SCHOOL OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING The School of choice
CEE
Brief
Greetings from the Head of School to our Alumni and Friends Greetings to you all from your “School of choice”. The past year 2020 was truly unprecedented in many respects, primarily because of the COVID pandemic that had a global impact on humanity. We thought we should use this newsletter CEE Brief to highlight some of the activities that took place in the School during the epic year of 2020. The COVID pandemic presented many challenges and opportunities. On the social level, we are fortunate that no staff or student in the School succumbed to the virus, but many of us have had friends and relations who passed away due to the virus, and we share your grief and pain. In line with other departments in the University, the School transitioned to online teaching on April 20, 2020, and that was a radical shift in pedagogy unprecedented in its history. Academic staff repackaged and expanded their course materials so that they were amenable for online teaching and learning. I am truly grateful to all academic staff who made considerable sacrifices and commitment to successful online teaching. Staff used various tools such as powerpoint presentations (PPs), audio-enhanced PPs and videos that were uploaded on Sakai (the online Learning Management System in 2020), and had synchronous and asynchronous approaches to engage with students. On the part of students, they made considerable sacrifices to adapt to this new mode of teaching and learning. Some students had to carry out their studies in non-conducive environment and with limited access to learning materials because of data constraints. The University went the extra mile by negotiating free data bundles with various telecommunication service providers, and loaned laptops to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The lockdown restrictions in June 2020 made it impossible to have sit-in examinations for the first semester courses, which were rescheduled with the second semester examinations in November 2020. The School recognized the challenges of having many examinations within a short space of time and relaxed conditions for deferred examinations which took place in January 2021. I applaud the administrative and technical staff of the School who ensured that invigilation of sit-in examinations took place successfully, students’ marks were processed within a much more shortened space of time, and laboratories and lab-based investigational projects (IPs) were successfully carried out. That we successfully completed the 2020 academic year on February 15, 2021 with the last set of meetings of the Faculty Board of Examiners, which deliberated on the undergraduate and postgraduate results, is a testament of the collaboration and team effort of staff and students in the School. It is worth noting that 101