Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sandra Pointet/Geneva Academy

We are committed to retaining the continuity of all our academic programmes. For this reason, we are offering – until the situation requires it – a combination of education on location and online.

In Geneva and Online

All the courses of our three master's programme are taught simultaneously in-class and online.

This allows students who are not able to travel to Switzerland within the first weeks or months due to travel restrictions, students at especially high risks or students in quarantine to follow their programme remotely and to interact with their fellow students who are following classes in Geneva. It also allows us to continue teaching during lockdowns or partial lockdowns enforced by our health authorities.

Regardless of the evolution of the situation, our Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict allows participants who are not based in Geneva to follow the programme online.

Regardless of the evolution of the health situation, our Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict allows participants who are not based in Geneva to follow the programme online.

Recording

All the lectures and tutorials are recorded and made available to all our students afterwards. This is particularly useful for students who could not follow a class due to quarantine, illness, time zone difference or because they are at especially high risk.

Additional Health Measures in Geneva

For our students in Geneva, additional measures will be in place if needed – possible social distancing in classrooms, wearing of masks, cleaning of hands and cleaning of classrooms – to ensure a safe learning environment.

A pack of two washable cloth face mask with the Geneva Academy logo is provided to every student at the beginning of the academic year.

Students who have typical symptoms of Covid-19 must immediately inform the Student Office and follow the recommendations issued by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOHP).

Monitoring of the Situation

We are closely monitoring the evolution of the situation. Our students will be regularly informed about changes in the recommendations issued by the FOPH and by the State of Geneva,  as well as changes in the measures decided by our two parent institutions – the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

Quality of Teaching and Interactivity

We make sure that all the teaching continues with a high level of quality that has made the reputation of the Geneva Academy.

Our professors have gained a great deal of experience with online teaching during the previous academic year when all the courses went online. They are also receiving professional support as well as coaching from our staff. Extracurricular activities – like events, exchanges with practitioners or seminars – are successfully taking place online.

Addressing Challenges: Ongoing Exchanges with Students

We know that the current situation is everything but easy for our students and that online and hybrid teaching brings several challenges for both students and professors.

We are determined to be in constant exchanges and communication with our students to hear about the difficulties they encounter and get their feedback, with the objectives to continually improve our offer, respond to their concerns and, accompany them during their time at the Geneva Academy.

These exchanges and our students’ feedbacks allow us to bring several improvements to our online teaching and we are very grateful to them for allowing us to constantly evaluate and improve our teaching.