tools and procedures and, previous to the inauguration of this academic year, we had planned to further implement them. I can confirm that all the planned learning objectives were fully met and, in some cases, certain new teaching strategies proved to be more effective than traditional ones. Indeed, we have all undergone an unprecedented exercise in flexibility along with mental and behavioural reorganisation which bodes well for future scenarios that, probably even more than we can imagine, will necessitate the valuable skills of adaptability and innovation.

Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that something has been missing in the last few months. My thoughts go, in particular, to the new student cohort that has only been able to get a taster of the university atmosphere and what it has to offer beyond the lectures and courses.

So I would like to quote a few lines from a hypothetical ‘professor to students’ message that attests to the care and respect that teachers pay to their students at a time like the present when academic life takes such an unprecedented twist: “I read your name on the online class attendance register but I didn’t see your face or hear your voice (in such a large group only a few dared, or had the chance, to interact via camera or microphone) but I knew that you were there. I visualised you at home; it’s true that you didn’t have to turn up for the lesson in class but perhaps you didn’t always have the advantage of attending the lecture from a quiet place and working on your own pc. You were definitely without the support of your classmates, no doubt you connected with them on social media but meeting them in person is clearly another matter. It would’ve been easy and pleasant enough for you to come to the campus to see them but now you have to battle your lethargy to actually get out of bed and join the webinar. You need will power to discipline yourself and not get distracted or waste time (so many more temptations at home for skipping a lecture). Yes it’s true that you’ve now got more time to try out new things but after a while you get tired of those too. Essentially, I’m trying to imagine how the situation of these past months is preparing you for the future and I certainly wouldn’t want it to deprive you of the openness, confidence and motivation that is proper to your age. I am, therefore, trying my best not only to teach you the course syllabus but also to express my conviction that, despite the current difficulties you are experiencing, there is an infinite horizon ahead of you and that life, with all its hidden gifts, awaits you. I am, therefore, trying my best not only to teach you the course syllabus but also to express my conviction that, despite the current difficulties you are experiencing, there is an infinite horizon ahead of you and that life, with all its hidden gifts, awaits you”.

I’d like to make this professor's wish my own and, in the name of the Faculty, wish you all a very Merry.

Please, enjoy the Merry Christmas videoclip devised by the Club of Music of the Faculty

Alessandro Antonietti

9 November 2020

Dear students,

brief overview concerning how our Faculty will carry out its activities in the short period.

Recent ministerial provisions, implemented by our University, have led to the suspension of lectures in attendance until 3 December, while we wait to know what the situation will be until the end of the semester. Our courses schedule, which (wisely, we would say with hindsight) envisaged a limited number of classroom activities, does not pose any particular problem because we just need to extend the tried and tested methods of distance teaching and learning to the hours that cannot now be held in attendance. Moreover, the survey carried out among students in relation to all the courses being held in the first semester indicated an overall good level of satisfaction.

Whatever the evolution of the health situation, we guarantee that you will be able to attend also the courses of the second semester remotely and that the lessons will be video-recorded, even though we do not deny that for certain training activitiespresence will constitute an added value.

The winter session of the exams, which was initially planned to be held in attendance, will instead be held remotely. This will also be the case for the graduation proclamation sessions at the end of the undergraduate degree programmes and the graduation examination sessions for graduate degree programmes; on those occasions professors/lecturerswill be present at the University.

We are witnessing a particular "intrusion" of the unpredictable dynamics of reality, to which the university must prepare you, in the world of education and this also opens up opportunities for your personal growth. However, the Faculty is aware of the anomalous situation in which you are living these months of university life and what this is depriving you of, and for this reason, as announced, starting this week, in addition to the newsletter Inside Psychology, some initiatives are being implemented: the Psycho-Webinars, which will stimulate you every week on a cultural and professional level, and the Psychology Clubs, aimed at facilitating the meeting and interaction among you even outside the moments of study.

I believe that we will carry through also this semester properly, and I encourage you to continue your commitment to the tasks, not just the academic ones, that you will be asked to complete.

Best wishes

Alessandro Antonietti

1 October 2020

Dear Students,
Teaching for 2020-21 academic year will commence next week and, in view of this upcoming inauguration, I wish to extend my greetings for an auspicious start to all of you, together with a warm welcome for the new students entering the first year at Università Cattolica.
You will receive more specific information regarding the start of term and the access to the lessons from your course Coordinator so I won’t expand upon them here. I just wish to remind you, as previously mentioned in July to those already enrolled in the Faculty, that in preparing the lesson schedule for the first semester in this new academic year - which comprises in-class and online lectures - we have tried to concentrate the face-to-face sessions on certain days of the week so as to limit on-site access and to make the day spent on campus more productive by making full use of the hours.
All frontal lectures can be followed in streaming (i.e. in real time from one's home) and will be recorded so that they can also be viewed at ones’ own convenience. If, for any reason, a student intends to follow the entire first semester remotely, this is equally possible. In any case, all courses will offer weekly interaction with the Tutor, in line with the format deemed most functional, and the student will always be asked to actively participate.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the activities in the second semester will all be held in attendance. The exams for the winter session (January-February 2021) will all be in attendance and there will be no early exams in December to ensure that all procedures are consistent. The undergraduate degree graduations and the thesis sessions for the graduate degrees, scheduled for December 2020, will all be held in person.
Please bear in mind that during the first semester the opportunities for in-person meetings will be limited; the Faculty will try to keep in contact with you and to motivate you with various initiatives.
You will receive a weekly newsletter that should help you participate in the Faculty life. We will also offer all students a series of webinars aimed at exploring current issues that may not always feature in the courses, thereby providing the opportunity to get acquainted with the teaching staff.
Last but not least, numerous special interest groups will be set up to enable you to share your knowledge and opinions within the university.

What we at Cattolica envisage, therefore, is an innovative academic year that won’t permit us to settle into our routines, rather it will enable us to experience new ways of working which will also involve new ways of thinking and will, quite probably, enrich us with enhanced skills that each one of you will put to good use in your future field.

Wishing you all an auspicious start!

Alessandro Antonietti

July 2020

Dear Students,

As the second semester of the academic year comes to a close and as we are about to embark on our summer break, I address this message to you, one which looks at the past on the one hand and to the future on the other.

Since last February, we have been living through an unusual experience which has led to a significant reorganization of the university activities with all the associated challenges this has brought, but also with some justification for satisfaction. We have been forced to make changes which have not only made us appreciate the potential of new methods of delivery of teaching, course exams, final exams, orientation activities and liaison with the profession, but also allowed us to become more aware of the value of face-to-face interactions. It was a period of learning for everyone involved and overall I believe we have come through it more enriched.

Whether you are reading this as someone who has just completed secondary school and are considering our university for your university studies, or have completed your university studies in another institution and are now thinking of enrolling in a master's degree programme at Università Cattolica, I imagine you will be able to see yourself reflected in these considerations even though you have undertaken your studies in the past few months somewhere else.

It is precisely what the semester just ended has taught us that has given us the impetus to organise the new academic year in way that confronts the uncertainties that we still have about what the health situation will be in the autumn by with an articulated plan that allows you to be able to plan your commitments in the first semester of the 2020-21 academic year.

In fact, the calendar for the October to December period has already been published on the Faculty website, with the teaching activities for each year for the courses activated by the Faculty together with details of how they will be held. You will be able to find out right away which days of the week teaching activities are programmed with physical attendance on campus so that you can make your own decisions on e.g. accommodation in the city where courses are held if you live in a different area.

In developing these calendars, we have had the foresight to concentrate the teaching activities requiring physical attendance on certain days of the week so as to reduce the number of trips needed to the course venue and to make the day spent on campus productive, by avoiding hours with no classes programmed. For each degree programme, part of the teaching activity is expected to be carried out with students physically on campus. The possibility of taking part in face-to-face activities will be balanced against the capacity of the classrooms, which will also be based on the relevant regulations on health protection. Should more students be expected to follow a specific course than can be accommodated, students will take turns to attend and will have to book their place in class.

Classes delivered with students physically present will also be live streamed so students can follow them from home, and they will also be videorecorded so that they can be seen at a different time. If you wish to follow the entire first semester remotely, for whatever reason, you may do so, aware of the value of the in-person attendance that you are giving up. The University has upgraded its tools for delivering remote teaching activities in recent months and this should allow for reliable connections with our students who decide on distance learning, assuming that their devices and internet connections are adequate. Office hours with professors/instructors will take place remotely. University services such as the library, study rooms and the bookshop will be open, with access limited in line with health and safety.

Course exams for the autumn sessions will all be held remotely while exams for the December 2020-February 2021 session are expected to be held with students being physically present. Decisions will be taken for the final exams in September when the university starts up after the summer break. In any case, we have found that the thesis discussions and final exams conducted are still meaningful for the students and their family and friends.

For those planning to complete their studies in the coming months, we can guarantee the possibility of carrying out the post-graduate internship (and then the State Exam) in any situation you find yourself in since we have verified that it is possible, with good results, to carry them out remotely.

The Faculty is fully aware that it is inevitable that the restrictions which are likely to still be in force on travelling and on the possibility of meeting outside classes may lead to a weakening of the effects of the social and cultural aspects of attending the university. For this reason, initiatives are being developed to allow for remote interaction with the professors/instructors and between students on the topics you are interested in, so that apart from the semester being a period of attending classes, it will also allow for the opportunity to open your minds in a way which goes beyond what is offered via your courses.

With all this in view – which will ensure that we will be able to have a fruitful semester whatever the outside circumstances – I offer my good wishes for a serene month of August, arriverderci to students returning in September, and a warm welcome to new students due to arrive for the new semester.

Alessandro Antonietti

Wednesday, 4 June

Dear Students,

the teaching activities of the second semester have come to an end and the summer exam session has begun. Looking back to the past three months we are aware that there have been many changes to the various teaching and learning routines but, thanks to the willingness and commitment of everyone, I think we can be satisfied with how we faced such difficulties. For all of the Faculty's degree courses, the timing has been respected so that each of you can complete the study programme on schedule. At the same time, the changes imposed on the procedures for carrying out courses, workshops, exercises and practical-experiential activities have not led to a downsizing of the objectives and quality of learning. In fact, in some cases we have also gone beyond the results that were generally achieved. For those who are on their way to the conclusion of their course of study, the graduation sessions, which we have seen can be significant moments to share with relatives and friends even if the proclamations will not take place in presence. For graduates there will be the possibility of regular post-graduate internships, as well as, later, the state exam. For all will remain the memory of a unique and unusual semester - full of uncertainties, efforts, for some unfortunately also of sorrows, but I hope also of achievements - which has made us all grow.

Now, I think you are busy studying for your exams, and therefore focused on the present-day, but I suppose you are also wondering what the next academic year will be like. Hence the reason for this communication, which wants to give you some elements to anticipate what will happen from October onwards.

Of course, we do not know exactly what kind of health protection provisions related to Covid-19 will be in place during the 2020-21 academic year. For this reason, the Faculty of Psychology has drawn up a plan of educational activities for the next two semesters that will allow us to achieve the educational objectives whatever the scenario in which we will be working.

Besides our standard lectures (which will not take place in the first semester; the second semester is yet to be defined), this plan includes four typologies of teaching activities, some of which you have already experienced over the past semester:

1. CLASSROOM COURSE: The teacher gives lessons in the classroom with students who may be present; the other students will follow the lessons at the same time remotely (streaming mode) with the possibility to interact via chat. The lessons are recorded and all students will have the possibility to access the video recording at a later time as they see fit.

2. WEBINAR COURSE: The teacher will give the lectures online and students can follow them from home with questions or comments. In this case too, the lessons are recorded and students can watch them as many times as they wish.

3. VIDEO-LECTURE COURSE: The teacher prepares video-recorded lectures that can be followed from home, accessible at any time. At least once a week the teacher holds a moment of online interaction with students.

4. REMOTE WORKING COURSE: The teacher provides the students with study materials and assigns specifically designed tasks to be carried out at a distance, individually or in groups, which will be documented and commented on the course platform. Also in this case the teacher will hold periodic moments of interaction at a distance with students.

For each year of the degree programme, the choice of the teaching methods to be followed is made according to the objectives, contents and methodology of the courses as well as the type of students, ensuring a balanced mixture of different types of courses. In any case, for each semester a weekly calendar is being built, clearly divided among the activities that the student must follow in order to facilitate the organization of the study commitment. Everything will take place in compliance with national, regional and University guidelines aimed at safeguarding the health of students, professors and technical-administrative staff.

In addition to the exams - conducted, if necessary, at a distance, in oral or written form (for methodological courses) - in the scheduled sessions, some courses will offer ongoing evaluation tests, compatible with the commitment to attend all the teaching activities.

Please note that the plan for a.y. 2020-21 is not about " adapting" but rather about "relaunching" and innovation, as we see the situation as an opportunity to develop skills in young people – such as flexibility, self-regulation, management of different knowledge formats, working through complexity and change, etc. –which are pivotal for their training. It is also considered important to ensure an educational alliance based on the clarification of the educational objectives and the clarity of a shared didactic pathway, as well as a personalized relationship with the students. Finally, our Faculty will enhance the quality of the university experience by organizing a series of opportunities for cultural enrichment and social encounters, in the ways that will be allowed, in order to broaden the intellectual horizon of the students and intensify their sense of belonging to the academic community.

Whatever the conditions in which we will operate in the next academic year, believe that our purpose is that you will be provided with a training programme that will meet your expectations. I hope you will have a successful exam session.

Best Wishes

Alessandro Antonietti

Tuesday, 31 March

Dear Students,

First of all, I hope that the epidemic did not directly affect you and your beloved ones. If this unfortunately happened, I wish to express to you the solidarity of the whole university community, which always cares about you throughout your lives and concerning those who are part of your life.

There is no particular news that I need to communicate to you, but I am pleased to point out the attention paid to you beyond the provisions and procedures, the most recent of which I do not wish to sum up since you are already aware of them by other means.

We have now entered a system of "anomalous normality", with the courses that have settled in the most appropriate formats, the experimentation of the formula of the tele-graduation sessions, and the modalities of interaction with your professors that have been strengthened. In short, it seems to me that we are equipped to continue for another few weeks, if necessary, in remote working, ensuring productivity. Also, for the didactic devices with a high experiential rate, we have identified how to maintain their educational scope in case frontal lectures cannot be resumed in the near future.

Forstudents, now that there is no stable timing and tasks dictated by outside needs, I believe that the challenge is above all to know how to self-regulate yourselves so as to draw up plans for your days that allow you to keep your study commitments and to pay attention to what you may tend to neglect. I recalled a novel I read a couple of summers ago: "A Gentleman in Moscow". It is a fictional novel about Count Rostov, who, at the beginning of the Soviet regime, was forced to stay in the hotel where he had a suite.He had to trade it with a closet soon enough, and ended up working as a waiter. He would never leave the hotel again (except as an elderly man), but he managed to spend his life happily in that one place. This was the approach he adopted: "Having recognized that a man must know how to govern his circumstances, otherwise circumstances would govern him, the Count thought what was the most likely way to achieve this when he was condemned to a life of imprisonment. For the Count of Monte Cristo it was thoughts of revenge that kept him healthy in his mind. For Cervantes, enslaved by pirates in Algeria, it was the engagement of Don Quixote's unwritten pages that spurred him to continue. For Napoleon on Elba island, it was the vision of a triumphant return to Paris that galvanized his will to persevere. The Count, however, was not driven by revenge; he did not have the imagination for epic deeds; he certainly did not have an ego that induced him to dream of new empires. His model for governing circumstances would have been a prisoner of a different kind. Like a Robinson Crusoe, the Count would have maintained his determination by devoting himself fully to the issue of feasibility. As they soon forget their dreams of being saved within a short time, the Crusoes of this world seek refuge and a source of fresh water; they learn to make fire with flint; they study the topography of the island, its climate, flora and fauna, but always keep an eye trained to see footprints on the sand and a sail on the horizon.”

Our period of " confinement" is much shorter and less dramatic than those mentioned in this passage, but the criterion of feasibility, which in the novel makes the Count a good model of resilience and ability to turn adversity into opportunity, can be of inspiration. By now, you will have found interesting ways to make use of the time you spend in your homes (which, thanks to technology, virtually opens to larger places and communities) and you will have had various ideas on how to put it to use, developing new sensibilities and learning new things. To this end, we tried to stay in touch with you and give you some ideas through the Facebook group "Coronavirus and Quarantine: Let's grow up together" (Coronavirus e quarantena: Cresciamo insieme). But of course many of you have found their own way to explore the experience of the present moment and the hope is that this period - which involves restrictions, sacrifice, effort, and unfortunately for some people also pain - will allow us to become better persons. Some of you may also be devoting themselves to initiatives dedicated to the benefit of others. In this regard, for those who want to commit themselves on this front, I enclose the suggestions of a professor of the University who holds courses in our Faculty. If anyone has any particular volunteering stories to tell, you can report them directly to the University's Press Office and Communication Services by writing to emanuela.gazzotti@unicatt.it.

Let's read the footprints that the present time leaves on our streets and look at the horizon. Waiting for the sails to come.

Best Wishes,

Alessandro Antonietti

Friday, 13 March

Dear Students,
We have realised that what was initially intended as a temporary suspension of frontal lessons will instead persist at least until Easter. Thus, I would like to give you an update on what the Faculty has planned for this period.
Perhaps you have noticed that the courses planned for the second semester include a wide array of activities:

Video lectures: perhaps it may seem uncomfortable for you to break down a lecture into short videos, but this is necessary in order to make it easier to upload on and download from the platform;
Streaming lectures (or webinars) (i.e. with the possibility for the student to attendlive from home), which are video-recorded to be made available later to those who, for various reasons, could not follow them live.
Slides with audio (embedded in the slides or made available on separate audio files). Also in this case it has been suggested to professors and lecturers, for the same reasons mentioned above, to create several small files;
Homework(texts, videos, links to internet sites, etc.) accompanied by a description that explains the type of work that the student has to do, showing what has to be achieved at the end of the work;
Interaction with the student(s). This can be done through the forum section, chats, remote conversations, etc.

For Methods and Techniques courses, the Specialist Modules with Graduate Degree Laboratory and practice sessions - initially not considered for remote activities, since the suspension should have been of only one to two weeks (recoverable during the semester) - are now active (or are about to be activated) forms of distance learning that, although incomparable to frontal lessons, will try to help you achieve the same learning objectives.

Our Faculty decided to consider a range of opportunities to start the courses in case it was impossible to hold frontal lectures. Video-lessons and streaming lessons –on which other universities have already invested their resources (although not always effectively: be careful not to fall victim to the effect "The grass is always greener on the other side") - are possibilities, but not the only ones. They are those that come closest to the traditional classroom lecture, but still have limitations (e.g. no or reduced possibility for the student to interact) and are subject, as reported by those who elsewhere are following video courses, to interruption of the connection, poor audio or video quality, etc... For this reason other paths, although with less media impact, may be more effective. For example, a forum, even if not supported by audio and video communication, gives students the possibility to react to what is proposed. Each teacher has been asked to identify the forms of work he or she considers more suitable according to the type of content he or she needs to pass on and the methodology he or she wants to follow. Each coordinator is monitoring how the activity is set up in their course of study and will be able to identify corrective measures if necessary. Based on the elements I am aware of, it seems to me that the Faculty's professors are working hard to think about what is best to do (it would have been easier to convert all of us indiscriminately to video lectures) and equip themselves accordingly. This does not exclude that some critical points can be highlighted and that it is good to report them. Thanks to these reports we can understand how to better respond to ongoing requests.Within the framework of an inevitable perfectibility of what is being done, it is necessary to consider that a change of perspective is required from everyone. For a professor, holding a lecture in front of a monitor, trying to compact content and speech as much as possible, is not the same as talking in a live classroom, and so commenting on slides outside of a real relationship with the speaker. If a change of perspective is required for professors and lectures, it is also required of you to adapt to these new forms of communication.Therefore, you cannot ask from these tools what you would normally expect from a traditional lecture. For this reason, I invite you to identify the methods of study that are now more appropriate, which may be different from those you were used to. Also, do not underestimate the potential of work based on texts which, when presented in a focused manner, can exert analytical and reworking skills. I am not saying that you must perforce look on the bright side of things, but keep in mind the opportunities that the present moment provides.Do not run away from fatigue and changes in mental model that can have a formative role. We are all learning.

For Learning Groups (GA), EPGs and EPs it has been verified that, by reducing the number of meetings and increasing their duration, they can be carried out in full after Easter, so as not to give up the benefits of presence. If after Easter meetings could not be held in attendance, alternative forms of distance learning activities are being investigated.

For the exams, the wish is that they can be regularly held in presence in the next summer session. If this is not possible, alternative methods have already been devised to ensure that they can be held.

For graduation sessions we are working to hold them in telematic mode, on the established dates of March and April (which are confirmed), with the physical presence of commissioners. The deadline for the delivery of the thesis application has been extended (which can now take place without the student going physically to the secretary's office) and the deadline for delivery of the dissertation to the Advisor and Co-advisor has been extended. Also for the theses of master's degree thesis will be delivered in digital format. For those who graduate in telematic mode, in summer or September will be organized a Graduation Day in the presence of friends and relatives.
For ongoing theses, Advisors are aware of the current limitations (difficulties with data collection, not being able to go to external institutions or to the library to borrow books, etc.) and therefore will not ask for the impossible. If necessary, thesis projects will be reorganisedfrom a realistic perspective and this will also be taken into account during the evaluation.

As far as international mobility (inbound and outbound) is concerned, there are already solutions in place both for those who want to return home and those who cannot travel abroad.

I leave you with the verses of a poem by Fernando Pessoa:
In all, there were three things:
the certainty one is always beginning
the certainty one must go further
and the certainty that one will be interrupted before finishing.

From the interruptions, to make a new path,
from falling, a dance step,
from fear, a ladder
from dream, a bridge, from search...the encounter
[translation by C. Ramon, S. Packa]

Best wishes
Alessandro Antonietti

Thursday, 5 March

Dear Students,

I would like to give you a new update in the light of the recent measures that impose an additional week of suspension of teaching. On the basis of what stated by our Rector, I share the following guideline.

Online teaching
We will continue, as indicated by our University, by adopting online distance tuition until 15 March, or in any case until the return to frontal lectures in our classroom. Last week, professors and lectures of our faculty began to propose the start of the courses through activities to be carried out at home in different forms. The invitation to refer to the Blackboard platform remains valid, or alternatively (if the teacher does not use this platform) the Professor/Instructor's personal page on the University website, to receive materials and working instructions.

Student reception hours
You can contact professors and lectures and agree with them how to communicate.

Graduation and exam sessions
As far as exams and graduations are concerned, we have no short-term deadlines. The University is preparing to manage these moments in alternative forms to the traditional ones if necessary, ensuring everyone the possibility to take the exams and in the scheduled sessions and to graduate on time.

Cordially,

The Dean

Dear Students,
The national and regional provisions, adopted by our University, to contain the spread of Coronavirus impose the suspension of lessons also for the second week of the second semester. On our University' s website, you can consult the official updates on this issue. In the meantime, the Faculty's lecturers deem it important that students be engaged in university activities. For this reason, they are developing "remote" solutions to start courses, beginning from this week.
Alternative forms of teaching that you may be offered are:

texts, slides, videos, references to sites or other material made available with an indication of the work assigned;
support slides and audio files with commentaries;
video recordings of lessons;
activation of chats, forums, debates.

The above is already part of the degree programme and I invite you to commit yourselves to it.
I therefore suggest you:

consult the Notices section, in the Lecturer page, of the lessons to be followed in the second semester on the University website, where you will find a description of what your lecturers are proposing for this week;
join (where available) the Blackboard courses for the second semester, so that you can find the instructions and materials related to the work proposed for this week.

The University is in any case considering technological solutions and user support to enhance distance learning.
I want to reassure you that the semester will not be missed. Examinations, graduation sessions and ceremonies at the end of the degree programme will take place as scheduled. The University is taking care of the entire academic community and is studying solutions for the different scenarios that could arise, while the Faculty colleagues are willing to try and meet the needs that will arise with flexibility.
At the same time, I encourage you to resume your commitment on the university front: even if classes are suspended, there is work to be done. I think that for most courses you can start and dedicate yourselves right now to studying and processing contents useful to the development of the syllabus.
Finally, an invitation to seize the difficult and uncertain present moment as an opportunity: the situation in which we find ourselves is new and anomalous, but we can discover and learn new things. Among these, to try - it is true for students and lecturers – and use alternative forms of learning, an experience that may initially be perplexing and not very efficient, but that could be useful for other purposes in the future.
With confidence we begin the second semester of this academic year.
Good luck with your work.

Best Regards,

Alessandro Antonietti
Dean of the Faculty of Psychology"