On March 12th, we decided to stop classroom classes, which was a fundamental measure to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Professors and staff had worked hard, and in one week, we migrated all programs to the remote model.
Since the beginning of this crisis, our main objective has been to maintain our mission of educating people and contributing to the production of knowledge, without forgetting the health care and well-being of the Insper Community — our students, professors, and staff members.
Through MultiInsper, we have reinforced psychopedagogic assistance to embrace our students. Meetings and lectures for the student body have been addressing issues related to the pandemic and its impacts.
Insper seeks to monitor the situation of students closely and is aware of those who need flexible payment of tuition fees.
We are a non-profit school with an extensive scholarship program. The scholarship fund receives resources from the school and from many friends who have collaborated for years to the education of young people from low-income households. We will do our best to accommodate new cases of students who need resources.
The school keeps on operating and supporting students and professors in the remote model. Most of them work remotely, but some, on a scale, attend the campus to ensure the infrastructure that makes remote teaching possible.
In order to support the preservation of the employment of dozens of people linked to outsourced companies, we will pay the full amount for the services even to those who are working on a rotating basis. So that no one gets fired, we are also giving financial aid to partners who have had a drop in revenue at the moment, such as the catering services at the school.
The pandemic is presenting new challenges to society. One of them is the maintenance of financial sustainability by families and businesses. At our school, the reality is no different. Of our costs, 95% are fixed and will remain unchanged in this time of crisis. A small fraction of our costs may be reduced at this stage, such as those resulting from the lower use of elevators and water consumption, as well as the cancellation of face-to-face academic events. Also, we had made new investments in equipment and materials to ensure the quality of the education offered in the remote model.
We are living in a moment in which unity and solidarity are fundamental. Thus, we have been looking for ways to support society on a daily basis. The Fab Lab team, for instance, has been working since last week on printing and testing models of protection devices used by healthcare professionals, such as face-protection masks (face shields).
We support an initiative that allocates funds for the purchase of food staples and other essential household items in communities of São Paulo. The activity is led by the Women and Territory Center of the Cities Lab — which is a joint organization between Insper and the Arq. Futuro platform —, in partnership with Bei Editora publishing house, the economics platform Por quê? Economês em Bom Português and the Bei Institute, with the support of the Tide Setubal Foundation and the Galo da Manhã Institute.
To assist public administrators and private managers to make decisions in the context of the pandemic, the Taxation Department of our Center for Regulation and Democracy had mapped all tax measures adopted in 43 countries.
Our Center for Public Policy and Administration mobilized a group of researchers to systematize the academic and technical production, both from the school and other institutions, regarding the effects of the new coronavirus on society and the measures adopted to mitigate them.
Insper Conhecimento (Insper Knowledge) has been gathering information based on official data, interviews, texts, and videos. To access the content, visit our website, or follow the information through our social network pages and the notices we send to our Community.
The school is holding a series of free webinars to address issues related to Covid-19, such as labor aspects, legal tools applicable to crises, the challenges for startups, leadership and management of remote teams, management of working capital in times of crisis, and the coronavirus impact on the supplementary health system.
The time is difficult for all of us. It is a time to face with serenity and solidarity to collaborate with the challenges that our country faces. We must keep on teaching, generating knowledge, and contributing to the public debate, pointing out solutions and systematizing the best that has been done in other countries. Take care of yourself and your family; talk to your friends and be on the lookout for those who may be experiencing even greater difficulties than ours.
#WeareInsper
