SEG Care:
Prepared and Equipped to Keep Students Safe on Campus
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic, all five schools under the umbrella of Swiss Education Group have acted quickly and adapted accordingly to ensure the safety and well-being of all students and staff.
After the re-opening of the schools, further safety measures and strict protocols have been enforced across all campuses.
Responding early
When the COVID-19 pandemic first started making headlines, a dedicated SEG Executive team alongside Campus Management teams began monitoring the situation closely and liaising with the relevant Swiss health authorities. Our campuses were equipped with masks and disinfectant solutions. Since January, over 62,000 face masks, 850 litres of disinfectant solution units, and nearly 10,000 gloves have been purchased.
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I believe students felt very safe when they saw the preventative actions we were taking. In the beginning, when we started hearing about Covid-19 in China, we foresaw the crisis reaching us, even before Switzerland did, we acted very quickly. We made sure that we purchased the necessary materials so that we would be ready to face the crisis.
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Kai Janotta, Director of Operations at SHMS-IHTTI Caux campus
For the new semester, students’ temperatures were checked on a daily basis and students were monitored for any symptoms of illness. Staff and students were asked to wash their hands regularly and to avoid shaking hands. Routine temperature checks were performed, and when in doubt, suspect cases were isolated.
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Enforcing safety measures and protocols
Taking care of students means that campuses have committed to rigorously following the Swiss federal protocols. One way to ensure continued protection of students and staff has been to restrict entrances in order to monitor every single person entering campus.
Temperature checkpoints have also been set up where students and staff receive a bracelet after the mandatory daily temperature check. Rooms are cleaned and disinfected regularly, and linen is changed once a week or more when necessary. Floor signage has been put in place all over campuses to indicate safe distances to maintain at the temperature checkpoint stations, the front desk, the cafeteria, etc. Floor plans have also been completely rearranged to allow for social distancing, for example in the dining areas.
For students who would like to eat in their rooms, takeaway service has been made possible.
Taking care of one another
Student counsellors have also been available 24/7 to support and assist staff and students.
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I feel very comfortable and confident in the school, all the teachers have been there for us emotionally, we can always talk to them.
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Sharon Vanessa (Indonesia), student at SHMS School of Hotel Management
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The staff has ensured that we don’t panic, they have put rules in place without instilling fear. Teachers have made sure we know that they are there for us, both inside and outside of class
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Sandanathi Mashita
The situation has also led students to deepen their relationships with one another and to look out for each other. Some students have even reached out to the wider community. One positive expression of this has been the initiative from staff and students from Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland in Le Bouveret to prepare homemade chocolate boxes for the medical staff at a regional hospital.
A well-founded confidence
As a result of the extraordinary preventative measures put in place and the care received from staff, students have felt safe throughout the crisis and feel confident about the future.
