Dear SSPC Community,
I am writing to you in these unprecedented times to let you know that the SSPC operations team have transitioned to home-based working following Government advice. We want to reassure all partners, researchers and collaborators that we will be contactable, working on projects and ready to help. We have been meeting virtually to keep up to date with the Covid-19 situation and will update you with any information affecting SSPC by email and at sspc.ie.
We can all contribute positively to this situation by following the guidelines of the Government and our academic institutions. Please check your HEI website regularly as these will be updated frequently. In particular, please adhere to the social distancing policy and be mindful of physical contact and your personal hygiene. We must protect the elderly and the vulnerable in society as best we can. We have a duty to those around us to limit our personal contact and to practice good social distancing. This is a challenging time mentally and I recognise that it is difficult to stay away from family and friends but we are lucky to have so many virtual connection platforms available to help us stay in touch. Please eat healthy and exercise frequently.
This is an opportunity to reflect on your research, catch up scientific paper reading, design experiments, plan your thesis (write your introduction), write those papers and apply for grants. We will be posting about funding opportunities as soon as we receive this information. SFI will announce a specific Covid-19 call, if you have any ideas that can help overcome the current crisis then check the SFI website.
Please be reminded the SSPC members SharePoint is available and we would encourage you all continue sharing project updates and research queries with the community as it is a great way to also stay in touch. We are also going to run some theme meetings virtually, we will keep you posted on this.
We are making a concerted effort to keep up with digital outputs and our webinars are available at sspc.ie including Damien Thompson’s webinar from last Friday 20th March.
These are extraordinary times, we are facing the single biggest health crisis in living memory. Your safety and wellbeing is our highest priority. We are in this together and are here to support you all and above all look after yourselves and you loved ones.
Kind Regards
Margaret Lawlor, Executive Director
