How to live a corona-adapted student life
Photo: Stian Soltvedt/UNIS.
2 April 2020
UNIS invite all current course students to an online meeting tomorrow, where issues such as tips on daily study routines and how to prepare for the exam period will be addressed.
UNIS is very much aware of the challenging educational situation our students have ended up in due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of the students had to leave Svalbard all of a sudden while the courses they are attending are still going on. Also the students have had to spend time to establish a new study home in Norway and in many other countries. All education had to be changed to online teaching over a rather short time period. UNIS knows that all of this is adding a lot of stress to our students’ situation and of course affect their studies.
Therefore, UNIS invite our current course students to an online meeting to address these issues. The digital meeting will have representatives from the UNIS study administration, IT, Student Counselling at The Arctic University of Norway – UiT and pedagogy experts from University of Bergen and UNIS.
The Student Counselling Centre at UiT has developed a list of tips and advice on how to live a corona-adapted student life:
- Make sure you keep a good daily rhythm, even if you don’t have to show up physically for lectures. Don’t turn your day around – get up at normal hours.
- Make a daily plan for your studies, now that you have more time available. Get electronically organized with fellow students to discuss lectures and articles.
- Eat regularly, healthy, and cook nice food, now that you have more time to do so. Do you lack motivation? How about cooking “together” with others, even if physically not in the same kitchen (via social media).
- Be active, go for walks or exercise outdoors. Fresh air will do you good. Go together with someone if you can, but keep distance. Check tips form Kraft on exercises you can do at home to stay fit. Make appointments with other students to exercise together via social media, each one in his/her place.
- Do something nice, there’s a lot of good tips on this page to things you can do from home, play games with others online, learn a new hobby or do a hobby you already know.
- Be social. You are not alone even if you are alone. Stay in touch with others over the phone or video conversations, so that you can see others and use your own voice.
- Perhaps you have more time now to get your room and surroundings more organized and tidy and create a cosy atmosphere.
- Set realistic goals for what you wish to get done these weeks and for your future.
- Perhaps you need some extra rewards these days to keep up your motivation. Have a nice cup of hot chocolate, indulge sweets, watch a movie, read non-academic literature, listen to music, etc.
- If you can’t leave your room, do you have anyone in Longyearbyen who could help you get necessities? If not, contact Samskipnaden.
- If all the news on coronavirus makes you more anxious, consider not watch/listen to/read news the whole time, but limit it to certain times.
- Do you need someone to talk with? Due to this or other matters, the Student Counselling Centre still offers assistance to UNIS students over the phone or through video conversation, contact us over the phone between 8 am and 3:30 pm or email for questions or appointment. You find the contact information here.
- You can also call the Longyearbyen Local Council’s psychosocial support group (Monday-Friday 09:00-16:00, Saturday-Sunday 12:00-15:00): +47 79 02 23 05. Find more information about the local support group here.
- Do you need someone to talk with in the evenings or during weekends?
https://mentalhelse.no/fa-hjelp/hjelpetelefonen .
From a non-Norwegian phone number you need to dial : +47 91 116 123 - https://www.kirkens-sos.no/