A dream come true: ‘business as usual’ for Eurekaweek

However, this means that activities that took place at an open site in the past, such as the information market and sporting activities, will now be held within a fenced area.

The details for on-campus activities, for example, are still being worked out, and the market stallholders will also have to meet the conditions set by Testing for Entry.

In order to gain access to the events, you need to use the coronacheck app as proof of full vaccination, have a recent negative test result, or show a good health statement following a recent covid infection. There are no costs associated with the testing for the participants.

Preferred scenario

Kirsten Prins, chair of the Eurekaweek board, is pleased that their ‘preferred scenario’ was chosen. “After receiving the letter from the Ministry of Education that said introduction events would be accessible through Testing for Entry, we got busy making arrangements. We had to see if we could modify events and locations so there was a single entry and exit point. It also goes without saying that the Testing for Entry organisation needs to have sufficient capacity to be able to test our participants. And we had to identify the financial implications if we had to choose another scenario due to unhoped-for circumstances. When we were able to do that, the university gave its blessing.”

Immensely relieved

Prins is immensely relieved that the board now knows what to expect. “Since the board convened in November, we couldn’t just pick a scenario and start making plans. Things were so up in the air that we had to make a plan B, C and D. But the silver lining is that we now have a number of detailed scenarios in place that we can rely on if needed.”

The Eurekaweek board also benefitted from the fact that Testing for Entry has a testing location in Rotterdam. Their colleagues in Leiden, for example, don’t have this service. As a result, they face more difficulties organising a full introduction with events taking place physically on site. This week it was announced that Tilburg University will also partner up with Testing for Entry.